u/towerofcheeeeza

Sorry if there's a paywall! But I wanted to share this because in it Jonathan Becher (president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment) is quoted saying that he and the Sharks have been lobbying for a team for years.

Apparently he tried for the previous expansion (when Seattle and Vancouver were added) but came up short, and when this round of expansions was announced and it initially looked to only be 2 new teams again, he wasn't sure they'd get picked. However, "When it was four I was pretty confident. We've been hounding them for a long time."

I've seen so many people try to say that San Jose (and Las Vegas) came out of left field, but it sounds like they've actually been actively trying for years. Just because we didn't have a Takeover Tour doesn't mean this was a random last minute decision.

And in her interview with Brodie, Amy Scheer mentioned that San Jose has been on the list of potential expansion cities for a long time.

Really grateful that the Sharks org (and especially Becher) was so enthusiastic about getting a PWHL team, and that they were willing to work together with the PWHL to make it a reality. I genuinely did not believe we would get a team any time soon, but I'm so excited that we'll get our very own PWHL team in the Bay and California.