 The Sharks ' creation forestalled a unilateral franchise move by North Stars owners George and Gordon Gund to the San Francisco Bay Area . A settlement with the league granted them the expansion franchise , while they sold the North Stars to Howard Baldwin 's group in 1990 . Prior to the 1991 @-@ 92 season , the Sharks and North Stars participated in a unique expansion draft , which saw San Jose select unprotected players from Minnesota ( including future All @-@ Star goalie <unk> Irbe ) before both teams picked players from the remainder of the league . The Sharks would struggle in their inaugural season , finishing with a league @-@ low 17 wins and 39 points while playing out of the Cow Palace , while the North Stars ( who were sold again , to Norman Green , during the 1990 @-@ 91 season ) would make the playoffs for what proved to be the final time before their eventual relocation to Dallas in 1993 . 
