We’re now officially just 42 days away from the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights facing off at the SAP Center to start the 2025-26 season.

In honor of that, let’s take a look at the long history of the number 42 for the team in teal.

The number 42 was worn for the first time during the Sharks’ second season in the NHL. Czech forward Jaroslav Otevrel wore it for the first seven games of his NHL career before changing to the number 50 for his second and final season in San Jose. In total, he played in 16 games for the Sharks, recording seven points in that time frame. After the 1993-94 season, Otevrel returned to Europe, opting to join Assat in Finland. Unfortunately, his career would be cut short due to an injury that left him paralyzed while playing in Finland.

Forward Jeff McLean took over the number during the 1993-94 season when he played six games with the Sharks, the only NHL stint of his long career. Throughout his career, McLean was a regular in the International Hockey League and later the ECHL.

Winger Shean Donovan, the Sharks’ second-round pick in the 1993 NHL Draft, would be the next to wear the number 42 for the team in teal. He made his debut during the 1994-95 season following his season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67s. He’d spend the next two and a half seasons with the Sharks before being moved to the Colorado Avalanche during the 1997-98 season. During his time in San Jose, Donovan played 181 games and totaled 42 points, 25 of which were goals.

Andy Sutton would become the first defenseman to wear the number during the 1998-99 season. He’d spend two seasons on the Sharks’ blue line. During that stint, he played 71 games and chipped in 5 points. His physicality is where he truly made an impact, though, recording 145 penalty minutes. After leaving the Sharks, Sutton would go on to have a long career with multiple different teams. After 676 career games, he called it a career following the 2012-13 season while a member of the Edmonton Oilers.

Another defenseman, Tom Preissing, would be the next to wear the number. He made his NHL debut with the Sharks during the 2003-04 season, then returned for one more season following the lockout. He played a total of 143 games for the Sharks, recording 62 points in the process.

After Preissing, it was close to a decade before a player once again took the ice with the number 42. Defenseman Matt Pelech would be next, playing two games for the Sharks during the 2012-13 season, then six more the following season. During that span, he had just a single point, a goal. After leaving the Sharks, he spent the majority of his career playing in different leagues across Europe.

The number would return to a forward during the 2014-15 season, when Bryan Lerg took the ice for San Jose. He wore the number for a single season before changing to the number 11. Ironically, his stint would be identical to that of Pelech. He played two games in his first season, then six the following campaign. He scored just a single point, once again a goal. During the 2015-16 season, Lerg was also the first captain of the Sharks’ newly relocated American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

Veteran winger Joel Ward would then take over the number he wore the entirety of his career when he made the move to the Bay Area for the 2015-16 season. Ward, who had previous NHL stints with the Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals, was brought in for his gritty game and spent three seasons in San Jose.

Ward would play 209 games for the Sharks over those three seasons, scoring 36 goals and totaling 84 points during that stretch. Following his stint with the Sharks, he announced his retirement from professional hockey and became a coach in the Vegas Golden Knights organization. Today, he’s an assistant coach for Vegas.

Jonah Gadjovich would follow, wearing the number for two seasons beginning with the 2021-22 season. He played a total of 78 games in teal, recording 10 points in the process.

Since leaving the Sharks, Gadjovich has been in the Florida Panthers organization and was a part of their back-to-back Stanley Cup championship runs.

Currently, the number 42 represents young defenseman Luca Cagnoni, who appeared in six games for the Sharks last season and spent the majority of his time with the Barracuda in his first professional season.

During his brief stint with the Sharks last season, Cagnoni recorded two assists.

The number 42 has a long history in San Jose, even if it’s not an illustrious one. Time will tell if Cagnoni can become the best player to wear the number, or if Joel Ward will remain the longest-tenured number 42 in franchise history.

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