We’re just 31 days away from the San Jose Sharks kicking off the 2025-26 season against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center. As a result, we’re going to take a look back through Sharks history and revisit the players who have worn the jersey number 31 over the years. For five of the Sharks’ first six seasons, the number 31 was held by goaltender Wade Flaherty. Mostly the Sharks’ third or fourth string goaltender during his time in the organization, he played in 53 games over the course of five seasons. He recorded a save percentage of .878 and a goals against average of .878 during that time span. Flaherty would leave the Sharks following the 1996-97 season, joining the New York Islanders organization. Ironically, he’d finish his professional career following the 2008-09 season after spending some time with the China Sharks of the Asia League. Since retiring, Flaherty has been a goaltending coach in the NHL. After two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, he moved to the Winnipeg Jets where he’s been ever since. Another goaltender would take over the number 31 ahead of the 1998-99 season. Steve Shields joined the Sharks following a stint with the Buffalo Sabres organization and was between the pipes for the team in teal for three seasons. During that time, the Toronto native played in 125 games and had a goals against average of 2.44 and a .914 save percentage. He’d spend a few more seasons in the NHL, joining a new team every year, before calling it a career following a single game with the American Hockey League’s Houston Aeros during the 2006-07 season. Since retirement, Shields spent some time working with his alma mater, the University of Michigan, as a volunteer goaltending coach and a development coach. The Sharks’ fifth-round pick from the 2000 NHL Draft, Nolan Schaefer, would be the next to wear the number 31. After finishing his time at Providence College and a couple of seasons split between the Cleveland Barons of the AHL and Fresno Falcons of the ECHL, Schaefer took the ice for the first time in the NHL during the 2005-06 season. He played well statistically during that seven-game stint, recording a 1.88 goals against average and a .920 save percentage, but those would be the only appearances in the NHL of his career. He spent some time in the Minnesota Wild organization before heading overseas to play in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League and the Swiss National League. Ultimately, he called it a career following the 2014-15 season. Antti Niemi joined the Sharks ahead of the 2010-11 season after starting his career with the Chicago Blackhawks. He spent five years in net for the Sharks, and was a part of a couple of deep playoff runs. During that time, he played some of the best hockey of his career. He appeared in 296 games for the team in teal while recording a .917 save percentage and a 2.40 goals against average. The highlight of his time with the Sharks was the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, when he was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy. After leaving the Sharks for the 2015-16 season, Niemi bounced around quite a bit and had stints in Dallas, Pittsburgh, Florida, and Montreal before heading home to his native Finland for his final season. When Niemi left the Bay Area, not only did Martin Jones take over his crease, he took his number 31 as well. Jones was the Los Angeles Kings’ backup netminder for a couple of seasons before he was traded to the Boston Bruin,s who instantaneously traded him back to the Western Conference. In his first season in the Bay Area, he took the Sharks all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, where they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. The following season, Jones was named to the NHL All-Star Game for the only time in his career. He’d end up spending six seasons with the Sharks, registering a 2.66 goals against average and a .907 save percentage during that span. Currently, Jones is listed as an unrestricted free agent, last playing in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization during the 2023-24 season. Most recently, the number 31 was worn by Georgi Romanov over the last two seasons. He split time between the Sharks and the San Jose Barracuda after coming over from Russia ahead of the 2023-24 season, where he played for Gornyak-UGMK in the VHL. Surprisingly, this summer, Romanov wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer by the Sharks and has spent the majority of the offseason as an unrestricted free agent. Recently, though, Romanov signed a professional tryout with the New Jersey Devils and could earn a job with their team, specifically at the AHL level; however, his future is still unknown at this time.
