Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson Elected to Hockey Hall of Fame

SAN JOSE, CA - San Jose Sharks (

) General Manager Doug Wilson has been elected to the

Hockey Hall of Fame

, following a vote by the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee earlier today. Wilson joins fellow 2020 inductees Marian Hossa, Jarome Iginla, Kevin Lowe, and Kim St-Pierre along with Ken Holland in the builder category. The 2020 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony date is tentatively scheduled for Mon. Nov. 16 in Toronto, Ontario.

In 1,024 NHL regular season games with the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks, Wilson established himself as one of the most dynamic defensemen to ever play the game. Amongst all-time NHL defensemen, Wilson ranks 12th in goals (237), 15th in points (827) and 18th in assists (590). In addition, he holds the fourth-highest single-season record for goals by a defenseman (39, in 1981-82), is tied for tenth among defensemen for most points-per-game (.81, min. 500 games), and tenth for most career shots (3,296).

In 1982, Wilson captured the James Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman and was named First Team NHL All-Star after posting 85 points (39 goals, 46 assists) in 76 games, leading all defensemen in goals. He finished in the Top-5 in Norris Trophy voting three other times. Wilson was selected to the NHL All-Star Game eight times and named as a Second Team NHL All-Star in 1985 and 1990.

Between 1979-1991, Wilson's 719 points for a defenseman ranked only behind fellow Hockey Hall of Famers Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque.

Wilson began his illustrious career in hockey after being selected sixth overall by the Blackhawks in the 1977 NHL Draft. The stalwart blueliner appeared in 938 NHL games with Chicago from 1977-1991, amassing 779 points (225 goals, 554 assists) with a plus-121 rating.

On the Blackhawks franchise all-time lists, Wilson ranks ninth in games played, seventh in points, fourth in assists and 15th in goals. Among Blackhawks franchise defensemen, he ranks first in goals, points, assists, points-per-game (.83, minimum 300 games), and fourth in games played.

Wilson also appeared in 95 Stanley Cup Playoff games with Chicago, scoring 80 points (19 goals, 61 assists) with a plus-11 rating and a .84 points-per-game average. He ranks first in points-per-game, second in assists and points, tied for second in goals, and seventh in games played among franchise defensemen in the postseason.

Wilson was acquired by the Sharks just prior to the team's inaugural season in 1991, bringing instant credibility and respect to the young franchise. He played two seasons for the Sharks, serving as the organization's first captain and scoring 48 points (12 goals, 36 assists) in 86 games. He was the team's first representative in the NHL All-Star Game (1991-92) and played in his NHL-milestone 1,000th game on Nov. 21, 1992, becoming the 77th player in League history to accomplish the feat. Additionally, he was named the Sharks nominee for the King Clancy Award twice (1992 and 1993), presented for leadership and humanitarian contributions both on-and-of the ice.

Wilson announced his retirement as a player from hockey prior to the 1993-94 season.

Internationally, Wilson represented Team Canada in the 1984 Canada Cup, capturing a Gold Medal, and at the Rendezvous '87 against the Soviet Union.

Following four years as a management consultant for Canada's entries in the 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 World Junior Championship tournaments - resulting in four consecutive gold medal finishes - Wilson re-joined the San Jose Sharks organization in 1997-98 as director of pro development.

On May 13, 2003, Wilson was named as the Sharks general manager and has strategically built the Sharks into one of the National Hockey League's elite franchises through strong drafting, shrewd trades and timely free agent signings. Since that time, no NHL team has won more regular season games (710) or accumulated more standings points (1,567) than the Sharks and the team has appeared in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 15 of those 17 seasons, including ten straight (2004-2014). Excluding the lockout shortened season, the Sharks under Wilson have averaged 42.8 wins per season and 94 points per year.

Additionally, the Sharks are tied with Pittsburgh for the most Stanley Cup Playoff rounds (30) since 2003-04. Under Wilson's guidance, the Sharks have captured the Presidents' Trophy (2009), five Pacific Division titles (2004, 2008-11), advanced to the Western Conference Finals on five occasions (2004, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2019) and one Stanley Cup Final appearance (2016).

Due to the team's consistently strong regular season performance, since 2003, the Sharks have the lowest average draft position among all NHL clubs (128.3), four spots lower than the next lowest club. Despite that average drafting position, which includes only four top-10 selections and none higher than sixth overall, San Jose's draft selections rank seventh in games played (13,812), goals (2,219), eighth in points (5,631) and 11th in assists (3,412) among all NHL teams.

Wilson has also negotiated several block-buster trades to bring some of the game's elite players to the Sharks organization, including Joe Thornton (2005), Dan Boyle (2008), Brent Burns (2011), Evander Kane (2018) and Erik Karlsson (2018).

In his 17 seasons leading the Sharks, Wilson has ascended the NHL's all-time lists among general managers. On Jan. 26, 2017, Wilson joined an elite club, becoming the only the fourth individual to play in 1,000 NHL hockey games and to serve as a general manager of an NHL club for at least 1,000 games. The only others to have accomplished the feat were Hockey Hall of Famers Bobby Clarke, Bob Gainey and Bob Pulford (since then also accomplished by Bob Murray). On Oct. 8, 2019, he served his 1,200th game as general manager and five days later, surpassed Conn Smythe (682) for 19th on the NHL's all-time wins list. He achieved his 700th win on Jan. 4, 2020 and currently sits 18th on the all-time general manager wins list (710). Wilson ranks 12th on the NHL's all-time list among general managers for most wins with one franchise and is one of two active NHL general managers to have served at least 1,200 games with their current NHL Club (David Poile, 1,675 with Nashville).

Wilson is a member of three regional Sports Halls of Fame; Ottawa (inducted Oct. 1998), Chicago (inducted Sept. 1999), and San Jose (inducted Nov. 2016). The Ottawa 67s also honored his stellar career by retiring his No. 7 sweater.