1995–96 San Jose Sharks season

The 1995–96 San Jose Sharks season was the Sharks' fifth season of operation in the National Hockey League. The Sharks failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1993, finishing with the worst record in the NHL that season.

Regular season
On December 2, head coach Kevin Constantine was fired after a 3–18–4 start and replaced by assistant coach Jim Wiley.

On March 6, director of player personnel and effectively co-general manager Chuck Grillo was fired, leaving Dean Lombardi as the sole general manager of the team.

The Sharks allowed the most goals (357), the most even-strength goals (244), the most power-play goals (93), had the lowest penalty-kill percentage (76.57%), the fewest shutouts for (0) and the fewest shots on goal (2,143). On January 13, 1996, Ray Sheppard scored a hat trick as the Sharks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 10–8 in Pittsburgh. It was the highest scoring game of the NHL regular season.

Schedule and results

 * Legend:
 * Legend:

Scoring

 * Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
 * † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.
 * ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.

Goaltending

 * † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.

Draft picks
San Jose's draft picks at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.