I Don't Suspect The Sharks Are Looking Too Hard To Find A Home For The Black Cat That Snuck On The Ice Before Game 1

YardBarker- The cat appeared from the player bench area during warmups and ran along the boards before ducking into another open door. SAP Center staff eventually retrieved the critter the next day and named it, “Joe PAW-velski.”

Still no word on how the cat ended up on the ice in the first place, but the Sharks organization is taking steps to insure the animal finds its rightful home or a new one. The team said it plans to take the cat to a local shelter for a full medical examination and check for a microchip to see if the animal belongs to someone. Should the chip scan come back clean, Sharks COO John Tortora said efforts will be made to ensure “Joe” finds a happy home.

“The amount of interest generated by ‘Joe’s’ appearance and those wishing to adopt him has been overwhelming. We want to make sure the cat is safe and healthy and returned to its rightful owner, in the event it has a microchip. If he is indeed a stray, our goal is to find the best home for him with the support of our local animal shelters. If families are interested in adopting ‘Joe’ but unsuccessful, we strongly encourage you to consider adopting another animal in need of a good home from one of our terrific local animal shelters.”



Read that last sentence back to yourself. Now tell me it doesn't register to you as "we understand your interest in adopting Joe PAW-velski, but look elsewhere for a pet because there's no chance in hell we are letting him out of our grasp until after the playoffs". Exactly, you can't. I'm not saying that the San Jose Sharks won't eventually look to find the cat's rightful owner. At the very least I'm sure they'll do their best to find it a suitable loving home, but until this Stanley Cup run is over that suitable loving home is wherever the San Jose Sharks happen to be at any particular time. That fucking feline is getting treated like royalty. Probably has a first class seat atop Doug Wilson's lap in the owner box. No doubt he's got an entire aisle to himself on the chartered jet to Nashville. Wouldn't be surprised if they told Joe Thornton to get dressed in the hallway so they had a spot for a real winner's litterbox. Not like his locker doesn't usually reek of disappointment during the postseason anyway. How much worse could the smell of cat shit be?

You think the Sharks are even considering getting rid of their lucky charm when they just exercised their demons by beating the Los Angeles Kings? You think they would take that chance with a 2-0 series lead on the Predators? You can tell me that a mysterious black cat is a curse all you want, but you can't curse a perennially cursed franchise. If anything this little guy lifted the hex that has plagued this organization throughout the entirety of their recent playoff appearances. The Sharks are scoring timely goals. Overcoming adversity. Winning close games. I don't even care if the players are inherently superstitious. You will embrace any potentially positive presence that you can when misfortune always manages to find you. Considering the Sharks have multiple young players, I know for damn sure that positive presence isn't the hater of all things youthful - Peter DeBoer.