EDMONTON, AB - APRIL 9: Joe Pavelski #8 and Brent Burns #88 of the San Jose Sharks discuss the play during the game against the Edmonton Oilers on April 9, 2015 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson doesn’t wear a black turtleneck like late Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

He’s not known for gray t-shirts like Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg.

In this cradle of modern-day innovation, heads of major companies in the area have a ‘look’ that becomes synonymous with them. For Wilson, it’s generally just a suit and tie or, on this day, a fleece and collared shirt.

Regardless of this conventional garb, Wilson (who is entering his 12th season with the Sharks as GM) has learned from his neighboring industry titans that you need to stay current. That advancement is a necessity. Whether you fail or succeed, you have to make an attempt.

“In Silicon Valley, you reinvent yourself every six months,” Wilson said.

On a team full of graybeards and veteran stars, the word “fresh” is floated through the team’s beautifully renovated practice rink locker room and SAP Center dressing room with ease and fluidity.

Maybe this upgraded model is just what San Jose needs after a difficult season.

A year ago the Sharks didn’t just have to battle the Western Conference. There was internal battling as well, including strife over the decision to strip Joe Thornton of his ‘C’ and go captainless during the 2014-15 season.

The Sharks also wanted a group of young players to step up and take a stronger hold of the team’s on-ice persona.

Both decisions, which seemed to come out of the disappointment from San Jose blowing a 3-0 lead to the Los Angeles Kings in the previous year’s playoffs, ended up being misguided at least in the short term. San Jose finished 12th in the Western Conference and missed the postseason for the first time since 2003. The team appeared to chafe at the captain’s issue, and youngsters like Matt Nieto and Tomas Hertl didn’t step up the way management hoped.

“There were a lot of good things that happened last year. There are a lot of things you look at and say, ‘Wow, you can build on that,’” Wilson said. “But all I can say is you go through it and you want to make sure you’ve done the things, the right things for this organization for both the short term and the long term.”

For the first time since 2013, there’s a sense of optimism heading into the season, not one of dread – albeit guarded optimism.

A strong offseason that saw the Sharks add veteran, playoff-tested players gives the team belief that it can take another shot at that elusive Stanley Cup.

Thornton and Wilson have mended their relationship after a contentious year that saw the ex-captain tell the GM to “shut his mouth.”

And there’s a new coach, in Peter DeBoer, who should accentuate San Jose’s strength of puck possession.

“Last year’s over, we have to forget about last year,” Thornton said. “We have new coaches, new players and we’re excited again.”

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What went wrong?

In order to fix the Sharks, the management and the players had to get to the root of the problem.

In San Jose’s case, there were two main issues – the perceived relationship between Wilson and Thornton, which boiled over into the media at points during the season, and a youth movement that didn’t pan out.

The biggest decision was stripping Thornton of his ‘C’ and going with all alternate captains.

Some players indicate it caused a bit of a disturbance. Some say it didn’t. It did make headlines with Thornton lashing out that one time. This was a seminal moment for the Sharks – a point when all their problems were poured into one sound bite.

“It was extra stuff that was going on … and not even so much that nobody got (the captaincy) just that it got taken away. Because we all felt that pain a little bit,” forward Joe Pavelski said. “Obviously Jumbo’s the one it centered on, but we all played a role in that loss.”

The Sharks locker room is currently not one of turmoil and strife that you’d think based off all the rumors and questions about that place from a year ago.

There’s laughter. There are jokes. There’s chatter – maybe more than the typical NHL dressing room.

Hertl’s kid-like smile is often on his face. Thornton’s loud, boisterous voice bellows across the room. Defenseman Brent Burns looks and acts his typical wild and woolly self.

This nature is how the team has coped during its toughest times. And when the losses mounted, the Sharks’ inability to fall back on this trait hurt.

Story continues