The Sharks Need to Change Their Goal Song – The Hockey Writers – San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks’ breakout in 2025-26 has been a massive story in the NHL with the emergence of Macklin Celebrini and the rest of the plucky young Sharks. The team has finally dragged themselves out of the mud that is the bottom of the standings and has real playoff expectations for 2026-27.

Sharks fans are ready to ditch the miserable seven-year stretch of no postseason appearances and some of the worst hockey played in the NHL, resulting in several top draft picks. A new era means a fresh start in vibes on the ice and for the in-game experience. 

On Sept. 8, the Sharks social media team posted on X, “With preseason games right around the corner, we want your help making them the best they can be! You’ll have the opportunity to vote on different elements of in-arena experience and help us test what could become part of the future of Sharks Event Presentation. Stay tuned.” 

In unison, Sharks fans advocate for one specific aspect of the in-game experience that has been a point of contention since its debut: changing the current goal song, “Power Bite” by BVRNOUT. Looking through the comments on that post, it would be challenging to find anything that wasn’t a plea to expel BVRNOUT’s song. 

Goal Song History

The Sharks’ goal song history begins with Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll, Part 2,” which served as the team’s goal celebration for 23 of its first 24 years as a franchise. Green Day’s “Holiday” served as a hiatus in the 2006-07 season, but was widely panned by the fans.

The second tenure of “Rock and Roll, Part 2” ended because of the artist’s very serious criminal convictions. The iconic jock jam “Get Ready for This” by 2 Unlimited debuted in the Sharks’ 25th anniversary season, one that ended with a Stanley Cup Final loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, enjoying an 11-year run until “Power Bite” took over in 2025. 

The most common gripe Sharks fans have with the new song is that it sounds like “AI slop.” It fundamentally lacks the substance of the other goal songs the Sharks have used in the past. Per the Sharks on their website, “By creating a new song, the Sharks will have full ownership of the song and plan to use it beyond the arena on digital platforms and through re-mixes.” 

Some fans have interpreted this as the Sharks being cheap, not wanting to spend more money on more notable songs that are already established and well-known. While that is speculation, the reality of the situation is that the Sharks should change the goal song. The team escaped the league basement faster than anyone could have anticipated following the 2023-24 season, when San Jose looked like one of the worst teams this millennium before selecting Celebrini first overall in the draft. 

The online hatred of “Power Bite” extends beyond just X. The team’s Reddit page has had numerous petitions like this one that have called for the removal of the song in favor of literally anything else. The Sharks have entered a golden new era wrought by the promising ceiling of all the young players on the roster, so ditching a song people think sounds like AI would do wonders for the in-game experience and the overall marketability of the Sharks.

A Team to Replicate

The golden standard for maximizing the importance of a team’s goal song is the Chicago Blackhawks. While The Fratellis are a Scottish band not local to Chicago, the hook used from “Chelsea Dagger” is a unique and easy sing-along song for Blackhawks fans that has turned into a symbol for the team itself following their dynastic run in the 2010s.

Looking back at highlights from that incredible run that defined that era of the NHL, the howl of “Chelsea Dagger” became a war cry that meant death was on the horizon. Defeat was inevitable, and there was nothing you could do about it. 

Chosen among six possibilities for the 2008-09 season, the iconic rock song was planted at the beginning of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane’s careers as the team transitioned from atrocious to the most dominant team of the decade. Obviously it’s no guarantee, but it is a timeline the Sharks have an opportunity to replicate.

A lot still has to happen, but would anyone be shocked if we look at the Sharks in 10 years and see them have a run like Chicago or the Pittsburgh Penguins did in the 2010s, based on how San Jose is building their roster and farm system?

In a 2019 poll from 48 of the NHL’s top players, the Blackhawks overwhelmingly had the best goal song by a long shot. “I hate hearing it, but it is nice,” then Minnesota Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba said. “But I don’t want to hear it all year. It’s brutally good. I can hear it right now.”

The general consensus among the fanbase is that anything would be an improvement, but a nod to a local artist would be nice. The Bay Area has a rich and quirky history of music that ranges from rock and roll standouts Metallica, The Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Green Day and Santana to more niche rap artists like E-40, Too $hort and Mac Dre. 

The Sharks need to ask themselves a question. When looking back at Celebrini’s first playoff goal at the Shark Tank, will the moment be better with “Power Bite” in the background or a different song? San Jose has to avoid being shortsighted by saving a couple bucks on the current song. 

There has never been as much excitement before a Sharks season as there is now. As the franchise is ready to turn the page on an era of complete darkness, a new goal song would declare their rise into prominence and that the future is now. They have an opportunity to create an iconic identity that will be revered for years to come, similar to the rise of the dynastic Blackhawks, who laid out this blueprint years ago.