These aren't the same old San Jose Sharks.

So says first-year head coach Pete DeBoer, who's taken the perennially underachieving club to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011.

"This isn't the same team that it's been in the past," DeBoer said after Thursday's Game 7 win over the Nashville Predators. "We've got a whole bunch of new bodies, a whole different cast of characters, a whole different identity in my mind, a whole different coaching staff.

"The core guys are still the same, but the core guys here are great. They have great habits, they've been well coached for a decade by the previous staff that was here. They're not the problem, it was filling in behind them. We've got those type of people here now, and I think the guys at the top feel that and are feeding off it."

The Sharks are indeed led by a familiar cast of characters, namely Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Patrick Marleau up front, and Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the back end.

Significant contributions, however, have been made by offseason and veteran additions like Joel Ward and Paul Martin, as well as youngsters such as Joonas Donskoi and Tomas Hertl.

San Jose also appears to have full confidence in first-year starter Martin Jones, who was acquired by way of Boston for a first-round pick that will be no higher than 27th overall.

The 26-year-old has put up solid numbers for the Sharks in the postseason, coming out on top of a matchup against his former team along the way.

Having said all that, the Sharks must at least make it to the Stanley Cup Final in order to fully prove that this team isn't like all the ones that have come up short in the past.

Up to this point, however, the Sharks seem to have their sharpest set of playoff teeth yet.

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