Marleau signs with Leafs
SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Patrick Marleau is taking his talents to the city of Toronto.
After weighing competitive offers from the Sharks, the Anaheim Ducks and the Dallas Stars for more than 24 hours, Marleau, 37, made his decision Sunday afternoon, signing a three-year contract worth $18.75 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending his 19-year run in San Jose.
The Sharks had reportedly offered Marleau a two-year contract worth roughly $9 million, but the team was unwilling to add a third year, forcing him to make a decision: uproot his family and leave the organization he joined as a 17-year-old in 1997 or stay and give the squad a hometown discount.
“I think I’ve worn out a few carpets pacing around the house,” Marleau said, describing the difficulty of making the decision to leave the Sharks. “But I’m extremely excited and happy to be part of the Maple Leafs organization. It’s definitely an honour to be able to call myself a Maple Leaf, obviously being a Canadian-born player. This decision took me a quite a while to come to, but I made it, I’m happy with it and I can’t wait to get started.”
The Sharks were hesitant to offer Marleau a three-year deal in large part because they signed defenceman MarcEdouard Vlasic and goalie Martin Jones to eight and six-year contract extensions worth a combined $ 90.5 million Saturday, restricting their cap flexibility beyond 2017-18.
Joe Thornton, who was lobbying for Marleau’s return to the club, agreed to sign a one-year contract worth close to $6.5 million with the Sharks on Saturday. The deal has yet to be finalized.
Marleau, who was drafted by the Sharks with the No. 2 pick in the 1997 NHL draft, leaves town as the Sharks all-time leader in points (1,082), goals (508), games played (1,493), power play goals (160) and game-winning goals (98). He reached the 20-goal plateau in 14 of his 19 seasons in Teal.
After a topsy-turvy 2015-16 campaign in which he reportedly asked for a trade, Marleau bounced back with a 27-goal season last year, scoring four times in one period against Colorado on Jan. 23 and becoming the 45th player in NHL history to notch 500 goals on Feb. 2.
“The organization’s been first class to me over the 19 years that I’ve been here,” Marleau said, expressing his gratitude toward the Sharks organization. “My wife and four boys, it’s extremely tough to finally pull the trigger and have them move to a new country from one coast to the other. But everybody here in our house is extremely excited to be part of the Maple Leafs and where they’re going.”
Toronto is loaded with talented young forwards, including William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews. That group has been bolstered this summer with the addition of Marleau as well as veteran Ron Hainsey 36-year-old Dominic Moore in the fourth line centre spot and Curtis McElhinney to remain in the backup role in goal behind No. 1 Frederik Andersen.