Marleau humble as he nears record.
Sharks forward talks Gordie Howe, family and pain of not winning a Cup
Anaheim Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf waited at center ice at the end of Wednesday’s win over the Sharks at SAP Center to offer congratulations to Patrick Marleau. Ducks coach Dallas Eakins was right behind Getzlaf, and soon a few other Anaheim players were also in line to shake Marleau’s hand.
Members of the Los Angeles Kings did the same thing last week, including former Sharks coach Todd McLellan. It’s a scene that will likely be repeated this weekend after San Jose’s two-game series with the Minnesota Wild, when Marleau will have tied Gordie Howe for the most games played in NHL history.
“For those guys to do all that, it’s humbling,” Marleau said Thursday morning before the
Sharks left for Minnesota. “For them to take the time to come over and shake my hand and congratulate me on what can possibly happen here in the next few days, I don’t take that lightly. It means a lot to me.”
Marleau enters this weekend with 1,765 games played, just two games shy of Howe’s record. Barring the unforeseen, he will play in his 1,768th game and become the NHL’s alltime leader Monday when the Sharks play the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.
Marleau on Thursday reflected on his career with more than two dozen reporters, talking about the dedication that it took to this point, what has kept him going, and a memorable meeting he and his son, Landon, had with Howe at the 2009 All-Star game.
Here are some highlights of the conversation.
ON WHETHER REACHING THIS MARK SEEMED POSSIBLE TO HIM >> “You never really know until it actually happens. It’s one of those things where you can kind of see that it could be possible if you stay healthy and everything falls into place. But I don’t know if there was an exact point where I thought that it could be done.”
ON MEETING GORDIE HOWE >> “One of the best stories I have of him is from the (2009) All-Star game in Montreal. I was playing with Landon, mini-sticks, and Gordie came around the corner and grabbed a stick out of my hand, started playing with my oldest son. I think he might have been two or three (years old), so that was pretty impressive that he took the time to make my young son’s day. (Landon) didn’t even know what was going on at the time and I didn’t get any pictures of it, I didn’t have my phone on me. I’ll never get the image out of my head and I’ll never forget that story.” ON WHAT HAS ALLOWED HIM TO PLAY AS LONG AS HE HAS >> “Just first and foremost, loving the game and I just love being out there and playing. Obviously, every kid’s dream is to hoist that Stanley Cup, so I’ve been chasing it all this time and that goal hasn’t changed for me, since you know what the Stanley Cup’s about.”
ON HOW MUCH LONGER HE WANTS TO KEEP PLAYING >> “We’ll see. I don’t know. I still feel good, I’d like to keep playing as long as I can, as long as my family is willing to keep supporting me and see me off on road trips and welcome me home. Coming back, we’ll try and keep it going as long as we can.”
ON TAKING A CHARTER FLIGHT TO NASHVILLE, AFTER THE BIRTH OF HIS SECOND-OLDEST SON, BRODY, SO THAT HE WOULDN’T MISS A GAME >> “My wife (Christina) and the doctor tried everything possible to switch the date and try and accommodate my schedule, but there was nothing happening there. Those are moments you never want to miss, and I’m thankful that I was able to be there for his birth. Hopped on a plane the next day to Nashville to meet up with the team.” ON SHARING THIS WITH HIS FAMILY >> “I’m very thankful for it. They’ve been supporting me however long they’ve been alive, whether they know it or not, they’ve been making sacrifices and supporting me throughout my career. But to see how excited they get for games, now watching the games with Christina at home. I come home and they talk about the game the next day. They know the significance of a record, a milestone like this and they’re extremely excited to be part of it, and they’re pushing me to keep playing.” ON HOW’S
HE CHANGED HIS BODY TO BE ABLE TO KEEP PLAYING >> “I just tried to maybe lean down a little bit more. I used to play at 220, now I’m at 215, depending on the day. Just try and keep that explosion up with plyometrics. Just trying to keep up that speed. That’s kind of been my main asset throughout my career is being able to skate well and use that to my advantage so just whatever I can do to try and keep that and keep everything else up as well.”
ON WHETHER HE THOUGHT HIS PLAYING DAYS WERE OVER AFTER HIS CONTRACT WAS BOUGHT OUT BY CAROLINA IN 2019 >> “Not really. I was hoping that I could come back here, and it all worked out. But I still felt that I had a lot to offer. So if it didn’t work out here in San Jose, then I would have tried to go somewhere else. But thankfully it worked out, I came back at that time and came back again this year.”
ON HOW HIS PREPARATION, AND PERHAPS GOOD LUCK, LED TO THIS MOMENT >>“Oh, definitely got lucky along the way. That has a lot to do with it, but also putting in the work, putting in the hours training — offseason, during the season — and having a great support staff, great trainers to help you out, medical staff. There’s always bumps and bruises along the way, so the sooner you can get those under control and try and get it back up to 100% during the season, it can only help you throughout your career.”
ON HOW MUCH IT HURTS HIM TO NOT TO HAVE WON THE STANLEY CUP SO FAR >> “I mean, it’s huge. Every season where it doesn’t happen, it’s a kick in the butt, for sure. Especially on teams that you don’t have a really good shot of going a long way. Every year, you’ve got to go into the season believing that you’re going to win or you’re going to win the Stanley Cup and get in the playoffs. That’s how I’ve always approached it. That’s what I’m chasing. It’s definitely disappointing that I haven’t won it in my career but that’s what’s kept me going all these years, is trying to win that Stanley Cup.”