Marleau to Toronto:
Patrick Marleau, left, who has been with the Sharks for the past two decades, signs a threeyear deal with the Maple Leafs.
After 19 seasons in San Jose, Patrick Marleau found a new home Sunday.
On a day the Sharks confirmed that center Joe Thornton will be staying with the team for at least one more season, Marleau — San Jose’s career goals leader — signed an $18.75 million, three-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I think I’ve worn out a few carpets pacing around the house trying to make this decision over the last couple of days,” Marleau said. “I’m extremely excited and happy to be a part of the Maple Leafs’ organization. It’s definitely an honor to be able to call myself a Maple Leaf.”
Marleau, 37, will count $6.25 million against the salary cap through the 2019-20 season and was given a full no-movement clause by general manager Lou Lamoriello.
Marleau, the second overall pick in 1997, has 508 goals and 574 assists for 1,082 points. He had
46 points in playing all 82 games last season as he rebounded from a disappointing 2015-16 season by scoring 27 goals, including the 500th of his career. He ranks first alltime in San Jose in goals, games and points.
Only six players in NHL history have played more games with one team than Marleau’s 1,493 in San Jose. The Sharks haven’t played a game without him since April 7, 2009.
“It was extremely difficult,” he said. “The organization has been first class to me over the 19 years I’ve been here . ... My wife and four boys, it was extremely tough to finally pull the trigger and have them move to a new country, one coast to the other, but everybody here in our house is extremely excited to be a part of the Maple Leafs and where they’re going. I’m ecstatic to be a part of that.”
Despite his advancing age, Marleau remains one of the game’s most durable players with a current games-played streak of 622 and is still one of the league’s fastest skaters.
Marleau has experience playing for Toronto head coach Mike Babcock, winning Olympic gold medals together in 2010 and 2014. “The work he’s done over his career speaks for itself,” Marleau said. “Knowing what he’s doing there with the team he has and knowing what I can contribute is extremely exciting for me.”
Marleau’s loss will be felt in San Jose, where he helped a young franchise develop into a consistent winner after he came to the Bay Area from a small town in Saskatchewan as a teenager in 1997. He helped San Jose make it to the conference finals in 2004 before losing to Calgary in six games and then teamed with Thornton on one of the league’s most successful teams for more than a decade.
San Jose went to the conference finals again in 2010 and ’11, and then lost the Stanley Cup Finals to Pittsburgh in six games in 2016. The Sharks were knocked out in the first round by Edmonton this past season.
Despite the many accomplishments, Marleau also came under criticism in San Jose for failing to deliver a title. He was stripped of his captaincy after a first-round playoff loss in 2009 and often was blamed for early postseason exits.
He also was beloved by the majority of the fans, many of whom don’t remember what the team was like before Marleau arrived.
As for Thornton, who turned 38 on Sunday, he confirmed reports that he will return to the Sharks. The center, who had seven goals and 43 assists last season, got a one-year, $8 million contract.
“I think one year works at this point in my career,” he said. “Really go year by year and just see how I feel. I feel like I have a lot left in the tank. Hopefully after this deal, I’ll keep signing.”
Thornton said he’ll miss Marleau.
“Obviously, I’m bummed that Patty’s not coming back,” Thornton said. “Patty will be a Shark for life and he’ll go down as the best Shark of all time.”