MAN MARVEL
Why Patrick Marleau might soon be the NHL’s active ironman streak leader
In the near future, Patrick Marleau could become the NHL’s active leader in consecutive regular season games played.
Defenseman Keith Yandle, who holds the league’s longest active ironman streak at 866 games — 11 more than Marleau — reportedly does not figure into the Florida Panthers’ plans for this season.
Yandle, 34, has “fallen out of favor” with the Panthers, coached by Joel Quenneville, and may be a healthy scratch at some point, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.
The Panthers are scheduled to open their season Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Their games Thursday and today against Dallas were postponed because of an outbreak of positive coronavirus cases on the Stars roster.
Yandle, a left-shot defenseman, has three years remaining on his contract that carries a salary cap hit of $6.35 million, which could prove difficult to move in a trade.
Yandle, though, remains one of the NHL’s most prolific offensive defensemen with 163 points in the last three seasons, fifth-highest among all defensemen in that time. The Sharks’ Brent Burnis is second with 195 points, behind Washington’s John Carlson (213).
Boston and Philadelphia are rumored to be potential landing spots for Yandle if he is dealt.
Yandle’s ironman streak, the fourth-longest in NHL history, began March 26, 2009, when he was with the Coyotes in his third season as a professional.
Marleau’s streak, which began April 9, 2009, is at 855 games after he hit the ice in opener Thursday against the Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Marleau skated on the Sharks’ fourth line Thursday, with Joel Kellman and
Marcus Sorensen.
“Don’t really think about it,” Marleau said Thursday of the streak. “You just want to be out there, you want to be playing for your team, for your teammates. That’s first and foremost. You just go day to day. I know it’s an old saying, but that’s the best way to approach it.”
Marleau’s ironman streak is the fifth-longest in NHL history. The top three streaks are Doug Jarvis at 964, Garry Unger at 914 and Steve Larmer at 884.
“For us, other players whose streaks are nowhere near that, it’s remarkable,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said Thursday. “I mean, Patty hasn’t missed a game since I’ve come into this league. He’s played through a lot of injuries, a lot of illnesses, a lot of things that other guys wouldn’t play through. So, pretty remarkable.”
Marleau had played 1,724 NHL regular-season games, 44 games behind all-time leader Gordie Howe. Marleau, drafted second overall by the Sharks in 1997, is entering his 23rd NHL season. NHL DEBUTS >> At the opposite end of the experience spectrum, three Sharks rookies are dressing for the season opener. Nikolai Knyzhov and Nicolas Meloche will be the Sharks’ third defense pair and winger John Leonard is set to begin the game on a line with Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane.
That’s a similar situation to the Sharks’ season opener in 2019, when defenseman Mario Ferraro and forwards Lean Bergmann and Danil Yurtaykin were in the lineup as rookies against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Sharks were in a near-impossible spot against one of the NHL’s elite teams, with Erik Karlsson having left Las Vegas that day to be with his wife, who was going into labor, and Kane just starting a three-game suspension. The Sharks were waxed 4-1.
The Sharks have no choice now but to start two rookies on their back end, with Radim Simek unavailable due to pain in his right knee.
Knyzhov, 22, played three games for the Sharks last season. Meloche, 23, is in his fourth professional season and will be making his NHL debut. Defenseman Jake Middleton will be a healthy scratch, as will forwards Dylan Gambrell and Stefan Noesen.
“(Meloche) had a good camp. He’s a big, solid guy that’s sort of come out of nowhere for me,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “I think that lineup’s going to change on a daily basis, see what opponent we have, what kind of lineup they have in.
“But I think we’re comfortable with our five and six tonight and (associate coach Rocky Thompson) will put them in positions to succeed.”
This was the position the Sharks were likely going to find themselves in at some point this after they were mostly quiet on the free agent front in the offseason. The Sharks recently signed veteran defenseman Fredrik Claesson and claimed forward Rudolfs Balcers off waivers. CHANGE BEHIND THE BENCH >> Assistant coach John Madden will not be behind the Sharks’ bench with Bob Boughner and Rocky Thompson for the time being. Per the team, there’s a delay with Madden’s immigration issues and until that is finalized, Madden, a Canadian citizen, has to operate as an observer. Development coach Mike Ricci will be behind the bench with Boughner and Thompson for now.