Sharks sign Marleau as he nears Howe record

SJ also signs Nieto to one-year contract

Patrick Marleau will chase the NHL’s all-time games played record as a member of the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks announced Tuesday the return of Marleau and fellow forward Matt Nieto, signing both to one-year contracts.

Bot h de a ls a re wor t h $700,000, according to a source.

Marleau is the Sharks’ alltime franchise leader in points (1,102), goals (518), power-play goals (161), game-winning goals (101) and games played (1,551). He ranks second in Sharks history in assists (584), trailing only Joe Thornton (804).

Nieto played 221 regularseason games with the Sharks, starting in 2013, before he was placed on waivers by the team on Jan. 4, 2017. He was claimed by Colorado a day later and spent three-plus seasons with the Avalanche before he became an unrestricted free agent last week.

Marleau has played in 1,723 games, just 45 shy of the NHL’s all-time games played record owned by all-time great Gordie Howe. He has also played 854 consecutive games, an ironman streak that dates to April 9, 2009.

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson hinted at Marleau’s return last week, saying, “players of that nature and the respect for them, where they’re at in their career and what they’ve meant to this franchise, treating them with great respect is some

thing that’s extremely important to us and our organization.”

With the addition of Marleau and Nieto, it would appear the Sharks’ forward group would be almost set. But there is still a question about Joe Thornton and whether he will sign again with San Jose.

T hornton, an unrestricted free agent, was still in Switzerland as of late last week and told Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic that he would take his time before he signed his next contract. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been rumored as a potential landing spot for Thornton, who, like Marleau, is missing a Stanley Cup from his Hall of Fame-caliber resume.

Should Thornton not return to San Jose, the Sharks would still have a hole to fill at third-line center. There would also be a massive void to fill in terms of replacing Thornton’s leadership within the team.

Marleau, 41, was drafted second overall by the Sharks in 1997, right behind Thornton, and spent the first 19 seasons of his NHL career with the organization before he signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract with the Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2017.

Pressed for salary cap space last summer, though, the Leafs traded Marleau to the Carolina Hurricanes for what became the 13th overall pick in last week’s NHL Draft. But with Marleau seeking a return to the Bay Area, the Hurricanes bought out the last year of Marleau’s contract.

Marleau was then signed by the Sharks to a one-year, $700,000 contract on Oct. 8, 2019, and had his first practice back with the team the following day.

Marleau went on to post 20 points in 58 games for the Sharks before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 24 for a conditional 2021 thirdround draft pick, which Wilson used to acquire forward Ryan Donato from the Minnesota Wild last week.

“Patrick is one of the most iconic players in San Jose Sharks history, as well as being one of the most respected veterans in the National Hockey League,” Wilson said in a statement. “T he leadership he brings on and off the ice has been well documented over his fantastic NHL career and his competitive fire to win is still burning strong. Patrick’s lead-by-example demeanor is inspiring and continues to resonate with our group of younger players.”

There is still a question of how many regular-season games the NHL will play in 2021. The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association announced last week a target start date of Jan. 1, and the league, it appears, does not want the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs to extend far into the summer.

Still, even a 48- game regular season would give Marleau a chance to break Howe’s games played record, set over 26 NHL seasons.

Nieto, 27, had 21 points in 70 games with the Colorado Avalanche in 201920, averaging 13 minutes and 30 seconds of ice time per game.