Will Marleau break Howe’s games played record?
Forward reiterated his biggest goal is to win the Cup, something that will likely not happen with San Jose this season
Barring anything unexpected, Patrick Marleau will play his 1,768th career NHL game next month, passing hockey legend Gordie Howe for the most games played in league history.
Whether Marleau breaks the record as a member of the San Jose Sharks is another matter.
Marleau reiterated Friday morning before the Sharks played the St. Louis Blues, his 1,751st NHL game, that his number one goal is still to win the Stanley Cup. Right now, doing that this season with the Sharks is a longshot, at best, as San Jose stood in seventh place in the West Division and were eight points back of the Blues for the fourth and final playoff spot.
Assuming he doesn’t miss any games and remains with the Sharks, Marleau is on schedule to break Howe’s record of 1,767 games on April 19 when San Jose plays the Vegas Golden Knights on April 19 at T-mobile Arena. That would be seven days after the April 12 NHL trade deadline.
“That’d be great,” Marleau said when asked if he wants to break the record in a Sharks jersey. “It would be great if we could get ourselves in a playoff position here, and we got to go on a roll with these next few games. Obviously, we’re playing so many games here, it would mean a lot to do it in a Sharks’ jersey.”
Last season with the Sharks out of the mix for a playoff spot, Marleau, wanting another shot at the Cup, worked with Sharks general manager Doug Wilson to try and find the right landing spot. The morning of the Feb. 24, 2020, trade deadline, Marleau was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional 2021 third-round draft pick. That pick was dealt by Wilson in October to the Wild for Ryan Donato.
Marleau’s production has slipped this season, as he entered Friday with just one goal and four assists in 27 games. But besides being a mentor to younger players, he’s also been a jack of all trades for Sharks coach Bob Boughner.
Marleau spent a lot of time centering the Sharks’ fourth line, which is perhaps part of the reason why his production is down from last year when he had 22 points in 68 games. But he’s also played the wing on the third and fourth lines and has been, at times, on the second power-play unit. He’s averaged just over 13 minutes of ice time per game.