Marleau poised to break Howe’s mark for games played
Growing up on a farm as a hockey-loving kid in Saskatchewan, the knowledge that players like Gordie Howe had made the journey from that remote province to the National Hockey League gave Patrick Marleau belief he could one day follow that same path.
Marleau has done far more than just make it to the NHL. Now nearly a quarter-century after leaving Saskatchewan to sign with the San Jose Sharks as a fresh-faced teenager, Marleau is set to eclipse Mr. Hockey’s all-time games played record in the NHL.
Marleau has played in 1,765 career contests and is poised to tie Howe’s mark of 1,767 on Saturday night in Minnesota and break it two nights later in Las Vegas.
“Just first and foremost is loving the game and I just love being out there and playing,” Marleau said Thursday about what has kept him going all these years. “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.”
The Stanley Cup has eluded Marleau, who got to the final once in 2016 in a career with many playoff disappointments.
The 41-year-old Marleau has accomplished plenty in his career: 566 goals, 1,196 points, three all-star appearances and two Olympic gold medals for Canada in 2010 and ’14.
But it is his supreme skating skill and dependability that has allowed him to play 895 consecutive games since last missing a contest when he was 29 that will be his legacy. He has played through bouts of the flu, various other bumps and bruises and even chartered a plane to join his teammates in Nashville for a game in 2009 after the birth of one of his sons.
“I want to be looked upon when I’m gone that I gave it my all,” he said. “Enjoyed the game, loved the game, loved being around the team, loved winning games.”
Marleau made his debut Oct. 1, 1997, at age 18 years and 16 days, which is the youngest for any player in the NHL since Lee Wharton debuted at 17 years, 81 days, in 1945 for the Rangers.
He scored 13 goals as a rookie and then had his first of 15 20goal seasons the following campaign as he quickly established himself as a top player.
“He was an effortless skater from day one,” said Sharks executive Mike Ricci, who spent seven years as Marleau’s teammate. “That might be a thing he was blessed with. Being a natural skater and being in tip-top condition and working hard off ice and on the ice, these are the results you get. There are a lot of effortless players out there who can’t play this long. I remember we used to joke around and I would tell him he could play until he was 60. Obviously I was exaggerating a bit, but maybe I wasn’t exaggerating as much as I thought.”
While Marleau won’t play until he is 60, he isn’t ready to hang it up after this season either. It’s a similar mindset to Howe, who retired at 52 after posting 41 points in his final season for Hartford. Howe also played an additional 419 games in the World Hockey Association, which aren’t included in his NHL record.
While players such as Jaromir Jagr, Mark Messier and Chris Chelios approached Howe’s mark, no one has been able to reach a record many thought was unbreakable.
“Records are made to be broken,” said Howe’s son Mark, a scout for Detroit who played 1,355 games combined in the NHL and WHA. “This one here, I thought would be a really, really tough one to break but Patrick is finally going to do it.”
Mark Howe joked the oatmeal from Saskatchewan might have been what fuelled both his father and Marleau through all those games. But there is something else that Marleau and Gordie Howe have in common.
“You can’t do it unless you love what you’re doing,” Mark Howe said. “If you love going to the rink every day and have fun at it, it’s a great job to have. Once it becomes work, then you’re done. It’s pretty clear he loves what he’s doing.”