Thornton, Marleau could be near end of runs in San Jose
SAN JOSE » Joe Thornton had just come off the ice after an optional team skate Sunday morning and is taping a stick inside the Sharks’ dressing room, preparing it for the following day’s game with the Florida Panthers.
Patrick Marleau is close by, helping one of his sons put on some hockey equipment as they get ready to join a couple of the Sharks players still on the ice at the end of the informal practice.
Neither Thornton or Marleau, understandably at this particular moment, are giving much thought to the Feb. 24 NHL trade deadline and whether there’s a possibility of either of them playing elsewhere this season to chase a Stanley Cup.
Perhaps no one wants to think about it right now.
Still, a chance — however remote — exists that tonight’s Sharks game with the Panthers will be the last ever at home for
both Thornton and Marleau, the two players most synonymous with the franchise reaching what might be the end of their Hall of Fame-caliber careers.
When asked about the possibility of tonight being the last time he wears a teal jersey inside the Tank, Thornton said, “I don’t think so.”
John Thornton, Joe’s brother and agent, could not be reached for comment.
After today, the Sharks begin a four-game road trip against Metropolitan Division teams, starting with a Thursday game in New Jersey and concluding Feb. 25 in Philadelphia. Their next home game after this week is Feb. 27 against the Devils.
The Sharks will almost certainly be sellers by the deadline, with a handful of players slated to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Although the Sharks have won three of their last four games, their playoff chances remain remote. They entered Sunday in 13th place in the Western Conference, 10 points back of the second wild-card spot, with just 24 games remaining.
They’ve recently lost Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl to season-ending injuries, the timeline for a Logan Couture return is not completely clear, and Evander Kane will miss the next two games after he was suspended Saturday by the NHL for three games.
It would make sense, then, for general manager Doug Wilson to try and recoup some assets for one or more of these pending UFAs if he does not have plans to try and resign them by July 1, the start of free agency.
BUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THORNTON AND MARLEAU? » If Thornton, who has a no movement clause in his contract, does decide he would like to make a run at a Stanley Cup, all he would have to do is chat with Wilson, and Wilson would almost certainly try and oblige, even if the return is only a middle-round pick.
Marleau, too, might fetch a similar return.
One wonders, then, if there’s more value in the assets those players might bring in a trade or in keeping them for one last desperate run. At the very least, allowing them to finish the regular season wearing the colors they have been most identified with over their respective careers.
Are there reasons why Thornton wouldn’t want to make a run at a Stanley Cup with a legitimate contender?
“I’d have to think about it. I haven’t thought about it yet,” Thornton said. “If we win tomorrow, we’re right back in the hunt. That’s how I feel about it.”
Marleau, too, said he hasn’t thought about what might happen in the next week. Although he does not have the same contractual protection as Thornton, it would make sense that Wilson would approach Marleau about a trade should there be legitimate interest from other teams.
“If that comes up later on, we’ll deal with it then,” Marleau said. “But right now, we just had a really good road trip. So things are starting to look really good, we just have a lot of work left to do here.”
When meeting with reporters Jan. 30, Wilson would not discuss whether other teams have shown interest in Thornton or Marleau, two 40-year-old players who have suited up for a combined 2,637 games with the Sharks before tonight.
Marleau has 20 points in 53 games with the Sharks this season, and Thornton has 24 points in 57 games. Despite the dip in production, both, it would seem, could easily fit onto any contending team’s third line, as Marleau remains an elite skater and a responsible two-way player and Thornton is one of the game’s all-time great playmakers.
Wilson did say, though, that the effect both players have had on the franchise has been immense, particularly how it relates to their impact on younger players finding their way in the NHL.
“Every team has to deal with this, often for longer periods of time and several times,” Wilson said of this season’s struggles for his team. “But when it comes to Jumbo and Patty, they’ve been so impactful and so influential, I think they’ve both played well.
“Patty, you take a look at him coming in, not only being so professional, but teaching some of the younger guys, and Jumbo’s always done that. For me, I’ve been able to look back over the journey of these two guys. It’s been incredible how fortunate we’ve been, and how we’re going to reap the benefits from them going forward, as soon as September.” LEARNING EXPERIENCE » Rookie defenseman Mario Ferraro is one of those players.
“You grow up watching these players, playing PlayStation and XBox as these guys,” Ferraro, 21, said, “and then all of a sudden you’re on the same team as them. It’s like, ‘Wow.’ I have an opportunity to learn from great veterans that have been through a lot, that have had a lot of success. It’s really special.”
Tonight, both Thornton and Marleau will take the ice as they skate out from under the Shark head while Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” blares over the loud speakers. With Karlsson out, Thornton will be right behind either Aaron Dell or Martin Jones as the first ones on the ice. Marleau, as is his custom, will be the last skater.
No one wants to think about whether this will be the last time one or both take part in this ritual, with the fans inside SAP Center cheering on the Sharks moments before the start of the game. Like Marleau said, they’ll deal with it if and when it comes.
“The team’s been playing really, really well,” Thornton said. “It’s a good positive vibe around here, and we’re excited for (tonight).”
“It’s unbelievable how great the fans are here, and how supportive they are of not only myself, but the Sharks organization,” Marleau said. “They’re great hockey fans.”