Icon Marleau expected to announce retirement
SAN JOSE >> Patrick Marleau, the NHL's all-time leader in games played, will make an announcement Tuesday regarding the future of his hockey career, the Sharks said Friday.
Indications are Marleau, 42, will officially announce his retirement from playing.
Marleau's announcement will take place at SAP Center and be attended by both Jonathan Becher, president of Sharks Sports & Entertainment, and Sharks interim general manager Joe Will. It was not immediately clear if Marleau would join the Sharks in some other capacity.
Marleau played 1,779 regular-season games over a 23-year NHL career. His marks of 566 goals and 1,197 points now rank 23rd and 50th, respectively, in NHL history.
Marleau, who was drafted second overall by the Sharks in 1997, is the Sharks' franchise leader in several individual statistical cat
egories, including games played (1,607), goals (522), and points (1,111).
Marleau also helped Team Canada win gold at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, burnishing a resume that is all but certain to one day include a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Marleau played with the Sharks from 1997 to 2017 before he signed a threeyear contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Marleau played 164 games in two seasons with Toronto before he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, who bought out the final year of the contract he had with the Leafs.
Marleau, after the start of the 2019-2020 regular season, was then signed to a one-year contract by the Sharks. With San Jose out of the playoff picture, Marleau in Feb. 2020 was traded to Pittsburgh and played eight regular-season games for the Penguins before the NHL paused its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Penguins then lost in the playin round of the NHL postseason that summer.
With Howe's gamesplayed record of 1,767 within reach at that point, Marleau was signed to a one-year deal by the Sharks in October 2020, giving him the chance to become the NHL's leader in that category. Howe had a 26-year NHL career, playing from 1946 to 1971 with the Detroit Red Wings and the 1979-1980 season with the Hartford Whalers.
On April 19, 2021, with the Sharks playing the Vegas Golden Knights at TMobile Arena, Marleau, still just 41 at the time, dressed for his 1,768th game.
From April 9, 2009 to May 12, 2021, Marleau played in 910 consecutive games, a mark that now ranks as the fifth-longest ironman streak in NHL history, now behind Keith Yandle (989), Phil Kessel (982), Doug Jarvis (964) and Garry Unger (914).
Marleau had nine points in 56 games for the Sharks during the 2020-2021 season but added last May that he was not yet ready to retire.
“It was a tough, tough season,” Marleau said. “With everything, with COVID, personally my play, I was not happy with my play or with the results I got this year. There are some pretty sleepless nights with that but looking forward to a rebound season next year.”