Sharks, Patrick Marleau re-up for what should be a historic season

It’s only fitting that when Patrick Marleau becomes the NHL’s all-time games played leader, he does it in teal.

On Tuesday, the Sharks re-signed the veteran forward to a one-year, $700,000 (reported) deal. The 41-year-old Marleau is 44 games away from tying Gordie Howe’s record of 1,767 regular-season games played in the NHL. He’ll enter the new season with 854 consecutive games under his belt, too, which puts him fifth on the all-time list (100 games behind No. 1 Doug Jarvis).

“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,” said GM Doug Wilson in the team’s news release. “The 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.”

NHL leaders: All-time games played Rank Player No. games 1 Gordie Howe 1,767 2 Mark Messier 1,756 3 Jaromir Jagr 1,733 4 Ron Francis 1,731 5 Patrick Marleau 1,723

Aside from his chance at passing “Mr. Hockey,” Marleau will also look to build on his impressive resume that encompasses 1,723 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, Penguins and, predominantly, the Sharks. He holds multiple San Jose franchise records including points (1,102), goals (518), power-play goals (161), game-winning goals (101) and games played (1,551).

MARLEAU: 1,100 points with SJS | 1,700-game milestone

Last season he scored 22 points, including 11 goals, in 66 games between the Sharks and Penguins. If he were to match his goal total from 2019-20, he will tie Hall of Famer Mike Bossy at 573 goals. He would need 39 goals to move into the top 20 and tie Jari Kurri.

While his points total is down at No. 50 (1,188), he could jump former Sharks teammates Vincent Damphousse who is at No. 48 with 1,205 points and Bernie Nicholls four points above him at No. 47.

NHL leaders: All-time goals scored Rank Player No. games 21 Mark Recchi 577 22 Mike Bossy 573 23 Mats Sundin 564   Joe Nieuwendyk 564 25 Patrick Marleau 562

Among active NHL players, he ranks first in games played, second in goals, fourth in points, seventh in assists and second in game-winning goals. Along with his 562 goals, the three-time NHL All-Star has accumulated 626 assists and 1,188 points. 

Of his career goals, 109 of them are the all-important game-winner. While he’ll need to win 26 games for the Sharks to tie leader Jaromir Jagr, which would be quite a feat, he could move up to a tie for fourth with Hall of Famers Teemu Selanne, Brett Hull and future honored member, Alex Ovechkin.

NHL leaders: All-time game-winning goals Rank Player No. games 1 Jaromir Jagr 135 2 Gordie Howe 121 3 Phil Esposito 118 4 Teemu Selanne 110   Alex Ovechkin 110   Brett Hull 110 7 Brendan Shanahan 109   Patrick Marleau 109

Marleau’s name also litters the NHL’s Top 25 when it comes to playoff records. He’s tied at No. 24 with Zdeno Chara for games played (195), ranks No. 14 for goals (72), is tied with six players for power-play goals (24) and is tied with Jagr at No. 9 for postseason game-winners (16). He could move up these leaderboards too but only time will tell if the Sharks will return to the postseason in 2021.