SAN JOSE, Calif. — Patrick Marleau, the NHL’s all-time leader in games played, will make an announcement next week 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 Tuesday 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 a record 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 franchise leader in several individual statistical categories, 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 his plaque in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and likely a spot in the rafters of the Shark Tank for his No. 12 jersey number.
Marleau, widely known as “Mr. Shark,” played 19 seasons with the franchise from 1997 to 2017 before he signed a three-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent. Marleau played 164 games in two seasons with Toronto, collecting 84 points, before he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes.
With Marleau seeking a return to San Jose, Carolina bought out the final year of his contract.
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 play-in round of the NHL postseason that summer.
With Howe’s games-played 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 with the team he became synonymous with. 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 T-Mobile Arena, Marleau, still just 41 at the time, dressed for his 1,768th game.
“I’m extremely proud that we were able to celebrate what he accomplished this year in a Sharks uniform,” former Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said last May. “He is an iconic player and what he accomplished, I don’t think he’s even understood the enormity of what he’s done, breaking Gordie Howe’s record.”
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, behind only 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.”
Marleau, though, was not re-signed by the Sharks, who sought to give more opportunities to younger players. Marleau was also not signed by any of the NHL’s other 31 teams as a free agent last offseason.
Marleau scored 21 or more goals in 15 of his 23 seasons, including a single-season best 44 goals in 2009-10. He had a career-high 86 points in 2005-06, the first season in which he was a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, presented to the player “adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.”
Marleau was also a Lady Byng finalist for the 2013-14 season and was a finalist last season for the Masterton Trophy, given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. For his career, Marleau averaged over 18 minutes of ice time per game.
