Former Leaf to be honoured this season and will have his jersey retired
The time-honoured tradition of a Hall-of-Fame-worthy player having his jersey retired and his number raised to the rafters is something that has been around since 1934, when the Toronto Maple Leafs retired Ace Bailey's #6. Now another former Leaf will get the treatment, but it won't be in Toronto.
The San Jose Sharks announced today that the team would retire Patrick Marleau's number 12 to the rafters on February 25th before their tilt against the Chicago Blackhawks. This will mark the first time in San Jose Sharks history that they will retire a number. I'd imagine Jumbo Joe's #19 won't be too far behind.
Marleau didn't return to the NHL for the 2021-22 season. In May, he officially announced his retirement. He was the second overall pick in the 1997 draft. Marleau played 19 years with the Sharks before signing in Toronto, where he played two seasons in the blue and white before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes. He was subsequently bought out of the final year of his deal by the Canes.
At the end of his career, he played eight games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. After that, he signed with the Sharks for the 2021 season. Marleau played 23 years in the NHL. He is the NHL's all-time games played leader, playing in 1,779 games. He scored 566 goals and 631 assists over that span.
Marleau made one Stanley Cup final appearance in 2016 and is a two-time Olympic gold medal winner with Canada in 2010 and 2014.
Congrats, Patty, on having your number retired and all the best in the next chapter of your life. I can imagine that the Sharks have something very special in store for ya on February 25th.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 28 | 305 ANSWERS Former Leaf to be honoured this season and will have his jersey retired Do you like or dislike players having their numbers retired? | ||
| I like it but there are too many of them | 153 | 50.2 % |
| I dislike it, except for the rare exception | 76 | 24.9 % |
| Don't care either way | 76 | 24.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
