Patrick Marleau officially announces his retirement from pro hockey
As most expected, Patrick Marleau will hang up the skates after 23 seasons in the NHL. Marleau made his debut on October 1st, 1997 as the second overall pick for the San Jose Sharks. His final game came on May 12, 2021, also with the Sharks, against the Vegas Golden Knights. Marleau retires as the All Time Leader in NHL games played with 1,779, beating out Gordie Howe's record of 1,767.
Along with his NHL record for games played, Marleau is the Sharks franchise leader in games played, goals, game winning goals, powerplay goals, and short handed goals. In the playoffs, Marleau owns the franchise records for games played, goals, points, power play goals, short handed goals, game winning goals and overtime goals. In short, Patrick Marleau is the best Shark of all time, and one of the absolute best players to never win a Stanley Cup.
Retiring without a Cup will sting for Marleau without a doubt but I'm sure the Olympic Gold Medals he won as part of Team Canada in 2010 and 2014 will dull that pain. Marleau was also selected for the NHL All-Star game 3 times.
Marleau played the large majority of his career as a San Jose Shark, but also laced up the skates with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins. During his 2 year tenure with the Leafs, he was an integral part of the leadership group that helped to mentor Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews through the beginning of their NHL careers. Matthews honoured Marleau at the 2019 All-Star Game in San Jose, removing his Leafs jersey to reveal Marleau's #12 underneath. A gesture that was loved by the crowd in San Jose.
Marleau will be remembered as one of the classiest players in the NHL and will no doubt see his name added to the Hockey Hall of Fame. All of us at Maple Leafs insider wish Patrick and his family nothing but the best in his retirement. Marleau announced his retirement via a letter in the Player's Tribune titled "Thank You Hockey" which you can read below
| POLL | ||
MAI 10 | 284 ANSWERS Patrick Marleau officially announces his retirement from pro hockey Does Patrick Marleau belong in the Hall of Fame? | ||
| Definitely | 143 | 50.4 % |
| No | 30 | 10.6 % |
| He'll be in there in time, but not first ballot | 111 | 39.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
