Even at the age of 37, Patrick Marleau scored 27 goals and was an effective offensive threat. Now, as Craig Custance of The Athletic reports, quite a few teams are showing interest in the pending UFA. Custance lists Toronto, Anaheim, New York (Rangers), Carolina, Nashville and Los Angeles in the mix for him, also noting that San Jose remains interested in bringing him back. Marleau was ranked #6 in our list of the Top 50 Free Agents, expecting him to eventually return to San Jose to finish his career.
Marleau broke the 500 goal mark this season, giving him a good shot for the Hall of Fame when he retires. There are only five non-active members of the 500-club not to be inducted yet: Keith Tkachuk, Pat Verbeek, Pierre Turgeon, Jeremy Roenick and Peter Bondra. While Marleau likely has more in common with those five than many of the players ahead of him, another couple of seasons like 2016-17 and he’d be pushing his way into the top-25 all-time. He’s also one of the most durable players in recent years, playing every game of the last eight straight seasons and at least 74 contests in each of his 19 years, save for the lockout-shortened 2012-13.
On any of the teams listed above he would be a big addition, giving speed to a slow team like Los Angeles or experience to a young team like Toronto. No matter which way he goes, his first step and uncanny scoring ability will be on display once again. Should San Jose not come to an agreement with him, it will be an odd sight to see him in something other than a Sharks sweater. Since being selected second overall in 1997 Marleau has played in 1,493 regular season games and 177 playoff contests, all for the same franchise.