Sharks GM Doug Wilson did right by at least one of his former superstars and franchise stalwarts, as he traded Patrick Marleau to the contending Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2021 3^rd round pick. This pick will become a 2021 2nd round pick should the Penguins win the 2020 Stanley Cup.

This is probably going to be Marleau’s last chance to win a Stanley Cup as a player in this league, as he currently is 40 years of age. The same can’t be said about their other franchise cornerstone, Joe Thornton, as the Sharks were unable to find a trade partner for Thornton’s services at the deadline. Regardless, this is truly an end of an era in San Jose Sharks hockey, and they will look to turn the page to the next generation of Sharks stars, including Captain Logan Couture, Brent Burns, and Erik Karlsson. The Sharks, however, are not high in the standings hence this trade, as they currently have a 26-33-4 record with 56 points in 63 games. They were 4-6 in their last 10 games and were on a five-game losing streak. They are 2^nd to last in the Western Conference, and their 1^st round pick belongs to the Ottawa Senators. That pick currently has the 4^th best odds at the #1 pick, with a 28.8% chance of it being top 3.

In twelve seasons of data, Patrick Marleau has a -0.02 AB score but has registered negative individual scores in six of his last seven seasons. At 40-years old, Marleau is playing like he still has plenty to contribute. His penalty taken/drawn ratio is an impressive 5:9, and his giveaway/takeaway ratio is an equally impressive 13:26. He has a -5 +/- number on the season, however, which is his only negative statistic that we observe. In 58 games, Marleau has scored 10 goals and registered 10 assists for 20 points. This season, he is playing about 30 seconds less than his previous career average of 16 minutes per game. The fact that he is able to continue playing these minutes at his age is astounding to us, as he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. He makes $700k and is set to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1^st, however; we see him retiring at the end of the season regardless of what the Penguins do in the playoffs.

Marleau will certainly be helpful to a Penguins team that has won multiple Stanley Cups in recent memory, as he will bring more veteran leadership and professionalism to a team that is already loaded in that department. He was a class act in San Jose and was a fan favorite over his 20 seasons of play with the Sharks. Over that span, Marleau scored 518 goals and registered 584 assists for 1,102 points in 1,552 games with the Sharks. He was and still is an unbelievable player and person, and we will certainly see #12 in the rafters of the SAP Center one day in the near future.