Confirmed Signing with Link: [SJS] Patrick Marleau signs with the Sharks (1 year, $700K)

[Quid Pro Clowe]

Man he really does not want to retire with a Stanley Cup on his resume.



He's still playing 20+ a night and finished with 14 points last year. Still somewhat effective.

Also a great mentor for McAvoy.

Like he'd have a better shot in Chicago. Haven't won a real playoff series in half a decade.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Would be really sad if he does.

Why?

 

[Dicky113]

Gordie Howe once had a hole drilled into his skull to keep him from dying of a brain hemorrhage. He was conscious while they performed the procedure. That was when he was 21.

That was the same year he shredded the cartilage in his knee (for the first time). By the end of his career he'd had multiple major knee surgeries, at a time when they simply removed the cartilage and sewed you back up. He played over 30 years with no cartilage in either knee, and finally had double replacement surgery in retirement... a retirement forced by his inability to walk properly because his knees were simply non-functional.

He had literally hundreds of stitches in his face. In 1964 Sports Illustrated sat down with him and tried to count them all. They stopped at 300. At that time, he had lost exactly a dozen teeth (so far).

That was 16 years before he retired.

He broke his nose 14 times (that we know of).

He broke his wrists so many times that his wristbones were labeled "fragmentary", leaving him effectively a one-handed player at the end of his career. If he weren't ambidextrous that may have been career-ending by itself.

He played through a broken collarbone that went un-diagnosed, until it was broken a second time. At that point he was advised to take a couple of games off.

He played with torn cartilage in both sides of his ribcage. At the same time.

He blocked a Bobby Hull slapshot, which hurt a lot. When he went to change socks he realized that the impact had split his shin all the way down to the bone.

He blocked a different Hull slapshot, shattering his toe. Since nothing can really be done for a broken toe other than pain management, he was told to just leave his skate on (else it would swell and he'd have to leave the game).

He was kicked in the head during practice so hard that it detached a retina. He continued to play, but took it easy on the doctor's advice that another hard blow to the head would leave him permanently blind in that eye.

He also suffered another broken foot, a shoulder dislocation, and a broken ankle... that we know of.

In that context, Howe went through a span of 23 seasons where he missed 1 or fewer game in nineteen of them. In 1980, playing at age 51, he played all eighty games of the NHL season. Only 3 other players on his team matched that. They were 22, 25, and 26.

In terms of travel, Howe's career began in the era of 22-hour train rides and ended with full coast-to-coast air travel... at a time when LA-to-NYC took 8 hours, not 5.

In no aspect was the game ever easier on Howe than it was on Marleau.

I couldn’t read this without thinking “ to Bill Brasky”

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Mileage has plenty to do with it when the amount travelled now is significantly larger than it was in Howe's time.

Can you explain what you mean, here? Because I do not understand how distance is the primary factor here when we are talking about two different modes of transportation. It's like comparing driving four hours compared to taking a horse carriage half the distance.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Can you explain what you mean, here? Because I do not understand how distance is the primary factor here when we are talking about two different modes of transportation. It's like comparing driving four hours compared to taking a horse carriage half the distance.

They travel longer distances now than they did, especially Marleau. Travel time only accounts for so much because jet lag is a thing. Howe mostly didn't have to go past the Central time zone. Players do that now on the regular obviously.

 

[Nighthock]

So another free 3rd rounder at the deadline. Sweet.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Breaking Howe's record should make Marleau a shoe in for the hall.

 

[PensPlz]

700k too much.

 

[DrSteveBrule]

700k too much.

Silly. He'll be just fine on the Sharks 4th line.

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

Why?

Charity 4th line minutes to limp past a record held by the literal GOAT is kinda dumb. Not to mention Howe's retirement and WHA time would more than cancel out any of the Marleau fans chirping about his missed games due to the lockouts.

I like Marleau, a lot actually, but if he wants to stay in the league/win a cup, he needs to do the Justin Williams/Mike Fisher thing and just sit out until the TDL and then sign with a contender and not waste a roster spot that should go to an up and comer.

 

[LeHab]

Also has a 854 games iron man streak.

 

[NMK11]

Wish the pens could have done better while he was here, dude deserves a cup and he and his wife seem like great people.

Wouldn't be totally surprised if he gets traded to a contender at the deadline, so sort of an investment for the Sharks in that case. That being said, not sure he'd be in the top 12 on most contenders, so maybe it doesn't happen.

 

[Frosty415]

Hell yeah

#boomersquad

 

[GreatSaveEssensa]

To ruin your joke, that is not true. Patty was a little underwhelming and very inconsistent until the arrival of Thornton.

Ahh crap....thats why I’ll never be a comedian

 

[HabsQC]

Charity 4th line minutes to limp past a record held by the literal GOAT is kinda gay. Not to mention Howe's retirement and WHA time would more than cancel out any of the Marleau fans chirping about his missed games due to the lockouts.

I like Marleau, a lot actually, but if he wants to stay in the league/win a cup, he needs to do the Justin Williams/Mike Fisher thing and just sit out until the TDL and then sign with a contender and not waste a roster spot that should go to an up and comer.

1. NHL teams don't sign players based on emotions or records, if he signed, it's because he is able to help them.

2. I think we all agree that how Howe did it was much more impressive because of the shorter seasons and other reasons you mentionned. Though if Marleau has the record, he has the record, no asterisk of any kind. If it were easy to do with 82 games, someone would've done it by now.

3. Saying "kinda gay" looks pretty bad nowadays. Discredited your post at the very beginning IMO.

 

[matt trick]

I can’t believe some think that Marleau breaking the record in any way devalues Howe’s accomplishments. It’s a great accomplishment for Patty, but Howe’s story includes several hundred game in the WHA, it’s not comparable.

This speaks volumes to Marleau’s ability to stay healthy and relevant for 20+ years in the modern game. It’s a remarkable story, not Howe-worthy, but unfortunately for some in this thread, it will prove to be hall worthy. I hope he limps on for another 5 years if he gets to lift the cup as a player in SJ or anywhere else. I guarantee Patty would trade the hall and the record for a cup.

 

[PhilThrillPill]

He was an essential part of the Pens 3rd line in the Playoffs!






That sucked so bad... they got less minutes than the "fourth line".

 

[Sonofamitch]

Charity 4th line minutes to limp past a record held by the literal GOAT is kinda gay. Not to mention Howe's retirement and WHA time would more than cancel out any of the Marleau fans chirping about his missed games due to the lockouts.

I like Marleau, a lot actually, but if he wants to stay in the league/win a cup, he needs to do the Justin Williams/Mike Fisher thing and just sit out until the TDL and then sign with a contender and not waste a roster spot that should go to an up and comer.

Really dude it’s 2020 and your using language like that. Grow up. Can’t take any point you make seriously after that slur

 

[Vagrant]

it's so weird how a player can play for so long and not win a championship, make an all star team, win any major awards, etc. and still probably make the hall of fame.

 

[kaiser matias]

I think people exaggerate how impressive what Howe did was. It was certainly impressive but his era was easier on the body than really the past 30 years. The travel and training are the biggest differences that make it harder to last currently. It's still impressive what Howe did and nobody is going to confuse Marleau with Howe as a talent but 22 years now in the league is a lot harder than 22 years then.

This is a bit of an exaggeration in itself. When Howe retired the first time in 1972, he had played 1687 games. Second place on the list was his teammate Alex Delvecchio, at 1462, then Harry Howell at 1338. Considering seasons were 70 games long at the time, that means Howe had over three full seasons of games played over second place, and nearly five over third place. Go up to 1980 and Howe's second retirement, and he's at 1767 games, while Delvecchio is still second, at 1550, with Johnny Bucyk third at 1540. So Howe's lead is still roughly three seasons over second and third place.

In shorty, if it was that much easier, Howe would not have such a lead over his contemporaries. There would be a lot more closer together, as is the case when you get down the list. What Howe did is impressive, and to pass it off as easier due to travel (Howe may have played most of his career in the Original Six, but still spent 6 years in a cross-continental league), and training (I'd argue it helps, rather than hinders, players today, seeing how they do train at all), is to discredit a feat that has remained unmatched in the previous four decades.

 

[kaiser matias]

Gordie Howe once had a hole drilled into his skull to keep him from dying of a brain hemorrhage. He was conscious while they performed the procedure. That was when he was 21.

That was the same year he shredded the cartilage in his knee (for the first time). By the end of his career he'd had multiple major knee surgeries, at a time when they simply removed the cartilage and sewed you back up. He played over 30 years with no cartilage in either knee, and finally had double replacement surgery in retirement... a retirement forced by his inability to walk properly because his knees were simply non-functional.

He had literally hundreds of stitches in his face. In 1964 Sports Illustrated sat down with him and tried to count them all. They stopped at 300. At that time, he had lost exactly a dozen teeth (so far).

That was 16 years before he retired.

He broke his nose 14 times (that we know of).

He broke his wrists so many times that his wristbones were labeled "fragmentary", leaving him effectively a one-handed player at the end of his career. If he weren't ambidextrous that may have been career-ending by itself.

He played through a broken collarbone that went un-diagnosed, until it was broken a second time. At that point he was advised to take a couple of games off.

He played with torn cartilage in both sides of his ribcage. At the same time.

He blocked a Bobby Hull slapshot, which hurt a lot. When he went to change socks he realized that the impact had split his shin all the way down to the bone.

He blocked a different Hull slapshot, shattering his toe. Since nothing can really be done for a broken toe other than pain management, he was told to just leave his skate on (else it would swell and he'd have to leave the game).

He was kicked in the head during practice so hard that it detached a retina. He continued to play, but took it easy on the doctor's advice that another hard blow to the head would leave him permanently blind in that eye.

He also suffered another broken foot, a shoulder dislocation, and a broken ankle... that we know of.

In that context, Howe went through a span of 23 seasons where he missed 1 or fewer game in nineteen of them. In 1980, playing at age 51, he played all eighty games of the NHL season. Only 3 other players on his team matched that. They were 22, 25, and 26.

In terms of travel, Howe's career began in the era of 22-hour train rides and ended with full coast-to-coast air travel... at a time when LA-to-NYC took 8 hours, not 5.

In no aspect was the game ever easier on Howe than it was on Marleau.

I just wrote something on this from a different angle, but same argument. Howe retired 40 years ago, and was at his peak 60 years ago. People are far to removed from it to fully understand what he was like.

 

[Natey]

it's so weird how a player can play for so long and not win a championship, make an all star team, win any major awards, etc. and still probably make the hall of fame.

He played in 3 All-Star games.

 

[Tacitus Kilgore]

1. NHL teams don't sign players based on emotions or records, if he signed, it's because he is able to help them.

2. I think we all agree that how Howe did it was much more impressive because of the shorter seasons and other reasons you mentionned. Though if Marleau has the record, he has the record, no asterisk of any kind. If it were easy to do with 82 games, someone would've done it by now.

3. Saying "kinda gay" looks pretty bad nowadays. Discredited your post at the very beginning IMO.

Can Introduce you to Jack Johnson

 

[KCC]

Breaking Howe's record should make Marleau a shoe in for the hall.

He doesn't deserve to be in the HOF but probably will get in eventually. Will take years though.

 

[North Cole]

Gordie Howe once had a hole drilled into his skull to keep him from dying of a brain hemorrhage. He was conscious while they performed the procedure. That was when he was 21.

That was the same year he shredded the cartilage in his knee (for the first time). By the end of his career he'd had multiple major knee surgeries, at a time when they simply removed the cartilage and sewed you back up. He played over 30 years with no cartilage in either knee, and finally had double replacement surgery in retirement... a retirement forced by his inability to walk properly because his knees were simply non-functional.

He had literally hundreds of stitches in his face. In 1964 Sports Illustrated sat down with him and tried to count them all. They stopped at 300. At that time, he had lost exactly a dozen teeth (so far).

That was 16 years before he retired.

He broke his nose 14 times (that we know of).

He broke his wrists so many times that his wristbones were labeled "fragmentary", leaving him effectively a one-handed player at the end of his career. If he weren't ambidextrous that may have been career-ending by itself.

He played through a broken collarbone that went un-diagnosed, until it was broken a second time. At that point he was advised to take a couple of games off.

He played with torn cartilage in both sides of his ribcage. At the same time.

He blocked a Bobby Hull slapshot, which hurt a lot. When he went to change socks he realized that the impact had split his shin all the way down to the bone.

He blocked a different Hull slapshot, shattering his toe. Since nothing can really be done for a broken toe other than pain management, he was told to just leave his skate on (else it would swell and he'd have to leave the game).

He was kicked in the head during practice so hard that it detached a retina. He continued to play, but took it easy on the doctor's advice that another hard blow to the head would leave him permanently blind in that eye.

He also suffered another broken foot, a shoulder dislocation, and a broken ankle... that we know of.

In that context, Howe went through a span of 23 seasons where he missed 1 or fewer game in nineteen of them. In 1980, playing at age 51, he played all eighty games of the NHL season. Only 3 other players on his team matched that. They were 22, 25, and 26.

In terms of travel, Howe's career began in the era of 22-hour train rides and ended with full coast-to-coast air travel... at a time when LA-to-NYC took 8 hours, not 5.

In no aspect was the game ever easier on Howe than it was on Marleau.

Its honestly hilarious how much athletes are pampered compared to back in the day. Nobody did it as long as Howe, and nobody was as close to as tough. To day it was harder for marleau...

Good for Marleau I guess, but it won't mean much to me if he breaks the record. I'm sure we'll see more players in the next few decades reach similar numbers, if just by virtue of season lengths.