San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau is in the rumor mill today, from a conversation Elliotte Friedman had on Sportsnet 590.
“One of the names we’re hearing out there is Patrick Marleau. Now, he’s got a no-move clause and there’s zero evidence the Sharks have asked him to waive it, so I can’t say who is pushing for it, but his name is definitely out there."
(Sportsnet)
Damien Cox went on to talk about something but I stopped playing the video at that point because I don’t really care what Damien Cox has to say.
Anyway.
Great, another Marleau rumor.
History has taught us that Patrick Marleau isn’t waving his no-trade clause to go anywhere. That’s been well documented. So why is this coming out right now? Why would Friedman mention Patrick Marleau? Elliotte Friedman is one of the more well respected, basically the #2 behind Bob McKenzie, in the hockey world, but Marleau’s desires have been covered extensively since the beginning of last year when San Jose started to become the Western Conference’s Toronto Maple Leafs – and by that I mean dysfunctional circus.
Let’s pause for a minute and assess the situation in San Jose and decide whether or not it makes sense to trade Patrick Marleau.
1) He doesn’t want to play anywhere else.
2) The Sharks can’t trade him unless he agrees which, according to #1, isn’t likely.
3) The Sharks are built to win now.
4) Marleau is rebounding statistically, which only helps #3.
5) READ NUMBER ONE
Marleau isn’t going anywhere.
I love Elliotte Friedman, but, seriously, why would the San Jose Sharks trade Patrick Marleau right now while they are trying to be a contender? You don’t add Joel Ward, Martin Jones and Paul Martin, then trade one of your best offensive players, if you’re going to make a run for the Cup. It just doesn’t make sense.
I’m sure Doug Wilson would have loved Marleau to have this production last year – so he could trade him and buy himself more time as GM – but that’s not the case. He’s having this year during a time when Couture is out and the Sharks are pushing to win a Cup. The window is small and Marleau producing is an important piece of the puzzle.
If the San Jose Sharks trade Patrick Marleau it won’t be because they want to win now, it will be because Doug Wilson admits he’s failed as a GM and is conceding defeat. That is counter-intuitive to what he’s done during the offseason, so I highly doubt that’s going to happen. Marleau is a Shark, and he’s a productive one so deal with it.
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