Patrick Marleau may not be wearing a letter on his jersey when the San Jose Sharks open the 2014-2015 season against the LA Kings, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be counted on as a role model for the Sharks young talent. There may not be a player in the league that embodies what it means to be a model professional better than Marleau.
Throughout his career he has been a consistent producer on the score sheet, taken very few penalties that hurt the team and avoided off ice drama that can be toxic to a locker room. Patrick Marleau is the type of professional you want to see your young players emulate. While much has been made about Marleau’s leadership ability, I don’t believe he deserves the criticism in that area. He is a calm veteran presence, and while he may not be very vocal or emotional, that can be a good thing.
One need only look at the LA Kings to see the truth in that claim. When they fell down 3-0 in their series against the Sharks you didn’t see Dustin Brown or Anze Kopitar yelling at their teammates on the bench or getting in fights. They stayed calm, picked everyone up and stuck to their game. Even Jonathan Quick who suffered more than anyone in games 1-3 kept his teammates focused without being too vocal. Every team and every player is different, but Patrick Marleau’s leadership is not the problem in the Sharks locker room.
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Offseason Events
Why the Sharks management would want to take a leadership role from a player like Marleau (or Thornton) is beyond me. However I believe Dave Lozo of Bleacher Report said it best when he called this move a product of Public Relations. Mr. Lozo’s full article can be read here , and it’s certainly accurate based on what we have seen this offseason. Patrick Marleau has been made out to be a problem in the Sharks locker room, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If the Sharks are looking to build a team with more chemistry, then a guy like Marleau should retain at least an alternate captaincy. If anyone deserves to be named a captain over Jumbo Joe the ONLY choice is Joe Pavelski. Thornton and Marleau should both be wearing a letter on their sweater at the start of the season, as I don’t believe Logan Couture has what it takes to make this a close knit team. The LA Kings Jarret Stoll said something that the Sharks management needs to take a look at when they choose the next captain and alternates of this team.
"“That’s honestly the way it will work. Yeah, we all care about each other. There’s no cliques on our team. There’s no some guys going off here, some guys going off there.” -Jarret Stoll"
2014-15 Prediction
Patrick Marleau will prove his doubters wrong again this season whether he has a letter or not. When he was stripped of the captaincy in 2009, he put up 44 goals and 83 points the following season. Expect another big year from the longtime Shark in 2014-2015.
I predict we’ll see him eclipse the 40 goal mark for the second time in his career, as well as perform at a point per game pace. Some people will look at this prediction and brush it off due to Marleau’s age. If Jaromir Jagr can score 67 points at 42 years of age on a New Jersey Devil’s squad that lacks much offensive firepower, then Marleau should be able to play at a point per game pace while 35 at the start of the season. Especially on a team that is absolutely loaded with offensive talent.
Look for Marleau to have a big year to silence his critics and show the San Jose Sharks why he still means more to this team than he’s given credit for.