Penguins A to Z: It's now or never for Patrick Marleau
While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.
Player: Patrick Marleau
Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Age: 40
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 215 pounds
2019-20 NHL statistics: 66 games, 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists)
Contract: One year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $700,000. Pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.
Acquired: Trade, Feb. 24, 2020
(Note: The Penguins acquired Marleau from the San Jose Sharks for a conditional third-round draft pick. If the Penguins win the Stanley Cup this season, that pick upgrades a second-rounder.)
This season: Even though he has spent the vast majority of his career on the other side of the continent, so many of the key junctures in Patrick Marleau’s marvelous career have led back to Pittsburgh.
First, he was picked by the Sharks No. 2 overall in the 1997 draft staged in the Civic Arena.
His 1,000th career point came with an assist for the Sharks at what was then known as Consol Energy Center on Nov. 21, 2015.
Later that same season, he got a chance to play for the Stanley Cup for the first time but lost in six games to the Penguins.
This past February, he was given perhaps his best, and probably last, chance to win the Stanley Cup, this time with the Penguins.
Marleau isn’t expected to be an All-Star franchise pillar that he was for the San Jose Sharks. The Penguins already have two of those. But he still has the skating ability required of an NHL-er in 2020. And with more than two decades of experience, he has the guile to be an effective defensive force. That’s why the Penguins acquired him.
Marleau simply is being asked to be a contributor with the Penguins. And that’s been a pretty generous way to describe his play during his brief tenure with the Penguins thus far. In eight games following the trade, he had two points (one goal, one assist) before the NHL halted play March 12.
The future: It’s basically now (how ever “now” is defined these days) or never for Marleau as it pertains to the Penguins. He is strictly a rental and will not be a member of the Penguins next season (whenever that might be). Regardless of potentially winning the Stanley Cup title, he very well could retire having spent 22 seasons in the NHL.
Assuming the NHL returns this season, Marleau’s place in the lineup is a bit of a head scratcher.
By the time the season came to a halt, Marleau was working the left wing of the second line. With Jake Guentzel’s presumed recovery from a right shoulder injury, he and Jason Zucker are expected to man the port side of the top two lines. Additionally, the Penguins seem determined to use Jared McCann on the left wing of a third line with Nick Bjugstad at center and Patric Hornqvist on right wing. Zach Aston-Reese is virtually bolted onto the left side of a fourth line with center Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev on right wing.
While he has primarily played left wing in the latter stages of his career, Marleau has plenty of experience at center. He could dress ahead of the off-injured Bjugstad to fill out the third line.
Regardless, even if everyone is healthy, always a dubious presumption with this team, Marleau is one of this team’s 12 best forwards, even if he’s at the end of the line.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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