Ex-Penguins forward Patrick Marleau re-signs with the Sharks

Former Penguins forward Patrick Marleau returned to the team for which he spent the bulk of his career.

On Tuesday, the San Jose Sharks announced they re-signed the future Hockey Hall of Famer to a one-year contract.

According to the Associated Press, Marleau’s salary will be $700,000.

The No. 2 overall pick in the 1997 draft staged at the Civic Arena, Marleau is the Sharks’ career leader in most categories, including goals (518) and points (1,102).

With the Sharks bound to miss the postseason, Marleau was dealt at the trade deadline Feb. 24 to the Penguins in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2021.

Marleau played in eight regular season games and recorded two points (one goal, one assist) with the Penguins before the NHL halted play March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

During the Penguins’ defeat at the hands the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five qualifying round series in August, Marleau appeared in all four games and was held without a point while primarily playing a third-line role. He averaged 10 minutes, 42 seconds of ice time in the postseason, second-lowest on the team.

The NHL’s second-oldest player at 41 (Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara is 43), Marleau is 45 games short of surpassing Hockey Hall of Fame forward Gordie Howe’s career record of 1,767 games.

Marleau does hold one record he would like to cut ties with. He has played the most combined regular season and postseason games (1,918) in NHL history without having won the Stanley Cup.

“I still love playing,” Marleau said in a video conference with media. “I still love the competition. I’m still going after my dream of winning the Stanley Cup and I’m still able to get out there and play and have fun and I think that’s the thing that keeps me going.”

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