Patrick Marleau remains hopeful he’ll still get shot at Stanley Cup with Penguins
Patrick Marleau is stuck some 2,500 miles from Pittsburgh, and the 3 ½ weeks he has been separated from the Pittsburgh Penguins now dwarfs the brief time he has played for them.
Asked Monday about his tenure with the Penguins, Marleau began by using the past tense — twice. Marleau was speaking as part of a video call with media that featured hobnobbing with two former Toronto Maple Leafs teammates, during which at least one of his sons looked on while wearing a San Jose Sharks T-shirt.
In other words, there was little surrounding Marleau that suggested he was convinced he would be back with the Penguins for a run at what would be the 40-year-old forward’s first Stanley Cup.
Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic that has halted the sports world very much leaves in doubt the idea the NHL will resume this season. And with Marleau on an expiring contract upon being acquired Feb. 24 from the Sharks in exchange for a conditional third-round pick, it is possible his Penguins tenure might be limited to eight games.
“The short amount of time I spent there was great,” Marleau said. “The guys were great and a great opportunity for myself to get another shot at winning a Cup with the Penguins. And everything has been great with the organization. They have helped with every step of the way.
“I am looking forward to getting out of the house — like I’m sure everyone else is — and get back to normal and get out there and start playing again.”
The NHL has run Zoom calls in recent weeks with a multiple-player format and questions originating exclusively from an NHL staff member.
Most of the calls have featured four prominent players from divisional rivals. Monday’s call included Marleau and Maple Leafs 22-year-old stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. The impetus for this particular call was obvious: It was well-publicized in Toronto — the epicenter for hockey media — that the three had formed an odd-couple-esque friendship after Marleau signed with the Maple Leafs in July 2017.
Marleau made his NHL debut the same year Matthews and Marner were born (1997).
Appropriately, the three of them joked around like the teenagers two of them were the year Marleau joined their team.
Back then, it was Marleau as a 20-year veteran surrounded by kids.
Monday, it was Marleau the 40-year-old father surrounded by kids — his. Like most of the rest of the country, Marleau and his family are under a stay-at-home order.
“I’m not gonna lie,” he said, “the home schooling thing has been a little tough on me. But we’re going good this week. They are off, so it’s a good week to get a break here and regroup for that next week of home schooling.”
Marleau has a goal, an assist, an even plus-minus rating and so-so possession metrics while playing about 15 ½ minutes as a third-liner over his eight games with the Penguins.
Though these Penguins are a veteran-laden bunch far different from the young Maple Leafs of 2017, this past month still represents a rare foray joining a different team. Since being taken No. 2 overall by San Jose in 1997, he only twice has not played for the Sharks: two seasons with Toronto and eight games with the Penguins.
“For me, I kind of just sit back a little bit and the first few days just watch what’s going on and how guys interact,” Marleau said of joining a new team.
Patrick Marleau, asked for his message to NHL fans, while on a Zoom call with media. pic.twitter.com/3FHQWxsEdH
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 6, 2020
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford indicated Marleau was sought as much for his intangibles as for his skills as a speedy, versatile forward.
Matthews, a former No. 1 overall pick like Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, spoke of Marleau’s influence on a team.
“I was kind of watching (Marleau’s) routine and … just seeing how passionate he is about hockey and the way he prepared,” Matthews said. “He kind of does his own thing in a good way. So it was real nice to have him around on and off the ice, someone to have conversations with and be a backboard with for things as far as life goes and hockey goes.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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