Jeremy Roenick has been critical of Patrick Marleau before.
And yesterday JR was at it again, questioning the desire of his former San Jose teammate in a blog posting for NHL.com that touched on the struggling Sharks.
You’re not going to get any consistency out of Patrick Marleau because he can’t find it in him to get angry, mad, ticked off enough to help lead this team out of the doldrums.
Right now I’d be scared. I’d be mad. I’d be huffing like a raging bull right now. I’m not sure that Patrick Marleau can do that. I don’t know if he has it in him to bring this team into the playoffs. I’d like to see him get angry, show some passion.
Marleau is pointless (statistically speaking) in his last four games, a stretch that’s seen the Sharks score just four times and win just once. But clearly JR’s comments aren’t restricted to recent history.
Last May, Roenick was asked by the Mercury News if there was something personal between him and Marleau.
“This is totally on the record,” Roenick said. “I am not a Patrick Marleau fan. I’m not going to pretend to be. But I also will tell you that he is an incredible, incredible talent. I wish I had the talent he has. If I had the talent Patrick Marleau has, I wouldn’t even know what I could have done. But I have my opinion of his determination and effort level, especially with the amount of money that he makes. I respect people’s opinions, but I have one, too… This is not an act. This is me speaking my mind. Patrick Marleau has a lot of fans. I just happen to be not one of them.”