After he was selected by the team with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1997 NHL draft, Patrick Marleau went on to play 19 seasons with the San Jose Sharks. During that time he was consistently one of the top players in the league -- and also one of the most underrated -- and put together a career that made him the franchise’s all-time leader in pretty much every major category.
Marleau’s time with the Sharks officially came to an end this summer when he signed a three-year contract in free agency to join the Toronto Maple Leafs, making the 2017-18 season the first one in two decades the Sharks will hit the ice without Marleau.
On Sunday, the Sharks took out a full-page ad in the San Jose Mercury on Sunday to thank Marleau for all of his contributions over the years.
Old school: Full-page ad in Sunday's Merc from #SJSharks thanks Marleau for all he accomplished here. pic.twitter.com/XQ79pcK2gQ
— David Pollak (@PollakOnSharks) July 16, 2017
Overall, Marleau played 1,493 games with the Sharks, scoring 508 goals and recording 574 assists. Along with his consistent production he was also extremely durable, missing more than five games in a season just two times and never more than nine.
The Sharks were never able to win a championship with Marleau, but they did reach four Western Conference Finals and the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. During his time with the Sharks no player in the NHL scored more playoff goals than Marleau’s 68.