Patrick Marleau gets a chance to experience a playoff run this season after the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired the forward from the San Jose Sharks for a conditional third-round draft pick.
How did each general manager do in this trade?
Penguins get: F Patrick Marleau
Sharks get: 2021 third-round pick, which becomes a second-round pick if Penguins win the Stanley Cup
Pittsburgh Penguins: A-
It was once unimaginable that Patrick Marleau would play for any other team besides the Sharks, for whom he played during the first 19 seasons of his NHL career. Not anymore. After briefly chasing a Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs (and seeing that dream flame out), Marleau returned to San Jose this season on a veteran's minimum contract. And after the reunion didn't work out -- in part, because the Sharks are having a season from hell -- Marelau is on the move again.
With the Penguins, Marleau has as good a chance as he's ever had to hoist a Cup. GM Jim Rutherford likes his team a lot this season, and rightfully so. After dealing with an unimaginable number of injuries to begin the campaign -- including missing Sidney Crosby for two months, and seeing leading scorer Jake Guentzel bow out in December to season-ending shoulder surgery -- the Pens remained in the playoff picture throughout it all. Not only that, they thrived. It's clear Rutherford wants to reward his team, but also thinks it has the mettle to go all the way.
First, Rutherford added Jason Zucker, a winger he long coveted. Now, it's Marleau.
The 40-year-old Marleau -- one of the oldest players in the league -- hasn't hit 50 points since the 2014-15 season. But he still can play, and he's the best player the Penguins could have brought in for that price (important since they're up against the cap). Marleau has 10 goals through 58 games this season for the futile Sharks. He isn't expected to produce a ton for the Penguins, especially where they slot him in the lineup (expect him to get some fourth-line looks). But he is more talented than the players the Pens have playing there now, so it's an upgrade.
Marleau can play either center or wing, and will be a good veteran presence in the locker room; not that this team needs it, but he will be a fit. The Penguins, who have a weak prospect pool and are already missing their first- and second-round picks in the upcoming draft, now have nine picks over the next two drafts. It's clear the Pens are trying to go all-in, and it's hard to fault them for doing so.
San Jose Sharks: A
It's a lost season for the Sharks. Everything that possibly could go wrong did go wrong. It's been a disaster since October, and that's when they decided to bring back Marleau -- after balking all summer when he was bought out by the Carolina Hurricanes -- looking for an early boost. They did Marleau a favor then, and are getting rewarded for it now.
Marleau isn't the reason the Sharks are in this position as sellers at the NHL trade deadline. He signed for the veteran's minimum of $700,000, which obviously fit under their salary-cap constraints. And that's petty cash to be able to get a third-round pick in return, which could be upgraded to a second-round pick should the Penguins win the Stanley Cup. And those odds aren't too bad.
Not only that, the Sharks are doing Marleau a solid to chase another shot at the Cup. "Although we have had a disappointing season in San Jose, he deserves every opportunity to have a chance at winning a Stanley Cup, and we're happy to help accommodate that," GM Doug Wilson said on Monday. "We wish him the best of luck."
And you shouldn't rule out the possibility of Marleau re-signing in San Jose this summer, should he want another season in the NHL, and should the Sharks want him back. It would be even more poetic if Marleau could finally live out his dream in a Sharks uniform.