The San Jose Sharks aren't gong to be able to get away from the Patrick Marleau trade chatter until general manager Doug Wilson denies the rumors outright or a deal actually goes down. The latter is seeming more and more likely, with the former fading as a possibility quite rapidly.
Marleau stressed his desire to remain in San Jose at the NHL Awards Show earlier this week, speaking to Yahoo! sports about the situation:
We’re looking forward to next year. It’s going to suck having to go through all the 82 games to get back into the playoffs to get to that point to actually do something about it.
He was then asked what kind of circumstance would need to arise to get him to waive his no-trade clause. Marleau had this to say in response to the tough question:
Even if... We haven’t even really talked about that. I haven’t really thought about it.
He went on to add: "I want to play in San Jose. I want to win there."
That might not be an option for the 34-year-old wing. Marleau and team captain Joe Thornton signed contract extensions just five months ago and the obvious intent was to bring the Stanley Cup to San Jose. Blowing a 3-0 lead in the playoffs to the L.A. Kings changed things though, and now it appears that Wilson is shopping the lifer to contenders in the Eastern Conference.
Sharks had approached a few contenders in East, including Penguins about Patrick Marleau for a young impact player in return. No bites yet.
— William DePaoli (@TIOPS_DePaoli) June 24, 2014That scenario makes sense for Wilson if he's serious about the rebuild. It's interesting to see the Pittsburgh Penguins involved in chatter. Would they be willing to move a guy like Beau Bennett for an established top-six winger like Marleau?
Maybe, but Pittsburgh has serious cap issues as it is. They won't be able to re-sign Jussi Jokinen at market value, so how would they squeeze Marleau's monstrous cap hit into the picture for the next three seasons? It seems like the Penguins are going to be a more speed-oriented team under Mike Johnston and that's something that Marleau has plenty of even at his age.
It's a classic scenario in that it makes sense on paper for all parties involved, but the dollars and cents just don't add up here unless the Sharks are willing to eat a substantial portion of Marleau's salary over the life of his current deal.
What other contenders could Wilson have approached outside of the Penguins? Marleau doesn't seem like a fit for the Boston Bruins, but he could be used on the top line if Jarome Iginla doesn't re-sign. Still, imagining Marleau in a black and yellow sweater is strange and Boston doesn't seem like as good of a fit as Pittsburgh.
It's purely speculation, but an interesting dark horse for Marleau's services could be the Montreal Canadiens. They covet speed and seem to be interested in bolstering their top-six. They attempted to do so by acquiring Thomas Vanek for the postseason, but that didn't work out.
Another interesting scenario: Marleau as a Detroit Red Wing. Ken Holland loves his veterans, and while a Sharks/Wings swap would have never gone done a year ago, Detroit is in the Eastern Conference now and could be looking to add another high-end winger to complement the young and rising core. They have a few assets that could interest the Sharks as well, including Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan.
Just a few ideas to roll around on the eve of the draft. The day could get interesting once the dominoes start to fall. Keep it locked to HockeyBuzz.com for the latest rumblings from around the league. As always, feel free to chime in down below with your thoughts.