WHL alumnus Marleau announces retirement from professional hockey
Seattle Thunderbirds alumnus and NHL games played leader Patrick Marleau has announced his retirement following a 23-year professional career.
Marleau made the announcement in an article in The Players Tribune Tuesday.
“Hockey has always brought me a happiness I can’t put into words. It’s the smell of the rink, the laughs with my teammates, the competition, the thrill of victory, and yes, even the sorrow of defeat that fuels the fire to go out and try again,” Marleau wrote.
The product of Aneroid, Sask. spent two seasons (1995-96 and 1996-97) with the Thunderbirds, compiling 199 WHL regular season points (83G-116A) before being selected with the second-overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft by the San Jose Sharks.
He was named to the Western Conference All-Star Team and Canadian Hockey League Second All-Star Team in 1997, a year in which he helped Seattle reach the WHL Championship series.
“Seattle is where I began to realize, Hey, maybe I could actually make it to the NHL. Maybe this hockey thing could be my job,” Marleau noted.
The three-time NHL All-Star appeared in a League-record 1,779 regular season games, scoring 20 or more goals 15 times including a 44-goal campaign with San Jose in 2009-10.
Marleau registered 1,197 points (566G-631A) over his NHL career with the Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.
He spent 21 of his 23 seasons with San Jose.
With the Sharks, Marleau won a Western Conference Championship in 2016 as part of his 195 career Stanley Cup Playoffs appearances.
Internationally, Marleau won gold with Canada at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, the 2003 IIHF World Championship and 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
“Thank you, hockey.
For the lessons. The laughs. The tears. You let me live out my dreams.”
Patrick Marleau announces his retirement from the @NHL. https://t.co/US3eJn9cNg
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) May 10, 2022