SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Patrick Marleau is taking his talents to the city of Toronto.
After weighing competitive offers from the Sharks, the Anaheim Ducks and the Dallas Stars for more than 24 hours, Marleau made his decision Sunday afternoon, signing a three-year contract worth $18.75 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending his 19-year run in San Jose.
The Sharks had reportedly offered Marleau a two-year contract worth roughly $9 million, but the team was unwilling to add a third year, forcing the 37-year-old to make a decision: uproot his family and leave the organization he joined as a 17-year-old in 1997 or stay and give the squad a hometown discount.
"I think I've worn out a few carpets pacing around the house," Marleau said, describing the difficulty of making the decision to leave the Sharks. "But I'm extremely excited and happy to be part of the Maple Leafs organization. It's definitely an honor to be able to call myself a Maple Leaf, obviously being a Canadian-born player. This decision took me a quite a while to come to, but I made it, I'm happy with it and I can't wait to get started."
The Sharks were hesitant to offer Marleau a three-year deal in large part because they signed defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and goalie Martin Jones to eight and six-year contract extensions worth a combined $ 90.5 million Saturday, severely restricting their cap flexibility beyond the 2017-18 season.
Joe Thornton, who was lobbying for Marleau's return to the club, agreed to sign a one-year contract worth close to $6.5 million with the Sharks Saturday. The deal has yet to be finalized.
Marleau, who was drafted by the Sharks with the No. 2 pick in the 1997 NHL draft, leaves town as the Sharks all-time leader in points (1,082), goals (508), games played (1,493), power play goals (160) and game-winning goals (98). He reached the 20-goal plateau in 14 of his 19 seasons in Teal.
After a topsy-turvy 2015-16 campaign in which he reportedly asked for a trade, Marleau bounced back with a 27-goal season last year, scoring four times in one period against the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 23 and becoming the 45th player in NHL history to notch 500 goals on Feb. 2.
"The organization's been first class to me over the 19 years that I've been here," Marleau said, expressing his gratitude toward the Sharks organization. "My wife and four boys, it's extremely tough to finally pull the trigger and have them move to a new country from one coast to the other. But everybody here in our house is extremely excited to be part of the Maple Leafs and where they're going."
Marleau's decision to join the Maple Leafs isn't entirely surprising considering his longstanding relationship with head coach Mike Babcock.
The veteran forward played for Babcock when he led Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games and the Maple Leafs head coach reportedly lobbied for the veteran forward's inclusion on the 2014 Canadian Olympic team, as well.
When rumors were swirling back in 2015 that Marleau could be on the trading block, Babcock, who was the Detroit Red Wings head coach at the time, said: "Patty's a good, good man and if you don't want him, just call us... Good player to me. We'll take him."
Apparently, the respect is mutual.
Marleau expressed great appreciation toward Babcock's willingness to go to bat for him with Team Canada in 2014 and it seemed to produce his best effort during the Sochi Games.
"When somebody does that, you want to help prove them right," Marleau said on Feb. 26, 2015. "For all of the things that he's done over his coaching career, you can't help but to respect somebody like that, and listen to him, and go through a wall for him. I'm very pleased and honored that he wanted me on his team."
By signing Marleau, the Maple Leafs are adding speed and a veteran presence to a squad loaded with young talent. The Maple Leafs reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year even though their top three players, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, were all rookies.
Marleau will give the team additional scoring punch beyond its youthful core.
The signing also opens up a glaring hole in the Sharks roster as Marleau has been a staple in the team's top-six for years. At this point, the Sharks could use their depth of talent in the AHL to pull off a trade or attempt to replace him by signing a veteran forward like Jaromir Jagr, Thomas Vanek or Jerome Iginla on the free agent market.
The best available free agent is Montreal Canadiens forward Alexander Radulov, but signing him seems improbable considering that he's also holding out for a multi-year contract.
