Patrick Marleau Stripped of Captaincy

August 18, 2009 – Dr. Jeff

Patrick Marleau has lost the title of San Jose Sharks captain. Marleau has been criticized over the past few seasons regarding the Sharks poor playoff record. The 2008-09 season began with high expectations, GM Doug Wilson constructed a roster that was believed by many people to be the team that would eventually win the cup. Wilson brought in former cup winners Rob Blake and Dan Boyle, as well as resigning veteran Jeremy Roenick.

The San Jose Sharks had Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau playing center on the top two lines, and Evgeni Nabokov was expected to be one of the elite goaltenders opening the 2008-09 NHL season. They did win the Presidents Trophy, leading the league with 117 points, but were eliminated in the first round by the eighth place Anaheim Ducks. Marleau and Thornton were only able to combine for a mere 3 goals and 8 points during the six game series.

So what happened?

Coach Todd McLellan has not only stripped Marleau of the “C”, he has stripped all letters from the roster, and that includes Thornton’s role as assistant captain. Mike Grier was the other assistant, who recently signed a 1 year contract with the Buffalo Sabres. “As of now,” McLellan told the Mercury News, “nobody is our captain.”

The 29-year-old Marleau has been mentioned in trade rumours over the past couple seasons, but his no trade clause allows him to decline any deal that doesn’t satisfy him. Over his NHL career he has posted a solid 276 goals, 334 assists in 871 games.

The 2009-10 season won’t be starting with the same expectations as prior years, it will be starting with no leaders. Roenick retired last month, Grier signed elsewhere, Nabokov seems disinterested, Blake turns 40 in December, and the two star players Marleau and Thornton appear to be unwanted. The only positive that can be taken from this debris, is that maybe with all the pressure off this team to win a championship another player will emerge as a star and leader for the club.