San Jose Sharks

Jersey

Manufacturer: Reebok
​Material: Edge 1.0
​Year: 2007-2011
Home (Teal): Patrick Marleau Size 50

Jersey History

I've always loved the teal that the Sharks use. The San Jose Sharks entered the NHL in 1991 bringing with them some magnificent teal jerseys. This would be their primary color throughout their entire existence. The main logo has been the same but the shoulder patches have been changed over the years. They started with a shark fin from 1991-2007. Then they thought, what is better than a shark fin? Oh how about another shark like the main logo. This jersey was introduced when the Edge system was implemented in 2007 with the main logo changed slightly from the original and the should patches being more sharks. In 2013, the Sharks would simplify this look by getting rid of the bottom piping and shoulder color. 

Player History

Patrick Marleau: Marleau has been the face of the Sharks franchise almost since it's inception. He also has the squarest face in the NHL. Born in Swift Current, SK, Marleau was drafted 2nd overall by the San Jose Sharks in 1997. He immediately was able to join the club that same year. He earned his spot on the roster early on with his defensive play and slowly grew his point production over the next couple seasons. He became a leader on the team and earned the captaincy in the 2003-04 season after Owen Nolan left and the "C" floated around Mike Ricci, Vincent Damphouse, and Alyn McCauley. Marleau is also known for being a workhorse and missing very little to any games during his career. He did not play anywhere during any lockouts though. With that he's been able to put up consistent numbers and became the Sharks franchise leader in goals, assists, and points in 2006-07. The Sharks would continue to have issues performing in the postseason, after stellar regular seasons, and the captaincy would be taken away from Marleau in 2009. He would continue with the Sharks for almost 20 years until 2017 when his last contract ended and he decided to go Cup chasing and signed a three year deal with the Maple Leafs. He only spent two years with the Leafs as they had run into salary cap issues and he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes, with a conditional first and seventh round pick, for a sixth round pick. Wanting to go back to the West Coast, the Hurricanes would buyout his contract and he would sign with the Sharks in 2019. The next season saw the Sharks not making the playoffs and Marleau would be traded to the Penguins to have another chance at winning the Cup in 2020 for a conditional third round pick. That wouldn't work out either and Marleau would return yet again to the Sharks where he would play till his retirement on May 10, 2022.

When I say Marleau is a workhorse I mean this guy hasn't aged or drastically slowed down. He's played in 23 NHL seasons playing in 1779 games scoring 566 goals and 1197 points. He is currently the NHL all-time leader in games played surpassing the infamous Gordie Howe! He also had an iron man streak of 910 consecutive games played becoming only the 4th player in NHL history to play in 900 consecutive games. That's 12 NHL seasons of not missing a single game. Marleau also saw the postseason almost every season playing in 195 games scoring 72 goals and 127 points. The guy is the epitome of health as he looks the same now as when he was 18. That being said, he hasn't really won anything else in the NHL. He only participated in 3 All-Star games in 2004, 2007, and 2009. He was a finalist twice for the Lady Byng but lost in 2007 and 2014.

That isn't to say Marleau hasn't won any thing as he's had a great international career representing Canada. He's played in the IIHF World Championships in 1999 and 2001, winning silver in 2005, and winning gold in 2003. He's won gold in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Lastly, he's won a gold medal in both the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. With his career with the Sharks, Marleau is the leader in just about every category he can possibly be in. He's also just one of five NHL players in history to play 1400 games with one team with 1551 games played with the Sharks. He holds the Sharks leader in goals  (518), power play goals (161), shorthanded goals (17), points (1102), and many others. We'll see how it takes the Sharks to build a 20 foot tall statue in his honor now that he's retired.