The Pittsburgh Penguins are hoping to give San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau a shot at the Stanley Cup, as they’ve traded for the veteran wing.
Patrick Marleau’s Hall of Fame NHL career began in Pittsburgh. Marleau was selected 2nd overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 1997 NHL Draft, which was held at Mellon Arena. 23 years later, it will pick up where it started, as the Pittsburgh Penguins have traded for him.
Jim Rutherford and the Penguins focused on acquiring Patrick Marleau from the Sharks and quickly acquired him for a 2021 conditional third-round pick. That pick becomes a second-rounder if the Penguins win the Stanley Cup. I’m sure all parties involved would be just fine with that.
Pittsburgh needed to improve their forward depth. They successfully accomplished that. They did not want Anthony Angello, Andrew Aggozino, or Sam Lafferty as regulars in a postseason lineup. No disrespect to those three, but I can’t say I blame the Penguins front office brass on that thought.
Marleau is still a serviceable player at 40 years old. He can provide tangible offense. Marleau has been slightly below average in terms of helping his team control territory. This is similar to how Matt Cullen was during the Penguins championship runs.
Patrick Marleau, traded to PIT, is a bottom six player who doesn't play a bottom six game - good offensively, poor defensively. He's not much of a playmaker and his shot has declined as well. #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/QtzuX51Mzp
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) February 24, 2020
Pittsburgh needed a bit more playmaking ability in their bottom six. Nick Bjugstad (if and when he returns) is not much of a playmaker from a puck distribution standpoint. Brandon Tanev can struggle to make passes sometimes. Pittsburgh’s fourth line is tremendous from a defensive standpoint, but they can struggle to score. Marleau should add that dimension to Pittsburgh’s third or fourth line.
For a frame of reference, Marleau is in the 85th percentile of NHL forwards for his ability to generate scoring chances and quality shots relative to his teammates *this season*. That's some good offensive punch. 72nd percentile in generating xG overall. Numbers via @Billius27
— Jesse Marshall (@jmarshfof) February 24, 2020
Marleau is not very good defensively, but he could receive a quality of teammate boost like he did in Toronto. Marleau helps his team generate offense regardless of where he is in the lineup. As Rutherford stated, he can play anywhere in the Penguins top nine. I am confident that Mike Sullivan will put him in a better position to succeed here as well.
Patrick Marleau (to Pittsburgh) is a high-event forward with some power-play upside. pic.twitter.com/Zr8Li91Lzs
— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) February 24, 2020
I am fine with this trade. Pittsburgh is all-in and moving a third-round pick is whatever. They became a better team. The price aligns with similar rental forward trades (Ilya Kovalchuk) to this point. The Penguins need to stay away from physical and slow players the remainder of the day.
For as much as a cliche as it may be, I do feel as though the Penguins lacked a bit of a swagger or veteran presence. Guys like Chris Kunitz, Carl Hagelin, and Matt Cullen brought that back in 2016 and ’17.
More than anything else, this has a Bill Guerin 2009 addition vibe to it. Marleau has been to the Final but has never won a Stanley Cup. “Win it for Marleau” can be a contagious feeling amongst the players and fans.
Marleau has an ironman streak of 846 games. Here’s to hoping the Penguins injury curse does not break that. With less than three hours until the deadline, Jim Rutherford will still be looking to improve this team. Stay tuned for more action. Thanks for reading!