SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Patrick Marleau has appeared in 1,717 regular-season games since entering the NHL in 1997.
He's worn a San Jose sweater for 1,551 of those.
Not surprisingly, then, he figures it will be a bit strange to be on the other bench when the Penguins face the Sharks tonight at 10:38 at SAP Center.
It won't be an entirely new experience for Marleau, who was acquired by the Penguins Monday, because he spent the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons with Toronto, but that doesn't mean it will feel completely natural to him.
"I think it's going to be different than before (he was a visitor in San Jose), obviously," Marleau said. "But it will still be weird."
He had 10 goals and 10 assists in 60 games with San Jose this season, and did not get a point in either of his first two games with the Penguins.
Marleau, the second player chosen in the 1997 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh, took a somewhat convoluted path back to San Jose after his time in Toronto. The Maple Leafs sent him to Carolina last June to get some salary-cap relief, but while the Hurricanes insisted they were interested in keeping him on their payroll, they bought him out just five days later. He subsequently re-signed with the Sharks in October.
The Sharks entered this season believing they could contend for the Stanley Cup, but their season unraveled long ago and GM Doug Wilson became a seller as the trade deadline approached.
Marleau's skating ability and experience made him attractive to the Penguins, and he was equally intrigued by the team's potential. Consequently, agreeing to accept the trade was an easy one.
Especially when, at age 40 and still lacking a Stanley Cup on his resume, he felt he couldn't pass an opportunity to join a contender.
"I wish things would have been different (with the Sharks), but they are what they are," Marleau said. "I don't have another 10 years left, so I have to take opportunities. And there's nothing better than to see this club, see where they're at. All the players they have, the roster, the way they play, the way they've won in the past. It was a no-brainer to give it a shot."
Whether the Penguins will have a place for Marleau in their plans beyond this spring is unclear, although it seems unlikely at this point.
That means that another stint with the Sharks is entirely possible, and perhaps likely, for Marleau after he becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"I want to keep playing," he said. "We'll see where that takes us."
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