Marleau to rejoin Sharks organization, but team is cryptic about details

Patrick Marleau is the franchise’s all-time leader in several statistical categories, including games played, (1,607), goals (522), and points (1,111)

SAN JOSE — Patrick Marleau will be returning to the San Jose Sharks in some capacity but the organization was somewhat cryptic Wednesday about what role the 43-year-old might have with the team.

The Sharks sent out a tweet with a slow-moving camera shot inside a locker room showing some of the jerseys Marleau had worn in San Jose. The shot then ends with a suit jacket and a white-collar shirt hanging from one of the lockers, with a No. 12 pin on one of the lapels, suggesting Marleau will be joining the Sharks’ front office.

The Sharks sent out the tweet exactly 26 years after they selected Marleau second overall in the 1997 NHL Draft, one spot behind Joe Thornton, who was taken first by the Boston Bruins.

Known as “Mr. Shark,” Marleau is the franchise’s all-time leader in several statistical categories, including games played, (1,607), goals (522), and points (1,111). He is also second in assists (589) behind Thornton (804).

Marleau played with the Sharks from 1997 to 2017, and again from 2019 to 2021. On April 19, 2021, Marleau dressed for his 1,768th game, passing Gordie Howe to become the NHL’s all-time leader in games played. He played 1,779 games in his career, which included 910 consecutive games, the fifth-longest streak in NHL history. He finished with 1,197 points, including 566 goals, which ranks 23rd all-time.

26 years ago today, the San Jose Sharks drafted Patrick Marleau.

Marleau's new era with the Sharks begins soon… pic.twitter.com/9N0nE80wYJ

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) June 21, 2023

Marleau officially retired on May 10, 2022, and on Feb. 25, his No. 12 was lifted to the rafters at SAP Center as he became the first Sharks player to have his number retired by the team.

At the time of his retirement, Marleau said he wanted to spend more time with his family and didn’t know what the future held, “but my wife seems to think somewhere down the road I’ll be back in hockey somehow. So, we’ll see how it all plays out.”

At the time, Sharks team president Jonathan Becher said he was open to having Marleau rejoin the franchise, and general manager Mike Grier, entering his second full year, has also said words to that effect.

A handful of ex-NHL players have made the transition from the ice to the front office in recent years.

Shane Doan was recently hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs as a special advisor to general manager Brad Treliving, and Jason Spezza, who retired in 2022, joined the Leafs that year as a special assistant to then-general manager Kyle Dubas. Spezza recently became an assistant GM in Pittsburgh after Dubas was named the Penguins’ president of hockey operations.

In Philadelphia, Danny Brière was a special assistant to then-Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher before he took over Fletcher’s role earlier this year.