Patrick Marleau Trade Rumors Have No Teeth

San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau is not being traded. He is not on the “trading block” because the Sharks are not actively shopping him. Reports surfaced Saturday night prior the Sharks-Ducks game that got people buzzing about Marleau possibly moving. With his full no-move clause, any such talk is quite literally pointless. The 36-year-old has spent his entire 17-year career with the Sharks and if he was ever going to be traded, it would have happened the many times before where rumors have swirled.

Marleau remains a top-six forward at this point in his career and is off to a solid start with nine points in his first 14 games and generally playing better two-way hockey than he did last season. A year ago Marleau finished with a putrid minus-17 rating but this year he seems recommitted to back checking. The only way a Marleau trade even hypothetically makes sense is for a contending team to trade younger players and or prospects but the Sharks are a team looking to win this season based on their offseason acquisitions. Not to mention their fans are currently not showing up this season like they have in the past and trading away their beloved Marleau would only create an even emptier Shark Tank.

Teams may be interested in Marleau, heck teams were interested in Evgeni Malkin too during this past offseason. Great players should have interest from other teams but with a full no-movement clause Marleau isn’t going anywhere. His wife, Christina Marleau, grew up here in the area and they have four young boys. There is absolutely no reason for Marleau to waive his no-move clause and there is no reason for the Sharks to trade him. Has he slowed down a bit the last 18 months? Yes, but again, there is no point in these rumors because he isn’t going to choose to leave and the final decision would be up to him.

Not Going Anywhere

Patrick Marleau Sharks
(Icon SMI)

Trade rumors have followed Marleau around throughout his career, but in early November at this stage of his career is puzzling to say the least. The return would have to blow the Sharks away to even consider asking Marleau to waive, and Marleau simply at this point in his mid-to-late 30’s isn’t worth the cost. It makes little sense why these rumors would get started this early in the season. Marleau wasn’t traded after the 2009 playoff flop to Anaheim, and he wasn’t traded after the 2014 collapse to Los Angeles. Those were by far the two most likely scenarios for a Marleau trade. Summer deals those years would have been plausible. A November trade in 2015? Not so much.

With these rumors, some media have used the cliche term “trading block” which is a phrase suggesting the Sharks are actively trying to trade him. This is simply not true. The Sharks are not initiating conversations with other teams to try and find takers for Marleau. Unless the news ever comes out that the Sharks have asked Marleau to waive his no-move clause, none of these rumors are worthy of even talking about.