Marleau: Right Fit for the Leafs, Adds Depth to Young Roster

On the second day of the NHL's unrestricted free agency period, the Maple Leafs landed a major component for the next three seasons when they signed former San Jose Sharks cornerstone forward Patrick Marleau to an $18.75-million contract.
The signing, which was made official late Sunday afternoon, carries an average annual salary cap value of $6.25 million for the services of the 37-year-old Marleau, who had spent his entire 19-year NHL career in San Jose and leaves that franchise as its all-time leader in regular-season games played (1,493), goals (508), points (1,082), power play goals (160), shorthanded goals (17), game-winning goals (98) and shots on net (3,798).

The Aneroid, Sask., native's game-winning goal total is the seventh-best in league history, and his overall experience as one of the game's most consistent high-end performers makes him an extremely valuable addition to Toronto's lineup. Given his deep family roots in California and in the organization that drafted him second overall in 1997, Marleau's decision to leave the Sharks was not an easy one, but in a brief conference call with reporters Sunday, he said he was thrilled to join the Leafs and begin a new journey.
"I think I've worn out a few carpets pacing around the house trying to make this decision over the last couple days, but I'm extremely excited and happy to be a part of the Maple Leafs organization," Marleau said. "It's definitely an honour to be able to call myself a Maple Leaf, obviously, being a Canadian-born player. This decision took me quite a while to come to, but I've made it and I'm happy with it. I can't wait to get started."
Marleau has scored at least 20 goals in 14 of his 19 seasons and his 289 goals-scored since the 2007-08 campaign ranks ninth among all NHL players in that span. He's also an ironman of sorts, having played every regular-season game since the 2009-10 season began; prior to that, he's only played fewer than 76 games in a season once - 74 games in his rookie year - and he's got 177 games of playoff experience under his belt, amassing 68 goals and 120 points in those post-season contests. There are few NHLers more dependable than that.
Even in his late thirties, Marleau's speed and conditioning remains elite, and he'll fit in nicely with the Leafs' fast and talented group of youngsters. In addition, he's familiar with Leafs head coach Mike Babcock from their time working together on Canada's gold-medal-winning Olympic teams in 2010 and 2014.
All things considered, the chance to come to the Leafs to help them continue their evolution into a Stanley Cup frontrunner was too tempting for Marleau to turn down.
"It's a team, the excitement that's around it, the coach, the management, the way they see the game going, the players they have on their roster, it's extremely exciting to be part of that," Marleau said of the Leafs before discussing his familiarity with Babcock. "The work (Babcock) has done over his career speaks for itself. Knowing what he's doing there with the team he has, and knowing what I can contribute, is extremely exciting for me."
Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello added two new faces to the Leafs' lineup on the first day of the NHL's unrestricted free agency period Saturday, signing veteran defenceman Ron Hainsey and centre Dominic Moore. But the acquisition of Marleau - who netted 27 goals and 46 points in 82 games with the Sharks last season - is likely to stand out as one of the key moves the veteran GM has made since arriving in Toronto, and Lamoriello is confident it will prove beneficial to the bottom line: winning hockey games.
"It's not every day that you can acquire a player like Patrick Marleau," Lamoriello said early Sunday evening. "He fits right in with the type of game that we play. His skating ability is still exceptional. His versatility in being able to play in all situations. A tremendous amount of experience into the lineup. It just adds to the depth of our forwards."
Marleau will be 41 years old when his new contract expires, but Lamoriello had no qualms when it came to giving the two-time Lady Byng Memorial Trophy finalist a three-year pact. The Leafs' salary cap situation is in an ideal state for the organization to bring in a top-tier veteran, and everyone in management, from Babcock and team president Brendan Shanahan to assistant GMs Kyle Dubas and Mark Hunter, believe Marleau only makes the group better.
"We won't be able to do (a move like) this in a year or so but we have the room and flexibility to do it and not interrupt the process that we have in place, understanding where our young players are and where they will be," Lamoriello said. "You only have one chance to do something like this and we would not have done it if it was not the right player. The timing is perfect. We've always said that coming off the season we had last year, the year that our young players had, the difficulty of taking the next step, that giving them a veteran who can be put into any position in the lineup and support these players, help these players."

Marleau's arrival might cause some to heighten expectations for the Buds in the short-term, but Lamoriello cautioned that the original plan set in place by Shanahan and Leafs brass remains in place. Marleau's salary is not insignificant, but remember, it cost Toronto no assets (at least, in terms of players within the organization) to land him, and his presence will assist developing young talents including Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, Connor Brown and Zach Hyman, among others.
"Certainly, the acquisition of this player made a little change in perception but not reality," Lamoriello said. "It's going to enhance the development of our players like they did last year. We didn't know what to expect going into last season - whether Mitch (Marner) would make the team, how Auston (Matthews) would adjust, where William (Nylander) was, Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, go on and on. We also have to be very careful of the next stage and that's the year after. This is where we want to make sure we don't go off-course.
"I can see how people would look at it differently, but we have not given up any assets, we have added support, and as I said earlier, we have the room and flexibility within the salary cap system to do this now. We wouldn't have this flexibility later on."
What Toronto does have now is an even more dangerous attack on offence, a more experienced and deep pool of talent, and an opportunity to continue thrilling Leafs Nation as they did last season. Two days into the unrestricted free agency period, it's tough to ask for more than that