Marleau hoping for chance at Stanley Cup with Penguins

Patrick Marleau has played eight games with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but the 40-year-old forward said he was excited about having the chance to compete for the Stanley Cup before the NHL paused the 2019-20 season on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

Now, Marleau is trying to remain patient with hopes the NHL season can resume so he won't miss out on an opportunity to win the Cup for the first time in his 22 professional seasons.
"The short amount of time I spent there was great," Marleau said during a video call arranged by the NHL on Monday. "The guys were great, and it was just great opportunity for myself to get another shot at the Cup with the Penguins."
The closest Marleau has come to winning the Cup was when he reached 2016 Stanley Cup Final with the San Jose Sharks, who lost that best-of-7 series to the Penguins in six games. He left the Sharks following the 2016-17 season to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent and played two seasons for them before being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on June 22, 2019.
The Hurricanes bought out the final season of Marleau's contract, making him an unrestricted free agent. He began this season without a team before he rejoined the Sharks by signing a one-year contract on Oct. 8.

Marleau had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in 58 games with San Jose and was traded to Pittsburgh on Feb. 24 for a conditional third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. With the Sharks unlikely to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the trade provided Marleau another chance to win.
The Penguins (40-23-6) are in third place in the Metropolitan Division and in position to reach the playoffs for the 14th straight season. Marleau was off to a slow start in Pittsburgh (one goal, one assist), but he said he was feeling more comfortable with each game.
Marleau said he hopes to have a chance to continue that acclimation.
"Everything has been great with the organization every step of the way," Marleau said, "and I'm looking forward to getting out of the house, I'm sure like everybody is, and getting back to normal and get out there and start playing again."
After the NHL paused the season, Marleau returned to San Jose, where he's been a stay-at-home parent with his wife, Christina, to their four sons.
"I'm not going to lie," Marleau said. "The homeschooling thing has been a little tough on me, but it's been going good this week. They're off (from school), so it's a good week to take a break here and regroup for the next week of homeschooling."