Who is failing the Sharks?
January 4th, 2008, 7:16 pm
I’m feeling a bit salty, so I’m going to blast a player that I’ve been decidedly quiet about up until now. He’s not the only one I feel salty about, but he’s the only one I’m blasting today.
The first is the most obvious- Patrick Marleau. He’s a quiet guy, and I can’t fault him for that. Maybe a quiet captain isn’t what the Sharks need right now, and he’s not that guy. That’s not my problem with him either. My problem is, as a leader, quiet or not, he needs to take it upon himself to find the areas where the Sharks are lacking, and fill those voids. As everyone has said ad nauseam, the Sharks lack heart, and grit around the net. Those are things that Patty can provide on the ice. In the game last night, there was a particular possession late in the game, score tied, when Patty skates into the zone with speed. Does he drive the next and gut out a scoring chance? No, he delays, circles back, and the puck is eventually turned over. Is Patty going out of his way to throw around his 6-2, 210 lb body? If anything, he seems to be consciously avoiding contact.
I can’t blame a guy for being who he is. I do blame him for playing the way he is. Great hockey players find a way to give their team what they need. Marleau isn’t doing that. Perhaps it’s fallout from his well-publicized and still-ongoing feud with Ron Wilson, or he’s quietly nursing an injury. Here’s the brass tacks- Mr. Marleau has to swallow a bit of pride and start doing the things a player of his skill doesn’t have to do most of the time. Forecheck hard. Hit. Take punishment in front of the net. Drive to hard places with dogged stubbornness. You think Sidney Crosby needed to fight? Of course not, but for his sake and the sake of the team, he was saying, “I’m not gonna stand for this s&*%.”
Marleau can take this team to another level, all by himself. That turning over of a new leaf could be extremely contagious, and drive this team to start winning games that will make the entire league take notice. Let’s face it, the league will not take notice until we can beat the elite, and we just flat out haven’t done it. But the next chance to show ’em is coming up quickly- January 13 at Anaheim.
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Great blog – glad you started it.
Long time Sharks fan. Don’t disagree at all. I’m just wondering if Patty has it in him to do the dirty work. On paper he seems like he should but… I don’t recall ever seeing him provide that kind of game. If I’m wrong, let me know.
Frankly, going on 10 years now, I think we’ve seen who the real Patty Marleau is and without any production from their Captain, the Sharks are still a top 3 or 4 team. I say trade him and get some new blood here to help put us over the top. I don’t buy the argument that you don’t touch the Captain mid year.
Daryl Sutter used to say that Marleau was at his best when he played physical, and I never got the impression that he was just saying that because Daryl thinks that EVERYBODY plays better when they are physical.
The physical aspect of the game is what has been lacking. I think I can count on one hand the number of bone-crushing hits that we have put on our opponents this year. As Grier stated in an earlier post, it was nice to see McLaren dust off the ol’ hip check, even if you could see him second and then third guess himself as he was zeroing in.
We have heard time and again over the last couple years that the Sharks have a big, fast, and young team. We we are still farily young, and we definately have some speed, but we sure aren’t using that size very well…
On a somewhat unrelated note, it’s nice to see that we have finally found a player who isn’t afraid to stand in front of the net and take some abuse…Davidson, I hope you get back in the line-up soon.
I think we’re at the point in the season where this team is what it will be. A decent team with a really good goalie that will not make any playoff noise. See Canucks, Vancouver.
We’re well past the point where Marleau could be considered in a slump. Unless he’s secretly injured (still??!!), this is a guy who has lost his game. It’s gone. Maybe the Wings beat it out of him last spring. He’s so far behind his career scoring pace it’s absolutely ridiculous.
I’ve been a Marleau supporter for a long time, but I don’t know how much longer he can (or should) be a Shark if he can’t put up points. If he and Cheechoo were producing based on their career averages, with the improvement on D and Nabokov returning to form, we’d be challenging for the league lead in wins.
It might be painful to see Marleau rediscover his game with a different sweater on, but honestly, he’s had over a full season to work through his slump.
Marleau threw his weight around a big last night, and that was good to see. He did a couple of things that were encouraging. However, I agree with you Ian- if he stays more or less on the same track for the next month, the Sharks should move him. Lord knows there have been enough rumors already.
BTW, my last post I meant “he’s had over a half a season to work through his slump.”
Mike Chen on battleofcalifornia noted that Marleau was benched for a good chunk of the 3rd. My patience for the moral victories in Marleau’s game is pretty much gone.
I don’t mean to be a jerk, but great, he threw his weight around. Let’s examine the box score, shall we?
P. Marleau 12:45 0 0 -1 0 0
No points, not even a shot on goal. -1. With Marleau’s extension, the Sharks are going to be paying top-line dollar for barely over 30 points, since he’s flirting with career lows in points, with a bonus of double-digit negative +/- (also probably a career low). Way to deliver the goods, Patty.
You think Doug Wilson regrets the no-trade clause in Marleau’s contract extension?
I think I’m just looking very hard for positive signs. Clearly the Wilsons are in a tough spot with Patty. Do you coddle him, keep him in the lineup, and hope his pride or some other internal drive gets him to play better? Or do you sit him in the press box, pissing him off further and scuttling his trade value?
DW’s smart but I think that’s the rub. PM stinks now but if RW sits him, it further tanks his trade value.
You coddle/push the youngins (the Bernier’s and the Carle’s) but a 10-year vet who’s been on the same team his entire career? That kind of player, especially the Captain, should have self-motivation and a work ethic. And if he’s mailing it in b/c he’s pissed at RW, why sign a contract extension (including a NTC) w/ the same team…
– Exasperated
p.s., half-full now, the team’s 2nd in the Western Conference in spite of Cheechoo and Marleau massively underachieving.
I understand why so many people have fallen off on Marleau’s wagon, but I’m still going to support him. I know about the lack of points, the +/- etc. but I really think that there is still hope for a solid turn around, which can happen for him in SJ. I saw my first sharks game of the season after returning from abroad vs. Calgary in person and I really thought he was a very productive player. I agree that he’s being too much of a pass first player, and should drive the net more but I’d say he played very well and is contributing by creating space and chances for other people.