TORONTO -- Some players know their career statistics like the back of their hand. Their numbers, especially later in their career, are what drive them. Patrick Marleau, who is about to enter his 22nd NHL season, is not one of them.
At age 39, Marleau is still in love with the grind.
“I still look at it as being able to play in the NHL is still a huge opportunity for me,” Marleau told Sporting News. “I cherish it and I want to be the best I can be and I’m still trying to get better. For me, that’s what it’s all about.”
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Every player loves playing the games but as they get older, what they have to do to get to a point where they can still excel in the games gets infinitely more difficult. That’s where a lot of players say, ‘Enough of this.’
“I always say to me the difference between good and great is passion and that’s your willingness to grind longer,” said Marleau’s head coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Mike Babcock. “That’s what separates you from anyone else is that you’ll stick with it longer and dig in more and find more ways to get it done. Those are the best pros in the end.”
Rarely do players lose their passion for the games; it’s that they lose their passion to go through what they have to go through to play the games. Marleau has found a way to embrace the hard work that leads him to being at his best when the puck drops.
“I still enjoy the grind, it’s a grind some of the days, but the feeling you get after going through a hard workout when it is a grind, it’s hard to explain; but when you’re faced with a day when you’re not looking but you grind it out, there’s nothing better than to have the rest of the day to do whatever,” Marleau said.
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The proof Marleau is not driven by his personal numbers? Sporting News asked him if he knew how many goals shy of 600 he was for his career. His response, “Not off hand no.”
The answer: 65.
The milestone is out of reach this season, but with the opportunity to play on a line with Auston Matthews and William Nylander, whenever he decides to end his contract stalemate, this season and potentially next if the trio clicks, it is conceivable that Marleau has a chance to become just the 21st player in NHL history to reach the plateau, doing so in the final season of his three-year, $18.75 million contract he signed with the Maple Leafs on July 2, 2017.
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If he is able to crack the 600 goal plateau, don’t get him wrong, it would be something he treasures. Marleau just knows if his focus shifts to the outcome instead of the process, getting there will not happen.
“It would definitely be really cool to get to it; that would mean I get a lot of goals in the next couple of years,” said Marleau. “That would be great; but that being said, I know there’s a lot of work to be done to get there. It’s a huge opportunity for myself (playing alongside Matthews and Nylander) and I’ve got to take full advantage of it.”
Marleau may well go on to play beyond the final two years of his current contract. His trademark speed has not abandoned him yet. Babcock recently suggested Marleau was the fittest player in training camp with the Maple Leafs. He shows no sign of slowing down.
“I feel great, I’ve just kind of been doing my same thing that I’ve been doing for a little while now and working with the same people off the ice,” said Marleau. “It’s been working out for me and I feel great coming into the season. I haven’t changed too much; I haven’t backed off at all.”
Remember, Marleau loves the grind. And it’s paying off for him. He has played 706 consecutive games. The last time he missed a game, Barack Obama was a mere two and a half months into his presidency. That game was on April 7, 2009 against the Colorado Avalanche, the last of a five-game absence because of a lower body injury.
“If anything, I still try and train as hard as I can and I think that’s where you realize the gains, it’s when you put in the work in the offseason,” said Marleau. “It’s that old reap what you sow mentality is kind of how I look at the summer.”
It’s not only his day job with the Maple Leafs that forces him to stay in shape. Marleau joked that his four sons -- Landon, Brody, Jagger and Caleb, aged 3-11 – help keep him fit.
“I’ve got to stay in shape too just to keep up with my kids,” said Marleau. “Maybe they’re the reasons why (I can keep going). It doesn’t stop when I leave the gym, it keeps going.”
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If Marleau is going to score 65 goals in the next two seasons, he will have his work cut out for him. Gordie Howe, Johnny Bucyk and Teemu Selanne had the three most productive seasons in terms of goal-scoring playing at the ages of 39 and 40. Howe scored 83 goals over those two seasons; Bucyk scored 65 and Selanne 58.
Last season, Marleau had 27 goals playing primarily on a line with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov until the end of January when Mitchell Marner was moved up to take Komarov’s spot.
Playing with Matthews, who had 29 assists in each of his first two NHL seasons, should give Marleau a good chance to increase his productivity. Matthews stated prior to the season that one of his desires this season is to have more assists than goals. That is music to the ears of potential linemates like Marleau coming from a player who Babcock has said is “playing at another level right now.”
“That sounds like a lot of fun,” said Marleau, of Matthews intentions. “I just have to get into the open areas and make sure I’m ready for the puck.”
And always keep grinding.