On Patrick Marleau
- Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: The Sharks are trying to transition from Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton to Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture.
There is a big part of the Sharks fan base that loves Marleau, and owner Hasso Plattner and GM Doug Wilson are sensitive to that.
The relationship between Wilson and Marleau hasn’t been easy the past 18 months, but they’ve kept it private. Those in the know, say what is going on now has been brewing for about six weeks.GM Wilson has said that players who want to waive their no-trade/no-movement clauses have to go to him.Friedman thinks he has a better chance of being named Miss America than the Sharks trading Marleau to the Kings.
Friedman thinks the Sharks and Rangers have talked. The problem for the Rangers may not be this season, but next, as they need to re-sign Kevin Hayes, Chris Kreider and JT Miller. Dan Boyle comes off the books after this season.
- The Fourth Period: Bob McKenzie said this morning on TSN radio, citing “some NHL executives” think the Predators and Blackhawks could be enter the mix, if they haven’t done so already.
The Canadiens showed interest in Marleau near the trade deadline last year, but it’s not known if they’d still be interested in him. It’s also not known if Marleau would be interested in the Canadiens.
The Canadiens have about $2.65 in cap space available. The Blackhawks have under $5 million. The Predators have around $10.7 million in cap space and could easily fit Marleau’s contract in, though they would likely want to send some salary back.
The Predators listened to trade offers for Colin Wilson in offseason, and he could come into play if they talk trade with the Sharks. Wilson carries a $3.937 million cap hit and is under contract through 2018-19.