SAN JOSE – If a player is on a team for almost two decades, it’s no surprise he’s still friends with his former teammates. So, when Toronto Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau saw that Joe Thornton scored his 400th career goal, he shot his friend and former teammate a text.
“That's pretty amazing,” Marleau told the media Thursday morning as the Leafs prepare to play the Sharks. “It's a testament to how well he's played throughout the years.”
Nobody holds more Sharks franchise records than Marleau, who has scored more goals – at even strength, on the power play, and in game-winning situations – than anyone else in San Jose. Thornton set up some of Marleau’s goals and, not surprisingly, leads all Sharks franchise players with 747 assists.
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That long list of assists can make people forget No. 19 also has goal-scoring prowess.
“Everybody thinks of him as a passer, but he can put the puck in the net as well," Marleau said.
Thornton’s goal puts him in a very exclusive group, too. He’s now one of just seven players in NHL history to register 400 goals and 1,000 assists and play in 1,500 games. It’s a short list that Wayne Gretzky isn’t even on.
"I saw it when that list came out,” Marleau said. “Just so happy for him."
San Jose Sharks
Thursday’s reunion between Marleau and the Sharks is the third such meeting since the 39-year-old forward took his talents to Toronto. While the two teams don’t see each other very often, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski told the media Wednesday that Team Teal follows the Leafs a bit closer because Marleau plays for them.
“One of our old teammates who we’ve got a lot of respect for,” Pavelski said. “We like to see the success that they’re having, that he’s having.”