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San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau tied Gordie Howe’s record for most NHL games played with 1,767 contests on Saturday. Marleau will break the record when the Sharks face off against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night.
“I’ll try to take it all in as much as possible,” Marleau said following Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Wild. “The fun part is playing an actual game and all that, but my family’s going to be there to help celebrate, so it’ll be super special having them in the building.”
Marleau is currently playing in his 23rd NHL season and 1,595 of his games have come with the Sharks. In addition, the Canadian forward played 164 games in two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2017 to 2019. Marleau also appeared in eight games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season after he was traded to the team. In October, Marleau elected to sign a one-year deal to return to the Sharks.
“I’m looking at it as an opportunity to thank everybody who’s helped me along the way, because there’s no way you get to play in this league or play this long without a huge support system,” Marleau told “Hockey Night in Canada.” “Definitely my family, growing up, my parents, my brother and sister, all the sacrifices they make, and my immediate family now with my wife and kids. …
“Coaching staffs, training staff, teammates, chiropractors, massage therapists, I mean, everybody that I’ve come into contact and become friends with or who helped me along, I extremely want to thank them for all their support.”
Howe broke the previous record for games played back on Nov. 26, 1961 when he passed Ted Lindsay. In doing so, he became the first player to appear in 1,000 games.
“Gordie, growing up, looking at hockey cards, looking at statistics, first things first, I always go see all the Saskatchewan players who grew up there and made the NHL, because that’s where I was, and that’s where I was trying to go, and obviously he was top of the list,” Marleau added.
The Sharks selected Marleau with the second overall pick in the 1997 NHL Draft. During his lengthy NHL career, Marleau has scored 566 goals and dished out 630 assists.