History book has again appreciated as a Canadian; Patrick Marleau has surpassed “Mr. Hockey” for the most games played in the National Hockey League history.
In the recent remarkable development, Marleau skated in his 1,768th career game to break Gordie Howe’s record when the San Jose Sharks lost to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in a shootout.
It was gathered that Marleau’s wife, Christina, and four sons were in attendance, which wouldn’t have been possible in San Jose, where fans still aren’t allowed during the pandemic.
An emotional Marleau said “My wife, I couldn’t have done it without her over all these years. She’s by far my biggest supporter. I can’t thank her enough and I can’t thank the boys enough.
“My biggest fear is that I don’t thank everybody, that I’m going to miss somebody. If I miss somebody, I’m so sorry, but I will eventually, you know, try and make it right and thank everybody that needs to be thanked. Just very grateful.”
In his historic career, the 41-year-old has made 1,596 appearances with the Sharks, 164 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and an additional eight as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Fielding questions from newsmen on what keeps him going after the record-breaker; Marleau said “I just love it. There’s nothing else like it.”
It should be noted that Howe played in 1,767 regular-season games and 419 more in the World Hockey Association, the latter of which are not recognized by the NHL.
Speaking on the development, Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer, who coached Marleau for two-plus seasons in San Jose said “I feel very fortunate to have a front-row seat for it”
“I feel fortunate that I know the man and the athlete having coached him. He was a gentleman. He was a great teammate. That’s gonna be one of those things I’ll be able to tell my grandkids about one day, that not only did I coach him, but I was there for that night, pretty special accomplishment.”
During his almost quarter-century career, Marleau has 566 goals, 1,196 points, three All-Star appearances and two Olympic gold medals for Canada in 2010 and ’14.
