Patrick Marleau.......Possible?

[ShanahanMan 473]

Lots of talk about Kovalchuk, but what do you guys think about the OTHER big free agent? Do you guys think we have any chance whatsoever of acquiring Patrick Marleau if he decides to leave SJ? One can always dream...

Edited January 22, 2010 by ShanahanMan

[titanium2 867]

He's one of Datsyuk's favorites based on what I remember from an interview last year.

[AtomicPunk 296]

He's also having a career year and will demand high dollars.

[Yellowknife Redwing 57]

Marleau is $6M/yr minimum. We weren't willing to pay 5 for Hossa, I'm thinking the chances of spending 6 on Marleau are fairly small.

[soultrain 43]

i grew up a red wing fan. i have one tattoo. its a wings logo. i was born in the bay area and san jose became a team when i was eleven. so i love the sharks...not like i love the wings. BUT i have hated patty in the past for being a giant ***** in the playoffs along with the rest of the team and for not being a vocal captain. san jose thought he was their yzerman...he isn't. but he would make a great red wing. he is quite. he is fantastic. he is a team guy....but this year is his chance to get his BIG payday...so hell no. we can't pay his ass.

[dat's sick 1,002]

Yeah he'll be too expensive most likely.. however since people around here seem to think there's a chance we could land Kovalchuk (lol), yeah why not? Marleu should be cheaper than him atleast.

[gcom007 1,465]

I'll be happy to re-sign Eaves and Bertuzzi to reasonable deals.

[Guest blueadams]

I'd LOVE to sign him.

[RusDRW 155]

no. He will want something like 6.5 per season while his real price is around 4.5

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

This is a contract year so his production will inevitably decline somewhat. The Wings can do smarter things with their money. The Wings' long term money is invested in Dats, Z and the Mule and should be left at that.

[Datsyuk2Zetterberg 1]

I would love to see Marleau with the wings, but it's not likely. He will want a bump in pay, maybe he might take a discount for the wings but it will still be an increase in pay.

Edit: more likely then kovy but still pretty unlikely.

Edited January 22, 2010 by Datsyuk2Zetterberg

[mmamolo 287]

Marleau had a good season in his last contract year too.

Problem is his playoff performance. At the end of the day he has had great teams and ample opportunity to show up in the post season and he hasn't. So to me he's not worth the money. Plus, if he finally shows up this season San JOse will think he's made the turn and they wont let him walk.

[stevkrause 1,247]

Can we wait until we know what our team will look like after retirement before we worry about possible FA's?

[Travis 576]

Marleau is $6M/yr minimum. We weren't willing to pay 5 for Hossa, I'm thinking the chances of spending 6 on Marleau are fairly small.

Quoted for truthiness.

[lookalive07 251]

Realistically, no.

Though I wish. As it's been said, he's playing in a contract year, so of course his point production is going to peak. He realizes he can get re-signed for higher if he plays like he knows how.

That said, as also stated before, if we managed to pick him up, we'd have to pay him way too much and he'll go back to being a relatively average player, especially during the playoffs. No disrespect to the guy, this is just how the world works.

[blues_demitra38 11]

Marleau>Kovalchuk

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

He has a history of playoff choking and being invisible in big games.

That's the last thing we need on this team after Hossa's playoffs last year, as well as some of the ones Datsyuk has had.

[VM1138 1,921]

Marleau>Kovalchuk

Riiiight...

[LeftWinger 5,153]

No. Not as long as the Sharks are up top. Re-sign Bert/Eaves/Miller and then make a pitch for Kovalchuk. Lids retires, Homer retires, Maltby retires. Maybe score a mid-range defenseman with your top 4 being Rafi/Stuart/Kronner/Ericsson. Kovalchuk WAAAAYY better than Marleau...

[Kira 451]

Three words...Please God, no.

I'd much rather have Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller and Todd Bertuzzi under contract than Marleau. He isn't worth it.

[blues_demitra38 11]

Riiiight...

Patrick brings much more to the table than Ilya does. Both are fantastic players but Marleau can simply do more. He plays in all situations, is one of the fastest players in the world and has a blazing yet accurate shot. I also think Kovalchuk will demand more on the open market which makes Marleau more obtainable. Add in the fact that he is a good ole Canadian boy, meaning he will never be a threat to leave the NHL, and you got one attractive free agent.

Thus, Marleau>Kovalchuk.

[Yellowknife Redwing 57]

Patrick brings much more to the table than Ilya does. Both are fantastic players but Marleau can simply do more. He plays in all situations, is one of the fastest players in the world and has a blazing yet accurate shot. I also think Kovalchuk will demand more on the open market which makes Marleau more obtainable. Add in the fact that he is a good ole Canadian boy, meaning he will never be a threat to leave the NHL, and you got one attractive free agent.

Thus, Marleau>Kovalchuk.

If you're signing either of these players, you're signing them to score goals, period.

Marleau is 30 and in 931GP has 311 goals. He's also been on a line with the best passer in the league for a few years now.

Kovalchuk is 26 and in 589GP has 327 goals. He's also been on a team that is consistently one of the worst teams in the league.

We haven't even see the extent of what Kovalchuk can do yet. He's still got a possibility of maturing physically and improving his game. The arguments you've made for Marleau are appreciable, but let's be realistic here. There is currently one other player in the league who can do what Kovalchuk does and he's pretty much universally regarded as the best player in the world.

[blues_demitra38 11]

Fair enough. I guess the question now is, would you rather sign Malreau for less money and contract length or Kovalchuk for more money and contract length?

Kovalchuk reminds me of Hossa. Great individual talent but whether or not he will develop chemistry with the other Wings stars is questionable. Marleau has proven that he can complement great talent which is what he would be surrounded with in Detroit.

[TheDetroitRedWings 286]

If Lidstrom retires, any signing is possible. At least in terms of cap room. Personally I would rather have Marc Savard or Ilya Kovalchuk. But Marleau would be a welcomed addition as well.

[Yellowknife Redwing 57]

Call me crazy, but I'd rather keep Lidstrom on for another 2 years and keep the team as it is.