Patrick Marleau gets to live out his boyhood dream

Very few professional athletes get to live out their boyhood fantasy of playing for the team they rooted for in their childhood.

Last Monday at the NHL trading deadline, Patrick Marleau got his wish as the San Jose Sharks traded the veteran forward to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional third-round pick. That draft pick will become a second-round pick if the Penguins win the Stanley Cup this season.

That's exactly what Marleau wants. Another chance to win sports most coveted trophy. After the Sharks fell to the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, Marleau's chances didn't improve after spending two season in Toronto playing for the Leafs. Now this could be his last chance at Lord Stanley's Cup and he even admitted so.

“It’s not like I have another 10 years to go,” he said when he met with the media on Saturday afternoon before the Sharks-Penguins game at SAP Center. “I have a great opportunity for myself to come [to Pittsburgh] and get in the playoffs and have another shot at winning.”

For Marlaeu it made perfect sense, not just because it was the team he grew up cheering for.

“Look at the roster. It’s kind of a no-brainer,” he said when asked about joining the Penguins. “You see the names they have on it and obviously the past success they’ve had as well. So they know how to win and it’s good to be a part of it.”

He first had to make sure his family, particularly his wife Christina, gave their blessing for his desire to go play for a contender after the family just moved back to Silicon Valley this past offseason.

“It’s difficult, especially when family and kids are involved,” the all time Sharks leader in points with 1102 said. “You have to weigh those options as well. My family’s very supportive and they mean the world to me. But they wanted me to have a shot.”

Marleau's new teammates and head coach are thrilled to have him on board as the steel city solidified its roster for its playoff run.

"It's great," said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby when asked about acquiring Marleau for the stretch run after their 5-0 loss to the Sharks this past Saturday night. "He's a guy that has a ton of experience. He's really good at a lot of the different areas, can play a lot of different roles. For a guy who's played in as many big games as him, especially (with) things as tough as they are right now, you can lean on that for sure."

"He's just so well respected by his peers in the dressing room. Patrick is a guy that has accomplished an awful lot in the game, with the exception of maybe the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup. So our hope is that he's going to bring his experience and his talent to our team to help us contend. We think he's gonna make us a better team" Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said.

Like Marleau, we are close in age, I too grew fond of the 90's Penguins teams when I first started getting into hockey. Since the Sharks were new as an expansion team and had no clear superstars at the time, the Pens were the class of the NHL back then led by Super Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr.

Since I didn't grow up with hockey as a youth, as the closest team to me was the Los Angeles Kings, I never got into the sport when I was kid like I did the three other major North American sports leagues.

So as I was learning about all the tangents and rules about hockey those first two years from 91-93, I was impressed watching how great the Pens offense was. Jagr was my hero with his long mullet of hair, resembling a 80's heavy metal band member, his speed, his scoring touch and being able to knock guys on their ass. That was the era of the power foward. Lemieux was a magician with the puck. He did things with the puck I never saw Wayne Gretzky do. I truly believe if Lemieux had stayed healthy his whole career, he would have all of the NHL scoring records. He was that good.

I'm a little torn here. As much as I would love to see Marleau finally get his Stanley Cup, I'm also against the Penguins getting another championship for obvious reasons. However, if the Pens happen to win it this year, I'm pretty sure a happy tear or two will be shed seeing the greatest Shark of all time raising the Cup, cementing a hall of fame career for a kid who grew up in a tiny town in Saskatchewan cheering for the team that has a chance to make the dream a reality.