San Jose Sharks: Marleau and Thornton Pull One Monkey Off Their Back

The San Jose Sharks are heading to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time, and Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton can pull one monkey off their back.

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The long wait is finally over. For the first time in the San Jose Sharks’ 24 years as a franchise in the National Hockey League, they are going to the Stanley Cup Finals. On Wednesday night, the Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues convincingly, 5-2, in game six of the Western Conference Finals, punching their tickets to the Finals for the first time ever.

When the final horn sounded, the celebration began. Players hugged on the ice. Chris Tierney was the first to meet goalie Martin Jones in an embrace, and soon the entire team surrounded them. Soon it was time to present the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl to the Western Conference champions.

Team captain Joe Pavelski was the first to make his way towards that long-coveted, but ultra-elusive trophy. Pavelski, now in his 10th year in the NHL, all as a Shark, has waited a long time for this. But his wait can’t compare to the ones that Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton have endured.

In a way, Marleau and Thornton entered the league together. In the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Thornton was the first overall pick, going to the Boston Bruins. With the very next pick, the Sharks took Marleau. Little did they know that both these men would go on to become some of the best players in the Sharks’ franchise history. Now, they enter uncharted territory in their careers: the Stanley Cup Finals.

One of the biggest storylines in the series was Marleau and Thornton’s combined zero games in the Stanley Cup Finals. Their names were featured on an unfortunate list, as they owned two of the highest regular-season games played totals with no appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Marleau, 36 years old and in his 18th NHL season, has played 1,411 games in the regular season, and owns 1,036 points. He’s played another two season’s worth of games in the playoffs, 165 games, but has never experienced the feeling of having his skate touch the ice in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Marleau is the ultimate Shark. His name is featured prominently in the franchise’s record book, and his name will keep appearing as long as you keep turning the page. His role on the ice has decreased as his age has increased, but he is still a vital part of the team.

Thornton, matching Marleau at 36 years old and 18 years of experience in the NHL, has taken part in 1,367 games in the regular season. He’s piled up 1,341 points in all his years, 835 coming in his 10-and-a-half seasons wearing the teal. He’s appeared in 142 postseason games, and like Marleau, has never reached the last round of the playoffs.

That’s 3,085 games, regular and postseason combined, between Marleau and Thornton. None of those games came in the Stanley Cup Finals. Next Monday, at around 5 PM, that will change.

It’s not just Marleau and Thornton experiencing this for the first time. It’s not just Pavelski, and the players that suit up on gameday. It’s the fans as well. The ones that have watched as the team fell short in the most heartbreaking of fashions in the past. They, too, will get to be a part of this great time in Sharks’ history.

The journey isn’t over. The Campbell Bowl is nice, but Lord Stanley’s Cup is the ultimate prize. Four victories stand between the Sharks and that ultimate prize. Their opponents are not known yet, as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning face the two most exciting, and nerve-killing words in sports: “game seven”.

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Marleau and Thornton have pulled one monkey off their backs. The question of if they can lead a team to the Finals is answered. But one monkey remains. They still have to win in the FInals. Only then will they be able to pull that monkey off as well.

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