Quick Thoughts: On Witnessing History, Jones Talks Marleau Mask, Sharks Vaccinated?

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Patrick Marleau doesn’t like talking about himself, so an entire league spoke for him last night.

From Gary Bettman to Joe Pavelski to a naked Joe Thornton – and more – the tributes came from everywhere last night, from Carolina, where Marleau enjoyed a legendary “stint”, to Vegas, the San Jose Sharks’ most bitter rival.

It was a privilege to be here myself, to be a part of hockey history.

The night we covered history.

Patrick Marleau’s record-breaking 1,768th career game

VGK & SJS media from the press perch on April 19th, 2021

shoutout to @Dan_DUva for
risking it all for the photo cred pic.twitter.com/toYA0tbtiD

— Lindsey Brown (@lindseybrown35) April 20, 2021

I already shared my thoughts about Marleau’s achievement itself. But two things stood out to me last night, and they both happened right after the game.

All the Golden Knights line up to shake Marleau's hand at the end of the game, then fans give him one final send-off tonight pic.twitter.com/trp54QoZjx

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) April 20, 2021

First, at the end of the handshake line with the Vegas Golden Knights, Marleau and Marc-Andre Fleury took a little extra time to chat.

“I was just trying to show my respect to him. He’s had a tremendous career, he’s moving up the wins column,” Marleau said. “You can tell a player like that, who loves the game and enjoys being out there and is a great teammate. I just wanted to show him the respect that he deserves for all his great accomplishments in his career.”

Isn’t that so Patrick Marleau? On the night that he’s breaking a hallowed NHL record that’s stood for 59 years, he’s congratulating somebody else on their career?

Second period is underway! pic.twitter.com/lpOdoLpBuL

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 20, 2021

Second, after the completion of the handshake line, the T-Mobile Arena crowd of 3,950 gave Marleau a rousing final ovation. But after about 30 seconds, the 1:15 mark of my video, you can see Marleau, on the jumbotron, make what looks like a “wrap it up” gesture.

“I think you’re probably right,” Martin Jones offered. “He doesn’t want any special attention or anything like that. So I’m sure a lot of last night was a little bit painful for him.

“I think that’s just him. You know, deflecting a little bit.”

That’s so Patty, right?

The Other Side of Patrick Marleau | SJHN+

From One Quiet Guy to Another

Speaking of Jones, he paid tribute to Marleau last night, wearing a special mask:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by San Jose Sharks (@sanjosesharks)

“It was actually our trainer Mikey’s idea to do a mask up for him,” the San Jose Sharks netminder shared. “They just kind of helped put it together, got a list of names from Patty for some family members to put on the backplate. And that turned out great.”

The inclusion of Marleau’s family members on Jones’s mask isn’t obvious at first glance, but a fitting touch:

"Having played a majority of my games here in San Jose, being drafted by them, they've been a great organization over the years for me and my family.

My family has grown up being a part of it and it was the right thing that happened, being in a Sharks uniform." -Patrick Marleau pic.twitter.com/I4J7T70nmw

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 20, 2021

Jones added: “It’s pretty unbelievable what he’s done. The thing with Patty is to do that for that long, you talk about a guy just carrying himself with class and leading by example. I don’t think anybody does it better than Patty. So we’re lucky that we have him.

“We got a lot of young guys on our team, they can look to him. He shows up to the rink everyday and puts in the work. He takes care of himself. He’s a true pro.”

Sharks Vaccinated?

Last week, Brian Truong of San Jose Hockey Now broke that the Barracuda had been vaccinated on Apr. 9:

Barracuda Vaccinated Last Week; Sommer on Chekhovich, Chmelevski’s Slow Starts | SJHN+

Truong also reported that Sasha Chmelevski had suffered from some side effects after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Chmelevski missed the Barracuda’s Apr. 10 game because of these side effects, but he’s come back strong since, notching five points in four contests.

The San Jose Sharks weren’t as forthcoming with their vaccination details, but Bob Boughner shared that some of the team had been vaccinated. He declined to state which vaccines the Sharks were offered.