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Patrick Marleau not feeding into his own trade rumor hype
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Patrick Marleau not feeding into his own trade rumor hype

Even with a back-and-forth battle against the visiting New York Islanders, much of the attention towards the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night was focused on rumors aimed at one of its most recognizable players.

Whispers surrounding Patrick Marleau hit a new high on Tuesday with word that the forward would consider a trade to a select few teams, per a report by Kevin Kurz of Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. It is beginning to look like more of a possibility that the veteran winger won’t be rocking teal for much longer—even with Marleau himself dismissing the trade talk.

Per Kurz’s report on Tuesday evening:

“The New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings would all be locations that the Sharks’ all-time leading scorer would deem acceptable. 
It’s unclear at this time whether Marleau is pushing for the move, or whether the team initiated it, although TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported that it’s “more likely that Marleau asked (San Jose) to explore trade possibilities to select teams.””

Marleau—whose three-year, $20 million contract includes no-trade and no-movement clauses—was first connected to the trade rumor mill last weekend when Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman revealed that the 36-year-old Shark’s name was “out there.” The rumor wasn’t completely out of left field, again, given the large number of scouts who were down in the South Bay over the weekend.

Of course, Marleau was quick to dismiss the rumors when asked afterSaturday night’s tilt with the Anaheim Ducks if the team had asked him to waive his NTC. On Wednesday, a reported text to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun stated that his focus is playing "for the Sharks."He took it a step further telling the media available at Wednesday’s practice that he “wasn’t going to speculate” and would “rather not feed into it,” Kurz reported.

It is entirely possible that agent Pat Brisson, whom Marleau "retained during training camp" per Darren Dreger of TSN, advised him to keep mum when talking about trade speculation. Then again, receiving new counsel before the start of the season would lead one to believe that Marleau is looking to move on. Adding to that, McKenzie reported Wednesday morning that multiple sources confirmed Marleau was "driving the bus" behind the trade talk.

For the time being, however, the Sharks' franchise leader in points and games doesn't appear to be shedding any light on the issue. "My job is to play hockey -for the Sharks," he reportedly said in his text to LeBrun, "and that's what I intend to do, and that is where my focus is."

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