San Jose Sharks legend Patrick Marleau calls it a career after 23 seasons

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San Jose Sharks legend Patrick Marleau announced his retirement from the NHL after 23 seasons Tuesday, penning his farewell in The Players’ Tribune.

The 42-year-old athlete walks away as the NHL’s all-time leader in games played with 1,779.

"I can’t stress this one enough: thank you to the people of San Jose and the Sharks franchise. I came to San Jose as a 17-year-old boy," Marleau wrote. "I had big dreams and you showed faith in me from day one. Thank you for allowing me to put that jersey on, year after year, decade after decade. I hope I have left a history that you and the city can be proud of."

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Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks and his family wave to the crowd as he is honored for having passed Gordie Howe on the NHLs all-time games played list before the game against the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center on April 24, 2021 in San Jose, California.  (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)

Selected second overall by the Sharks in the 1997 NHL Draft, Marleau quickly became the face of the franchise and wore the "C" on his sweater from 2003-2009. Over the course of his 21-year career in San Jose, Marleau became the franchise’s all-time leader with 522 goals, 1,111 points, and seven 30-goal seasons, among other accolades.

"Playing in San Jose was the stuff of fairy tales. It was a new team, a beautiful city in California (where the weather was just a smidge nicer than the cold, bitter Canadian air I was used to). I got to play in one of the newest rinks in the league, with loud, passionate fans cheering us on," Marleau wrote. "The horn that goes off when a home-team goal is