The possibility of Patrick Marleau playing for a third NHL team next season seems even realer.
The Maple Leafs winger is selling his Toronto home amid rumors the Original Six franchise is seeking to trade the former Sharks captain, the Toronto Star reported Thursday.
The massive six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home is listed at $11.888 million, and includes an in-ground pool and the backyard rink Marleau built for his four sons for Christmas during his first season in Toronto.
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After spending the first 19 seasons of his NHL career in San Jose, the No. 2 pick in the 1997 NHL Draft signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract. Marleau developed a close relationship with young Toronto stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, but the 39-year-old scored the second-fewest points of his career (37) in an 82-game season in 2018-19.
With the Maple Leafs needing salary-cap space in order to re-sign Marner and their pending restricted free agents, Marleau's $6.25 million hit has kept his name in the rumor mill since Toronto was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in May.
Marleau is owed $4.25 million in salary, $3 million of which comes in a signing bonus paid out in two installments, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported last month. That makes Marleau's deal conceivably movable, but the veteran has a no-movement clause in his contract and would be able to decide his destination.
San Jose Sharks
Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos reported last week that Marleau was willing to waive the clause, and that he wants to play closer to the West Coast with his wife and three children moving back to San Jose.
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The Athletic's James Mirtle wrote Monday that he was told the Anaheim Ducks and Colorado Avalanche weren't interested "at this time," and the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes would want an additional player or pick in exchange for taking on Marleau's contract. The Leafs can retain up to 50 percent of Marleau's contract in a trade, but an ensuing $3.125 million cap hit still might be too rich for some teams' tastes.
But with Marleau's home now on the market, it seems like the longest-tenured player in Sharks history will have a new home sooner rather than later.