Gotta give Ricci some credit for hangin in there but he isn't the mucker he once used to be. If he didn't still do what he does best, SJ would've dumped him last year at the fire sale (maybe at the trading deadline to a contender).
Now Patrick Marleau, there's a talent that's coming along. I watched that kid play a ton of Junior hockey for Seattle and he was among the first crop of extremely young players ushered into the NHL a little too early (i.e. Joe Thornton, Ed Jovanovski), a trend that has now become 'old-hat' in the NHL and irks me to this day. Change that minimum draft age!!!!
Anyone wonder why Ryder & Co. are doing so well in Montreal? Because they actually went through their farm system instead of straight to the big show. If the Sharks did this with Marleau, he would've peaked earlier and been a great player for longer than he will be now. Marleau's only 24 years old and has already played over 550 games since 1997. That will catch up to these high-draft picks in the end.