Sharks' Marleau couldn't imagine being traded

Patrick Marleau is quite content right where he is.

The veteran of 18 NHL seasons is set to take the ice for the first time in a Stanley Cup Final Monday night, and he will do so with the team that he reportedly asked for a trade away from early this season.

However, on the back of the San Jose Sharks' best playoff run in franchise history, Marleau couldn't picture being anywhere else.

"It would be hard to imagine that," Marleau said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "I'm extremely happy to be here."

Marleau reportedly asked for a trade as early as training camp, and was believed to be "driving the bus" on a potential deal thanks to a full no-movement clause in his contract.

However, Marleau refused to clarify if such rumors were true, only suggesting that he had to play through them.

"When those rumors start swirling and things like that, you can't control them, so you just try to control what you can do, and what I can do is just come to the rink ready to play each and every day," Marleau said.

For now, though, the team's all-time leader in games played, goals, and points appears to have put things behind him and has his eyes set on capturing the franchise's first Stanley Cup.