DETROIT — Maybe it’s time to really define the word “gutless.” You know, before everyone decides that Patrick Marleau of the Sharks is either (A) one total wuss who couldn’t tie his skate laces without help or (B) a man of unquestioned ferocity and courage who has been unfairly wronged.
The truth is, Marleau fits neither description. But the Sharks hardly needed that debate as a distraction, as they took the ice here Tuesday night with their playoff lives at stake against the Detroit Red Wings.
So please, could we put the whole thing into final context before Marleau goes out at Joe Louis Arena to prove … well, something? This all began courtesy of Jeremy Roenick, the former Shark turned broadcaster, who has always possessed a power play mouth. Roenick used the “G” word on Sunday to describe Marleau following his Game 5 performance at HP Pavilion.
Roenick was wrong in his vocabulary choice but right in his approach. Because here are the facts: Any man who steps onto the ice in the National Hockey League has guts. People get paralyzed and maimed playing this game. If you’ve sat down at ice level and seen the speed and collisions, you know this. So any NHL player is not gutless. However, at playoff time, those same players are expected to go beyond that threshold — into an area that should probably be called “Even More Not Gutless.”
It’s not an unreasonable expectation. If a professional athlete cannot raise his or her game when a championship is within sight, then something is wrong. Let’s provide some examples, inside and outside hockey.
Not Gutless: Fighting for a puck with Detroit wonder center Pavel Datsyuk.
Even More Not Gutless: When you lose that fight, doing anything possible to knock down Datsyuk (instead of giving him a semi-strong shove, as Marleau did) before Datsyuk can slide a pass over to a teammate that leads to the game-winning goal.
Not Gutless: Blocking a slapshot by sliding down in front of an opponent preparing to fire a puck.
Even More Not Gutless: Doing that with your chest instead of your feet, on successive shifts.
Not Gutless: Vin Diesel
Even More Not Gutless: Clint Eastwood
Not Gutless: Skating hard into a corner to chase down the puck for an icing call — knowing that a 230-pound player from the opposite team is preparing to pulverize you against the boards and glass.
Even More Not Gutless: Touching the puck, being pulverized — then making sure that the next time you’re on the ice with the guy who pulverized you … your team scores a goal. There’s time to pulverize him back next regular season in a less important game.
Not Gutless: Standing by the crease, trying to jam the puck into the net on a rebound.
Even More Not Gutless: Knocking down an opposing player to get to the puck to guarantee that you can jam the puck into the net.
Not Gutless: Coming back to beat Colorado last year after falling behind two-games-to-one in a playoff series.
Even More Not Gutless: Making sure Detroit does not come back from a three-games-to-none deficit to win a series.
Not Gutless: Hall of Fame football quarterback Jim Kelly.
Even More Not Gutless: Hall of Fame football quarterback Joe Montana.
Not Gutless: Winning the faceoff you have to win.
Even More Not Gutless: Winning the faceoff and then going to the net for a tip-in goal from the teammate who collected the puck after the faceoff.
Not Gutless: Fighting to get to the conference finals last season.
Even More Not Gutless: Fighting even harder to get back there again this season.
Not Gutless: Deciding that you want to win more than anything in the world.
Even More Not Gutless: Deciding that it’s not a matter of wanting to win, it’s a matter of absolutely having no choice but to win or else you’re going to crawl into a hole for the entire summer.
The Sharks and Marleau are facing all of these choices as we move ahead. For them to succeed, they can’t be multiple choices. The answers all have to be: Even more.
Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5092.
