Patrick Marleau, Doug Wilson Talk About False Trade Report

SAN JOSE -- Patrick Marleau doesn't always pay attention to trade rumors, but Thursday night's report on ESPN that he'd been traded to the Kings was a little different because his phone started ringing non-stop.

Marleau, the Sharks' all-time leading scorer, knew there was no three-way deal with San Jose, Ottawa and Los Angeles. He has a no-trade clause and no one had asked him to waive it.

"When I know something, you'll know something," he told reporters at the Sharks' practice facility on Friday morning, adding of trade rumors in general, "That's just something for people to write about or make up. I don't worry about it. I just have to worry about getting ready for camp."

Marleau has been the subject of trade speculation much of the summer in the wake of San Jose's first-round flop to the the eighth-seeded Ducks. When the NHL's best team in the regular season bowed out so quickly, there was immediate speculation that the Sharks would make some major moves. Then GM Doug Wilson moved Brad Lukowich and Christian Ehrhoff late last month, creating more salary cap flexibility, and the rumors about very available Ottawa wing Dany Heatley sprang to life again.

Wilson was none too pleased with ESPN's false report, which he immediately denied on Thursday night, calling it "complete bull."

On Friday morning, when asked by FanHouse if the Sharks had been involved in talks of any substances with any other clubs, Wilson said, "We take every call from every team. That's the way we do business. ... When we find something that fits for us, we do it. Out of respect for the parties involved, what happened yesterday is not the way we do business."

Wilson has a strict policy of not discussing other teams' players in the media, and of course there are rules about that which were put in place to guard against tampering. But beyond that, Wilson feels a responsibility not to break his trust with his players. Unless and until the Sharks finalize a deal and announce it, he's not going to toss around names. It's a confidential process, he said.

He did note that the team is now in a position to be more flexible if an opportunity should arise, but he doesn't make a habit of denying each and every rumor that comes down the pike as a result. He felt he had to on Thursday night, considering the trade - which ESPN reported would send Alexander Frolov and Jarret Stoll to Ottawa along with Heatley to San Jose and Marleau to L.A. - was being characterized as completed.

Earlier in the day Thursday, this space had speculated about the possibility of the Sharks acquiring Heatley and sending Marleau to Los Angeles; Marleau, whose wife is from San Jose, might be more amenable to Los Angeles than to some other spots, while San Jose's assistant GM, Wayne Thomas, is friendly with the Heatley family and played with Heatley's father, Murray, at Wisconsin.

Wilson reiterated Friday that he has not asked Marleau to waive his no-trade clause, and Marleau confirmed that.

Asked if he believes he'll be in San Jose to start the season, Marleau said, "I'm planning on it. I'll take it one day at a time."

Marleau's teammates are all well aware of the rumors this summer and particularly on Thursday night.

"Paddy's been in 18 different trades," Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle said with a smile. "Last night, I turned on ESPN and sure enough, he was going to L.A. I called him and his wife said it's not true.

"We expect him to be here when the season starts. Obviously, he's a great player, he had a great season last year, and if he's here, great. If not, there's a good player coming in. We'll see. He's a great guy and we'd love to have him around."