Marleau would like to rejoin Sharks, says he has 'more than 1' season left

Patrick Marleau insisted Friday he doesn't plan to hang up his skates anytime soon, while also confirming he'd welcome a reunion with the San Jose Sharks.

"Yeah, it would be nice to come back here and play where I started," the free-agent forward told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "It would be a good fit for me for sure."

The feeling would obviously have to be mutual, and Marleau knows he might have to wait to see how the Sharks resolve their other free-agent priorities.

"It might take a bit longer, I'm not sure," he said. "I know they have some things that they're juggling around. We'll see how it goes."

Marleau, who'll turn 40 in September, made it clear he doesn't want to call it a career just yet and is open to playing for other clubs.

"I'm definitely not ready to retire, I think I've got some really good hockey left in me," he said. "I couldn't give you an exact number of years but it's going to be more than one, I know that."

The veteran added that finding a team out west would be ideal for his family, which has moved back into the home it kept in San Jose, during his Sharks tenure.

The Sharks have plenty of other players to deal with ahead of the start of free agency, including pending unrestricted free agent and team captain Joe Pavelski, pending UFA Joe Thornton - who turns 40 on July 2 - and pending restricted free agent forward Timo Meier.

Marleau spent 19 seasons with the Sharks before playing the last two campaigns with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes on Day 2 of the draft last weekend. The Hurricanes bought out the final year of his contract Thursday.

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