NASHVILLE, Tenn. _ Dust off that No. 12 teal jersey: Patrick Marleau is returning to the Sharks.
Marleau, a cornerstone of the franchise for close to two decades and the team's all-time leader in several statistical categories, will sign with the Sharks, general manager Doug Wilson said Tuesday afternoon before the team played the Nashville Predators.
Marleau will likely sign a one-year deal with the Sharks, although Wilson said details of the contract still have to be worked out.
Wilson said he does not know whether Marleau will join the team in Chicago for its game against the Blackhawks on Thursday or when it returns home this weekend. The Sharks' first game at home after the road trip is Sunday against the Calgary Flames.
"We look forward to Patrick joining us," Wilson said. "We stay very committed to what we started the year with, which is integrating all of the young players into the organization. But there's realities that you have to deal with _ suspensions or injuries that we've run into a myriad of.
"This is an opportunity to add a veteran into our group to give us some veteran depth, that's versatile, understands how we play and is very accepting of a role that head coach Pete DeBoer may need on different nights."
Marleau has played both left wing and center throughout his career, and the Sharks could use help at multiple spots throughout their forward group.
DeBoer has had to shuffle his forwards lines around since the start of the season, moving players up and down and in and out of the lineup, searching for the right combinations. The Sharks have scored just three goals in three games _ the lowest total in franchise history _ as they lost twice to the Vegas Golden Knights to open the season and are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.
Evander Kane will return to the ice Tuesday following the completion of his three-game suspension to start the season. But fellow winger Marcus Sorensen is out and considered day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. The Sharks have also been trying to integrate two rookies _ wingers Danil Yurtaykin and Lean Bergmann _ into their lineup with mixed results.
"The young players have played very well," Wilson said. "But again, the roles that they have been thrust into with Evander being out or some other things happening, are fairly advanced for young players. Yes, it's a young league right now, but there's also some quality veterans that enhance the growth of young guys."
Marleau spent the first 19 seasons of his NHL career with the Sharks, who drafted him second overall in 1997, one spot behind Joe Thornton.
Marleau left the Sharks as an unrestricted free agent two years ago, as he signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 2, 2017.
Rumors about a Sharks-Marleau reunion began to circulate in June after the Carolina Hurricanes acquired the longtime forward from the Maple Leafs and later bought out the final year of his contract.
Marleau then became a free agent and reportedly expressed a desire to return to the Sharks. Marleau and his family have moved back to the Bay Area from Toronto and Marleau has been skating on a regular basis at Solar4America Ice in San Jose. Wilson said he and Marleau's agent, Pat Brisson, have remained in constant communication.
Marleau, the second overall selection in the 1997 NHL draft, remains the Sharks' all-time leader in several categories, including games played (1,493), goals (508) and points (1,082).
