The Carolina Hurricanes are expected to buy out center Patrick Marleau on Friday. Carolina will owe him his $3 million signing bonus play $833,333 over the next two seasons.  Marleau was acquired on June 22nd from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for picks. He will now become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

Hurricanes will buy out Marleau, Don Waddell said. Owe him his $3 million signing bonus now and $833,333 split over the next two years.

— Luke DeCock (@LukeDeCock) June 27, 2019

Patrick Marleau Hitting The Market

Marleau spent the first 19 years of his career with the San Jose Sharks before signing with the Maple Leafs in 2017. He has put up 551 goals and 615 assists for 1,166 career points in 1,657 career games. Marleau has also added 72 goals and 55 assists for 127 career points in 191 Stanley Cup Playoff Games. He was originally drafted second overall by the Sharks in the 1997 NHL Draft.

Last season he scored 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points. He also added 28 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 50.3 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of -1.9. Marleau added two assists in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games last season for the Leafs.

What This Means for the Future of Patrick Marleau

Toronto was looking to off-load Marleau at the beginning of the off-season and ended up sending him to Carolina for picks. With Marleau at the latter end of his career, there has been some talk that he may want to return to San Jose. If the Sharks aren’t an option Marleau may consider retirement which wouldn’t be too much of a shock and has had a great 21-year career.

Marleau 39, could be a third or fourth-line centre who can produce offensively and be a leader. He has been a guy who has picked up 25-30 goals a year but is now closer to 15-20. Marleau has had an interesting off-season and it will be interesting to see what he decides to do.

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – MARCH 27: Patrick Marleau #12 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on March 27, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Leafs 5-4 in the shoot-out. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)