Maple Leafs’ Dubas: Good chance Patrick Marleau returns next season

HC analyst Elliotte Friedman joins Tim & Sid to discuss the Maple Leafs making a lot of trade calls around the league about different players, but says he doesn't think Mitch Marner will be going anywhere but Toronto.

Toronto Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said there’s a good chance veteran forward Patrick Marleau will return to the team next season.

Dubas made the comment while meeting with the media in Vancouver ahead of the NHL Draft.

Marleau, who will turn 40 in September, has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $6.25 million. In June, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that Marleau’s family was moving back to San Jose, where he played for most of his career, and that Marleau was hoping to be traded somewhere closer to home.

Marleau appeared in all 82 games for the Maple Leafs last season, scoring 16 goals and 37 points. In 21 NHL seasons and 1,657 career games, Marleau has 551 goals and 1,166 points.

While there’s still lots of time in the off-season for things to change, Dubas’s comments on Thursday suggest the veteran will play out the final year of his contract in Toronto.

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