Jeremy Roenick foresees Joe Thornton returning to the Sharks and Patrick Marleau heading elsewhere.

With both Sharks stars entering free agency, the NBC hockey analyst explained his take on whether either will be back in San Jose during a conference call Tuesday to promote the American Century Championship.

“I cannot see Joe Thornton, at this point, retiring the way that they finished this year,” Roenick said. “Losing early, having the team that they’ve had, the pride that he has in the Sharks and in himself…. Being injured the way that he was, it would be very surprising to me if he decided to part ways with the Sharks, knowing that he’s really made a home there in San Jose.”

Roenick shifted gears quickly in sharing how Marleau’s situation is different.

“There has to come a time when you part ways,” Roenick began. “I would not be surprised if it was a decision between (Sharks) management and Patrick that a change of scenery could really add an element and a jump in Patrick Marleau’s career.”

The history between Roenick and Marleau is well-documented, though Roenick did congratulate Marleau on his 500th career NHL goal this February

Roenick called Marleau “one of the most talented players that has ever laced the skates up in the National Hockey League” on Thursday — a new list for Marleau, who was No. 3 in the chapter of Roenick’s 2012 book titled “Five Players I Hated During My Career.” Related Articles Goalie assist: How Evgeni Nabokov guided both Anton Khudobin, Andrei Vasilevskiy

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Those conflicting thoughts from Roenick, who played with Marleau from 2007-09, mirror what he said about the former San Jose captain Thursday.

“I think there’s a lot of times when Patrick Marleau has been extremely successful and extremely disappointing to management in terms of his consistent production,” Roenick said. “And when you’re paying a guy the type of money that these guys are getting paid at this point in their career, consistent scoring is a must. Lulls in your game can’t happen, and unfortunately that happens to Patrick Marleau too much. Sometimes you need a change of scenario to revitalize your career.”

Roenick memorably called Marleau “gutless” after a Sharks playoff loss to the Red Wings in 2011.

“You talk about pure talent and the ability to score goals at a high clip, Patrick Marleau is one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Roenick said last year. “But, you know, that doesn’t mean I have to like him as a person or like him as a player or anything like that. So I think he’s a wonderful, unbelievably talented hockey player but I wish I would see it from him more often.”