Patrick Marleau on return to San Jose: “A lot of feelings.”

TORONTO — Patrick Marleau knows there is going to be a thank-you video. He knows it’s going to be emotional. He knows this is probably too soon for a return.

What he doesn’t know is whether he can prevent himself from welling up.

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Sharks will soon make Bob Boughner their full-time coach, per report This is all so new for the quiet, soft-spoken and almost stoic former San Jose Sharks great. Being a Toronto Maple Leaf for all of 10 games is new. Not being a Shark anymore is still fresh. He still has his home in the South Bay, it’s just not his hockey home anymore.

“Hopefully, there will be be someone beside me making jokes (on the bench) or doing something like that to keep things light,” said Marleau, sounding every bit the hockey player, knowing he will be honored with a video highlighting his 19 seasons in San Jose.

“I really don’t know how I’ll react.”

At least this year, he’s had some practice in a different way. When Marleau played his 1,500th NHL game Oct. 18 — the 18th player to reach that plateau — he was caught off-guard by a scoreboard video honoring him at the Air Canada Centre.

“I didn’t expect it,” he said. “And it was pretty good. It made you feel good.” Get Sharks news in your inbox. Sign up now for the free Sharks Report newsletter.

That’s about as effusive as Marleau gets, verbally. The Maple Leafs feel awfully good about signing him to an expensive and surprising contract this past summer. Their three-year offer for $18.75 dwarfed that of the Sharks and so, after 19 years in San Jose — exactly half his life! — he has moved on.

Marleau already has become a fan favorite in hockey’s loudest market. He has played all three forward positions for coach Mike Babcock. With four goals — he scored two on opening night — and three assists, he’s well ahead of the pace of last season, when he had 46 points. He’s killing penalties and playing the power play.

“He’s a real good pro,” said Babcock, who coached Marleau at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics, and for Babcock that’s the ultimate compliment. “He works every single day, comes in takes it seriously, enjoys himself, and doesn’t say very much and does it right every day. You don’t play 1,500 games by accident.

“I saw something the other night — he’s had 99 (actually 98) game-winning goals, or something like that. Ridiculous, right? You don’t do those things without looking after yourself and being a good pro. To me, that’s an example we need.”

To put Marleau’s time in San Jose into perspective, consider this: Wendel Clark is one of the most beloved Toronto players of the past quarter-century. His jersey has been retired by the Leafs. Clark scored 260 goals in Toronto. The Leafs leading all-time scorer is Hall of Famer, Mats Sundin, with 420 goals.

Marleau scored 508 goals for the Sharks.

The return home is huge and probably a touch too early for Marleau, who is just beginning to feel comfortable in Toronto. But you know it’s a big deal when his wife has taken their four kids out of school for to traveled from Canada for the game.

He actually got off a little lucky, being on the hook for only 11 tickets for Monday night for family and friends. It could have been worse. But it says something about how tight Marleau’s inner-circle is. He has been more expressive in his offensive statistics, never with his words.

“I can imagine there is going to be a lot of feelings,” he said about playing the Sharks. Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news, commentary and conversation.

He does admit his one real regret with the Sharks was not winning the Stanley Cup. It’s among the reasons he signed in Toronto, where the young Leafs have one of hockey’s most explosive lineups. But he won’t look back on his time in San Jose, not yet, not until his career is over, not at all of his magnificent accomplishments.

“I don’t really think about that too much,” he said. “When it’s brought up, you think about it for a second but you try to put it to the side and not think about it.

“We had some really good teams (in San Jose) and still fell short and didn’t win the Cup. It goes to show how hard it is to win. Every thing has to align for you – it still gives me something to strive for.”

Steve Simmons is a longtime sports columnist for the Toronto Sun

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