Hurricanes buy out Marleau's contract

The Carolina Hurricanes bought out the final year of Patrick Marleau's contract on Thursday, the club announced.

Carolina acquired the 39-year-old from the Toronto Maple Leafs via trade at the draft and owes Marleau his $3-million signing bonus plus $833,333 split over the next two years, according to Hurricanes senior web producer Michael Smith.

The Canes will not receive any cap savings, according to CapFriendly, as Marleau was signed to a 35-plus contract.

Toronto packaged Marleau along with a conditional first-round pick and a seventh-rounder in 2020 to offload his $6.25-million cap hit and received a sixth-round selection in return.

Marleau hasn't missed a game since the 2008-09 campaign and registered 16 goals and 21 assists for Toronto last season. It's widely expected that he's seeking a return to the San Jose Sharks, with whom he spent the first 19 years of his career.