Media Day Round-up: Thornton, Marleau, Hertl nursing injuries through round one

Pete DeBoer spoke with this media this morning, revealing that the Sharks battled several injuries during their series with Edmonton.

The details of Joe Thornton’s leg injury came to light: the 37 year old was skating on a torn MCL and ACL. Per Doug Wilson, Thornton will be undergoing surgery today.

DeBoer says Thornton’s knee was just floating. MCL, ACL injuries

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) April 24, 2017

Other injuries included a broken thumb suffered by Patrick Marleau near the end of the regular season and a broken foot on Tomas Hertl that occurred against Vancouver in April. Add to that what we already knew about Logan Couture’s mouth injury and the end of the regular season and playoff performance starts to make a lot more sense.

Wilson and DeBoer, as expected, praised Thornton and Couture for their efforts.

Wilson on Thornton and Couture: “The heart and courage that they showed, I’ve been in this business for a long time but it still amazes me.” pic.twitter.com/2J1Wx7Zxu9

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 24, 2017

DeBoer on Thornton’s injury: “I’ve never seen a guy play with a torn MCL and ACL… It’s a courageous effort as I’ve ever seen.” #SJSharks pic.twitter.com/1jEc9FdLHL

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 24, 2017

Thornton and Marleau are facing free agency this summer. Both expressed interest in returning, though Marleau sounds a little less confident in that happening:

Thornton says he wants to come back. “We’ll have to see. I’m sure we’ll be talking.” #SJSharks

— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNBCS) April 24, 2017

Does Marleau want to come back? “Yeah, it would be nice. We’ll see if that’s an option.” Has not talked to Wilson yet #SJSharks

— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNBCS) April 24, 2017

At a current cap hit of $6.7 million for Thornton and $6.6 million for Marleau, combining with age and bouncing back from injuries, it’s all too likely we’ve seen their last season in teal.