Joe Thornton's knee injury is reportedly not as bad as originally believed.

According to NBC Sports California, the damage to Thornton's knee was mostly to his MCL ligament, not ACL.

Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer said after the season that the 37-year-old veteran played through both a torn ACL and MCL in the playoffs.

"I've never seen a guy play with a torn MCL and ACL," DeBoer said. "It's a courageous effort as I've ever seen."

After the season, the Sharks announced Thornton underwent successful knee surgery and was expected to be ready for the start of the 2017-18 season.

Thornton played Games 3 through 6 of his team's first round series against the Edmonton Oilers. He recorded two assists in three games as the Sharks were eliminated.

"I just know I was pretty sore playing," Thornton said of the injury, per the team's website. "We have a good training staff and team doctors who helped me get on the ice and try to perform 100 per cent. But, yeah, (we were ) kind of dealt with those cards, are you're forced to play through some things."

The 19-year veteran is at the end of a three-year, $20.25 million contract and will become an unrestricted free agent in July. He finished the regular season with seven goals and 43 assists in 79 games played.