Pending free agent Joe Thornton is expected to ready for the start of the 2017-18 season after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday.

The San Jose Sharks forward had surgery to repair both a torn ACL and MCL suffered late in the regular season.

The 37-year-old returned to play Games 3 through 6 of the 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."

"I've never seen a guy play with a torn MCL and ACL," Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer added Monday. "It's a courageous effort as I've ever seen."

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.

The Sharks announced Tuesday that Thornton was one of several players playing through serious injury, including Logan Couture (facial fractures), Patrick Marleau (broken left thumb), Tomas Hertl (broken foot), and Joonas Donskoi (twice separated shoulder during the regular season).