According to head coach Mike Babcock, the Toronto Maple Leafs knew when they signed veteran winger Patrick Marleau in 2017 that he wouldn't be with the team for the final season of his three-year contract.

Marleau will make his return to Toronto Friday night after being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes this off-season before being bought out and eventually signing back with the San Jose Sharks earlier this month.

"We knew right when we signed him. We couldn't get him for two years. We tried. We knew the math didn't work out when we signed him," Babcock told reporters on Friday.

With Auston Matthews' $11.6 million (per season) extension set to kick in and Mitch Marner still in need of a new deal at the time, the cap-crunched Maple Leafs sent a first-round pick to the Hurricanes to complete the Marleau trade in June. Marleau, who waived his no-move clause for the deal, had been set to carry a $6.25 million cap hit for this season.

The 40-year-old is currently playing a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Sharks, but he told the Toronto Sun earlier this week he was happy to free up cap space for the team to keep Marner, who signed a six-year, $65.4 million deal in September.

“No better person to do it for,” Marleau said. “That makes it easy. Those guys are great players and deserve everything they get.”

Marleau posted 43 goals and 84 points in 164 games with the Maple Leafs over his two seasons with the team. He's off to a strong start with the Sharks this year, posting two goals and six points in six games since his debut.