At least two of Patrick Marleau's former teammates expected the 37-year-old would return to the San Jose Sharks this offseason.

Marleau had played his entire career with the club that drafted him second overall in 1997, but after hitting the open market on July 1, the seven-time 30-goal scorer elected to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, catching both Joel Ward and Jason Demers off guard.

"Definitely pretty surprised," Ward said, according to NHL.com's Dave McCarthy. "I was hoping he would stay, for sure. He was a big help for us, on and off the ice. It's definitely going to be a big blow for us."

As for Demers - who played with the Sharks from 2009 to 2015 - he knows the decision for Marleau to leave the team he's played 19 seasons with could not have been easy.

"That was crazy," Demers said. "For him to make that decision, I know him well personally and I know that was probably the biggest decision of his career. I don't think anybody understands on the outside how big of a decision that was for him. … In my head, after talking to him a little bit, I thought he was going to stay, but I think him and his family discussed it and I think it's going to be a great thing for him."

With the Maple Leafs, Marleau will now be playing alongside the team's speedy, young core, and while Demers welcomes the challenge of facing Marleau on a more regular basis - as a member of the Florida Panthers - he understands matching up against Marleau and the Maple Leafs won't be easy.

"Playing alongside those guys in Toronto, they're going to be real fast," Demers said. "It's going to be fun seeing him more than twice a year, but it's going to (stink) because now I've got to try to defend him more than twice a year."

Demers will get his first look at Marleau in a Maple Leafs' uniform when the Panthers host Toronto on Nov. 22.

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