Patrick Sharp eyes return to glory as he comes back 'home'

Patrick Sharp eyes return to glory as he comes back ‘home’

By Mark Lazerus

Patrick Sharp won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks. (Getty Images)

Patrick Sharp grew up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, and spent the last two seasons in Dallas, but he still refers to Chicago as ‘‘home.’’

It’s where he won three Stanley Cups and played the best hockey of his career. It’s where his closest friends in hockey live and play. It’s where he planned to live once his hockey career was over.

But Sharp wants to make it clear that his return to Chicago isn’t some career-ending victory lap. He doesn’t think he’s here to be a marketing link to the glory days; he thinks he’s here to help resurrect them.

‘‘I want to make it clear that I’m coming back home to contribute to the Blackhawks on the ice in whatever role that may be,’’ Sharp said Saturday after signing a one-year, $800,000 contract (with $200,000 in easily attained bonuses). ‘‘I’m coming back to make some more great memories and try to help this team win another Stanley Cup.’’

There are obvious and understandable concerns about just how much Sharp, 35, has left in the tank. He scored only eight goals in 48 games last season, sitting out two monthlong stints with a concussion and cutting his season short in late March to have surgery to repair a nagging hip injury.

But he already has been back on the ice in full equipment and fully expects to be ready in time for training camp in September. And whether he slots in on Patrick Kane’s left wing to keep the spot warm until Alex DeBrincat or another young player is ready to take it or whether he plays a third-line role, such as Marian Hossa did last season, Sharp is eager to put on the familiar red sweater again.

He had multiple suitors, and the Flames reportedly were going after him hard. But leaving money on the table to return to Chicago was an easy call.

‘‘It was a challenging week for me,’’ Sharp said of the free-agency discussion period. ‘‘At the end of the day, the excitement level that I got with the idea of returning to Chicago to play with some of the best friends I’ve made in the game, on that team, in that city, the coaching staff and the organization, the way I get treated by Rocky Wirtz and John McDonough, it was one that I just couldn’t pass up.’’

Despite the hip injury, Sharp still generated more than three shots on goal per game. And given his uncharacteristically low shooting percentage of 5.5 (barely half his career average of 10.8), he might be due for a bounce-back season. Besides, he’s making the same amount of money as Tomas Jurco, so there’s virtually no risk to the cap-strapped Hawks.

As for his age and the injury, general manager Stan Bowman noted that Sharp was usually among the best-conditioned Hawks in fitness testing and that it wasn’t a concern. He also said Sharp could be a mentor to the younger Hawks who have populated the dressing room since Sharp was traded to the Stars two years ago.

Sharp said he would embrace such a role. He’s well aware the Hawks look a lot different than they did in the spring of 2015. He’s also well aware many doubt he still can play at an elite level. But he thinks he can and that the Hawks can, too.

‘‘Chicago was certainly a team I paid attention to and watched the games,’’ Sharp said. ‘‘I like to think I have a handle on what’s happening within the organization. And, yeah, I think the team is more than capable of getting back to the Stanley Cup playoffs and making a run at the Stanley Cup again.’’