SAN JOSE – Barclay Goodrow is the author of perhaps the greatest goal in Sharks franchise history. He’s won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now has the security of a long-term contract with the New York Rangers.

Perhaps Goodrow’s journey to all of those accomplishments started in San Jose, as he split time between the AHL and NHL for the better part of three seasons before he joined the Sharks on a full-time basis in 2017.

But to Goodrow, that road started before he turned pro, as it was the late Bryan Marchment who saw the undrafted forward play in the Ontario Hockey League with the Brampton and North Bay Battalion for years before anyone else thought he could play in the NHL.

Marchment was the one who convinced former Sharks general manager Doug Wilson to sign Goodrow to an entry-level contract in March 2014.

“Bryan Marchment was a big factor,” Goodrow said Saturday morning before the Sharks hosted the Rangers. “We spent a lot of time together. He came and watched a lot of games and he was in my corner a lot.

“He had my back and vouched for me with Doug. Obviously, there were no other teams interested in me, no one wanted to sign me as an overage player.”

Goodrow on Saturday will play his first game at SAP Center since he was traded by Wilson to the Lightning in Feb. 2020 for a first-round draft pick, which the Sharks would use later that year on center Ozzy Wiesblatt at No. 31 overall.

Goodrow, 29, said several people inside the Sharks’ organization had an influence on his career, like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, and Logan Couture, not to mention numerous coaches and trainers.

But it was Marchment, a longtime Sharks scout and development coach and a former player with the team, who gave Goodrow his first big break. Marchment died of natural causes on July 6 in Montreal, just a day before the NHL Draft, and like everyone else who knew ‘Mush,’ the news hit Goodrow like a ton of bricks.

“Obviously I’ll always be pretty thankful to the Sharks organization for giving me a shot,” Goodrow said, “and just giving me a chance to live my dream.”

Goodrow played 268 games over four-plus seasons with the Sharks, collecting 71 points. His versatility and toughness made him a popular player among his teammates and the fanbase, as his willingness to take on all comers resulted in 235 penalty minutes.

Even though Goodrow has played in 74 playoff games, winning the Cup in 2020 and 2021 with the Lightning, he’ll always be remembered locally for scoring in overtime in Game 7 of the Sharks’ opening-round series with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2019.

As it has turned out, Goodrow is now in his second season with Rangers coach Gerard Gallant, who was the Golden Knights’ coach from 2017 to 2020.

“It was a lucky goal,” Gallant said somewhat jokingly Saturday morning at SAP Center.

As the 2020 trade deadline approached and with the Sharks out of the playoff picture, Goodrow knew that pending unrestricted free agents like defenseman Brenden Dillon and forward Patrick Marleau could get dealt to other teams.

Dillon was dealt to the Washington Capitals six days before the Feb. 24, 2020 deadline, when Marleau was sent to Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Sharks were in Philadelphia on trade deadline day and Goodrow was rooming with Marleau when Wilson knocked on the hotel door to inform Marleau of the trade. A short while later, when Wilson knocked on the door again, Goodrow knew he was the one on the move.

“I was shocked,” said Goodrow, who had one full year left on his contract before he became a UFA.

“I wasn’t expecting it and it took a while for it to sink in, to be honest. When you’re a young player, you kind of just think you’re going to be with that team for the rest of your career and you have no inclination that you’re going to be moved or be traded. You see other guys with expiring contracts and you figure they’re on the way out.

“Brenden Dillon was fully expecting to be traded because he was a UFA. I wasn’t expecting it. It took a couple of days for it to sink in. Then obviously going to Tampa, I was very happy to be a part of their team and to be given the chance to compete for the Cup.”

Goodrow settled in with the Lightning and became a key depth forward on a team that already had superstars like Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point. He played 43 playoff games with the Lightning, averaging well over 17 minutes of ice time per game in a checking role, as he became a key penalty killer and faceoff specialist.