San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson could have returned to the ice in March despite being ruled out for the remainder of the season following mid-February thumb surgery.

"If the season would have been on, I probably could have played a couple weeks ago if I had to," Karlsson told NBC Sports Bay Area on Thursday, according to NHL.com.

The Sharks sat last in the Western Conference when the season was suspended March 12, making them a near lock to miss the playoffs for only the third time in the last two decades.

Despite the disappointing season, Karlsson explained he's developed a fresh outlook on life while stuck at home amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"I think something like this makes you realize that there's a lot of things out there that are more important, even though hockey is one of the biggest parts of my life and something that I enjoy to do," Karlsson said.

He added, "It puts a lot of things in perspective and you get to discover a lot of other things outside the hockey world which you otherwise might not have been able to. This is something we all have to go through."

Before suffering the injury, the 29-year-old rearguard tallied six goals and 40 points through 56 contests in his second season with San Jose.

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