NHL
Joe Thornton signed a one-year deal to stay in San Jose.
Joe Thornton is arguably the face of the San Jose Sharks organization. After being traded from Boston in 2006, Thornton still leads the San Jose Sharks as an outstanding player. As a result, Thornton signed a one-year deal to stay in San Jose for the second year in a row. Assuming he’s retiring, the signing shows that Thornton wants to go out with with a bang in San Jose.
Last season, Thornton ended his 2018 endeavor early due to a knee injury. As a result, Thornton did not appear in any playoff games for San Jose. In addition, San Jose may have needed that veteran presence against the Vegas Golden Knights as they fell in the second round series 4-2.
Throughout his career, “Jumbo” has always been a top-notch goal scorer and a big presence. Joe Thornton was selected first overall by Boston in the 1997 draft. Since then, he’s been a fearsome presence throughout the league. He spent eight years with Boston, notching 454 career points with the Bruins.
However, he was traded to San Jose for three players on December 1, 2005. As a result, he made a name for himself in Western California. In Thornton’s first full season with the Sharks, he boasted a career-high 114 points.
Furthermore, Thornton has led the Sharks to multiple appearances in the postseason. However, Thornton’s biggest postseason appearance came in 2016 when he finally made his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately, San Jose fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1.
A future in the hall of fame?
Despite his faults, it’s easy to say that Thornton is a hall of fame candidate. He scored 397 goals, racked up 1,427 points and played in 1,493 games throughout his 20-year career. Thornton has always shown leadership and tenacity with both the Sharks and Bruins respectively. Furthermore, Thornton won the Hart Ross Trophy and Art Memorial trophy in 2006. Additionally, Thornton went to the all-star game six times in his career.
In addition, Thornton’s ability and leadership passes down numerous skills and techniques to up and coming stars entering San Jose. Thornton has been a great teacher for young teammates like Logan Couture.
Currently, it is unknown how much Thornton’s deal is worth. However, San Jose plans to push towards other players currently in the market.
