Thornton feels like a kid again
Habs are excited about additions after surprising post-season run in bubble
New Toronto Maple Leafs forward Joe Thornton says he feels a lot younger since joining his new squad.
“Just being around this useful energy gets me excited, and they’ve got a lot of it here,” the 41-year-old veteran said Monday during his first full day of training camp with the Maple Leafs. “Just soak it all in. I feel like I’m young again, it’s a good feeling to be in.”
Thornton has started camp on the left wing of the Leafs’ top line, along with 23-year-old stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Thornton made his NHL debut three weeks after Matthews was born, and won the 2006 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP before his linemates were 10.
“They’re two special guys,” Thornton said. “Really fun to be around and obviously really talented players.”
Thornton signed a one-year contract with Toronto for the league minimum of $700,000 (U.S.) in October, ending a successful 15-year tenure with the San Jose Sharks. He will be counted on to bring a veteran presence to a club that is big on talent but sorely lacking in post-season success.
“Whatever happened in the past really doesn’t matter to me,” Thornton said. “It’s a new season, new slate.”
Thornton has been listed as a centre for most of his NHL career. But if some were surprised that Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe put Thornton at left wing to start camp, the veteran wasn’t among them.
“I kind of played like a rover in San Jose anyway,” said Thorn
ton, who added he played left wing during a recent stint with Swiss club HC Davos. “I feel comfortable up there.”
Thornton, who has put up 420 goals and 1,089 assists in 1,509 regular-season NHL games and 31 goals and 102 assists in 179 playoff contests, said his advice to his young teammates is to play with no fear.
“What I’m going to stress to these guys is every day just enjoy it,” Thornton said. “It goes by so fast.”
HOCKEY HOMECOMINGS
Wayne Simmonds says his new uniform suits him.
“I skated by the glass again today, still look good in blue and white,” the Maple Leafs forward said.
Simmonds is part of a group of veteran forwards who made the trip home late in their career. He signed a one-year, $1.5-million contract in the off-season to play in his hometown.
“This is probably the greatest organization in the NHL, and I’m honoured to be a part of it,”
he said.
The 32-year-old Simmonds has 251 goals and 499 points in 909 career games with the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres over his 12 NHL seasons.
He joins Ontario veterans Thornton and Jason Spezza, who signed a second one-year contract with Toronto at the league minimum after posting nine goals and 16 assists with the Maple Leafs last season.
“To put on that Leaf uniform, you know being from southwestern Ontario, growing up and watching the Leafs, watching Dougie Gilmour, Wendel Clark, Mats (Sundin), it was a thrill for me,” said Thornton, who grew up in nearby St. Thomas, Ont., south of London.
RAISING THE BAR
The Montreal Canadiens were one of the pleasant surprises of last year’s post-season.
Now, after a promising playoff run in Toronto and an off-season roster shakeup by GM
Marc Bergevin, they’ll no longer play the role of plucky underdog — and that’s just fine with the team’s leaders.
“I think everyone here is excited,” captain Shea Weber said Monday. “Speaking to the guys, the additions coming in are excited to be here. They saw what we’re all about in the bubble and how close we were and I think everyone here is also super happy to see we made some moves that are helping our team and we’re moving in the right direction.”
The lowest-ranked team in the 24-team post-season, the Habs upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualifying round in Toronto before falling to the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in six games.
Signings of forwards Corey Perry and Tyler Toffoli and trades for defenceman Joel Edmundson, forward Josh Anderson and goalie Jake Allen have made the Habs a trendy pick to be a serious threat in the North Division.