Thornton brings veteran leadership to Maple Leafs

Jumbo Joe is a Maple Leaf.

While it's unclear how much 41-year-old Joe Thornton can help Toronto in its quest to get past the first round of the playoffs and beyond, it was certainly bound to be a popular signing among the players and around Leafs Nation on Friday night.

The centre signed for the minimum one-year salary of US$700,000, the announcement coming a couple of days after Thornton joined HC Davos in Switzerland to stay in game shape while the NHL is on a long

Covid-19-induced off-season. He was also mulling a return to the San Jose Sharks, where he's played since 2005-06, but without a Stanley Cup to show for it.

With more than 1,800 NHL regular-season and playoff games under his belt, Thornton had 31 points in 70 appearances last season with San Jose. That production was his lowest in 12 years of 70 games or more. But with his physical style, leadership and his famous ZZ Top-style long grey beard, he'll be welcome in the Toronto dressing room.

General manager Kyle Dubas has decreed the Leafs need to be much harder to play against after four early eliminations from playoffs, and had already brought in Wayne Simmonds, TJ Brodie, Joey Anderson, Jimmy Vesey and Zach Bogosian, most of them on bargain one-year deals to address that issue.

BIG Z BUZZES OFF B'S?

It would fall under the category of “believe it when you see it,” but it's a week after free agency began, Zdeno Chara is unsigned, and his agent isn't guaranteeing that he'll be back for a 16th season with the Bruins. The 43-year-old has lost a step, but certainly hasn't shrunk from being six foot nine and covers a lot of ground for a defenceman. Agent Matt Keator told Pierre Lebrun of TSN on Thursday night that he and his client are “looking at all options.”

That likely means the number of teams interested is more than expected and Keator must review all serious offers.

While Chara has become synonymous with Boston, its future as a Stanley Cup contender isn't as strong as before because the team's core group of players is aging.