Thornton mulling return, retirement
Former San Jose Sharks captain Joe Thornton’s career may be over. Or not.
The four-time All-Star center, who played 1,104 games for the Sharks from 2005 through 2020, said Wednesday that he has not decided whether to retire or continue playing.
“My wife was kind of asking me last night,” said Thornton, 42, who had five goals and five assists in 34 games with Florida this season. “And really, I have no plans.
“It’s kind of exciting that way. I came here to win a championship and we fell short of that. But I think the Florida Panthers are going to be good for a long time. It’s exciting around here now.”
The question is whether he’ll be part of that excitement.
Thornton was the second-oldest skater to appear in a game this season; New York Islanders defenseman Zdeno Chara turned 45 in March, and — like Thornton — just completed his 24th season in the league.
They were two of four players in the 40s who got into games this season. Buffalo goalie Craig Anderson was a month shy of turning 41 when he made his final appearance of the season, and Edmonton goalie Mike Smith turned 40 in March.
“I’ve been privileged to play this game for a long time,” Thornton said. “I don’t take anything for granted.”
Longtime Sharks running mate Patrick Marleau announced his retirement this month after playing 23 seasons in the NHL. Marleau broke Gordie Howe’s gamesplayed record and retired
having played 1,779 in the regular season during his career.
Thornton has played 1,714 games — sixth most in regular-season history — with Boston, San Jose, Toronto and now the Panthers. He recently joked he would let Marleau keep his place in the history books.
Thornton played in only one playoff game with the Panthers, that being the series finale against the Lightning. He said he didn’t go through the traditional handshakes at the end of that game thinking it could be his final moments of his life as an active player.
“I never think ‘whatifs,’ to be honest with you,” Thornton said. “I just try to live in the moment and go from there.” Briefly: Washington wing Tom Wilson is expected to be sidelined for at least six months after undergoing surgery to reconstruct the torn ACL in his left knee. He was injured in the Capitals’ playoff opener . ... Pittsburgh defenseman Taylor Fedun agreed to a two-year contract extension, the team announced on its website.