Thornton says he wants to stay in San Jose: ‘I’m a Shark’
SAN JOSE » Joe Thornton is confident the San Jose Sharks can get back into the playoffs next year and said he fully intends to resign with the team in the offseason and come back in the fall.
“I’m a Shark,” Thornton said Thursday morning. “The ownership’s great and it just trickles all the way down. I feel good, I feel healthy. We still have ( 19) games left, so a lot can happen. But I feel good.”
Thornton, 40, is on a oneyear, $2 million contract he signed with the Sharks in September and can become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He said recently that after 22 years in the NHL, he is not viewing this season as his last. The Sharks (26-33- 4) entered Thursday in 14th place in the Western Conference, 14 points out of a playoff spot with just 19 games to go.
In his weekly column for Sportsnet, Elliotte Friedman wrote that “Thornton’s gifts — his intelligence and skill — are harder to translate at this time of year, but I do think there are teams who would be willing to make it work if he started the season with them.
“If Thornton is not sold on the Sharks, and he’s willing to seek out new life, my prediction is Toronto will be a factor.”
Thornton is from St. Thomas, Ontario, which is roughly 120 miles west of Toronto. Thornton did not wish to comment on whether he would have waived the no-move clause in his contract to go to the Maple Leafs. Thornton reportedly had a short list of teams he was willing to be traded to before the deadline: Boston, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Colorado and Dallas.
Asked if playing for the Maple Leafs holds any appeal to him, Thornton said, “It’s an iconic team for sure. But I’m a Shark. I’m a Shark. I’ve been privileged to play here and understand what it is to be a Shark. I’m trying to pass it on to the younger guys and how much pride we take out here playing in front of these fans.
“I’ve always said I’m a lifelong Shark and that I will make no apologies for that.”
The Sharks last missed the playoffs in 2015 when they finished in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 40-33-9 record.
The following season, after a coaching change and handful of roster moves, the Sharks finished the regular season in third place in the division with a 46-30- 6 record, and later advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time as a franchise.
General manager Doug Wilson has said repeatedly the Sharks are not entering a rebuild phase. His intention is to get the team back into a position where it can again compete for a championship.
“I would just refer to the last year that we missed the playoffs, and went right to the Cup final,” Thornton said. “I think that’s the plan, and I think the guys are motivated to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.
“We all (saw), like, five six years ago that it didn’t go good that year and the next year, the guys had a bitter taste in their mouth and they came out and played great right from the start of the year and went all the way to the Cup. I hope it’s that’s kind of case again.”
Thornton told reporters in Philadelphia on Tuesday, a day after the NHL trade deadline, that he would have liked the opportunity to move to another team and chase the first Stanley Cup title of his 22-year NHL career.
Thornton said he’s moved on from that disappointment, turning his attention to leading the Sharks’ numerous young players. For Thursday night’s game with the New Jersey Devils, the Sharks were slated to dress six rookies.
“I’ve got to play hard these next 20 games, look after the young guys, make sure they compete hard and teach them how to be pros,” Thornton said. “I’m looking forward to the next month or whatever we have left.
“We’ve got to compete hard. That’s our jobs. We’ve got to play hard, we’ve got to play hard for our fans. We don’t take days off here. We pride ourselves to be hard to play against and that’s going to continue.”
Thornton has played in all 63 games this season. He has four goals and 23 assists and is averaging 15 minutes and 21 seconds of ice time this season, roughly the same as the 2018-19 season (15:33), as he continues to play a significant role, especially with Tomas Hertl out for the season with a knee injury.
“He’s going to be 41 in July and he’s still got some game left,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “Some of these games lately, he’s been one of our best players. He’s led our team through all of these injuries a lot of these games to compete in a lot of these games.
”I think he’s still got hockey in him. He still sees the ice better than most players in this league at that age, and he can still move pretty well. Pretty remarkable when he’s coming off two major knee injuries. He’s one of a kind, for sure.”
Thursday’s game was the 1,630th of Thornton’s NHL career, and his 1,098th with the Sharks.
“We’re fortunate to have him,” Couture said. “I do wish that I was going to be watching him in a couple weeks, playing in the NHL playoffs with the chance to win the Stanley Cup, just because he deserves it. He’s such a great guy.”