DeBoer, Thornton, media do battle over wounded knee
SAN JOSE >> Apparently, post-truth politics are now infecting NHL dressing rooms, at least in San Jose this week.
The Sharks took a misleading approach while discussing Joe Thornton’s recovery from offseason knee surgery.
Thornton has missed both of the Sharks’ practices this week after sitting out two last week and skating for a season-low 14 minutes Saturday night.
On Sunday, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer acknowledged that Thornton isn’t “100 percent” healthy after he was asked a series of questions about the 38-year-old’s recovery from offseason knee surgery. After the Sharks’ 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings later that night, Thornton said his absence from practice was unrelated to his surgically repaired knee, saying, “the last 10 or so I’ve had something going on.”
When asked to clarify what’s ailing Thornton, DeBoer walked back from his Sunday night answer.
“Did I say his knee isn’t 100 percent?” DeBoer asked reporters after practice Wednesday. “I don’t think so. I said he wasn’t 100 percent.”
In addition to being a smart NHL coach, DeBoer is the owner of two law degrees, so he knows how to litigate and manipulate the technicalities of language.
By the letter of the law, the Sharks’ coach isn’t lying when he says that he didn’t make direct reference to Thornton’s knee when asked about his health Sunday night. But DeBoer is being disingenuous because he answered several unambiguous questions about Thornton’s knee in a rather direct manner.
Here’s the first question he was asked:
“(Thornton) was at 14 minutes last night. We saw him get a couple maintenance days last week, he left the ice during one practice. Is that an issue with his knee? Ineffectiveness? Where’s that coming from?”
DeBoer: “If I was to say he’s 100-percent healthy, it wouldn’t be truthful, so he’s not. But he’s good enough to help us out there.”
In the courtroom, DeBoer would probably argue that he simply acknowledged that Thornton isn’t healthy. He didn’t make direct reference to his knee.
But the interview continued and DeBoer was asked about whether Thornton was 100 percent at the start of the season. Is he getting better or worse?
“I don’t think he’s 100 percent,” DeBoer said. “No, he wasn’t 100 percent at the start of the season.”
Will he ever be 100 percent?
DeBoer: “Well, I don’t know, that’s a good question. I can tell you (Andrej) Sekera in Edmonton had knee surgery at the same time last and he still isn’t even on the ice. I don’t know if it’s the same surgery or what, but I’m assuming it’s similar.
“So this guy’s pushing the envelope and we’re dealing with a little bit of that.”
DeBoer insists that he wasn’t referring to Thornton’s knee, but he drew a direct link to Sekera, suggesting he underwent
a similar procedure to Thornton. He also acknowledged that Thornton is “pushing the envelope” by attempting to return from his injury so soon.
Later that night, Thornton dismissed any suggestion that his absence from practice was related to the health of his knee.
“It’s not with the knee at all, no. The knee feels great, so I’ve kind of forgotten about that,” he said. “We’ll get better, hopefully. It’s 72 hours, or whatever it is, until Thursday.”
Keep in mind, Thornton told a bald-faced lie three days after he tore the medial collateral ligament and the anterior collateral ligament in his left knee last April, saying an MRI revealed that, “everything
looked good.”
Thornton also said there was “no doubt” that he’d suit up for Game 1 of the Sharks’ Stanley Cup playoff series against Edmonton.
“I’m a quick healer, so just a couple days, that’s all I need,” Thornton told reporters on April 5. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll play (Thursday).”
He didn’t rejoin the lineup for 11 more days, suiting up for Game 3. Two days after the Sharks were eliminated, Thornton underwent surgery to repair his ACL and MCL.
With that in mind, it’s hard to believe that Thornton isn’t dealing with significant issues related to his knee, especially when his coach is taking a 180-degree turn from his
response just three days ago.
But if Thornton’s misleading statements before the playoffs tell us anything it’s that the health of his knee is probably worse than anyone wants to acknowledge publicly.
If Thornton goes down, the offensively starved Sharks (10-6) will be in a lot of trouble, and that isn’t a narrative the team wants to spin when it’s building momentum with six wins in seven games.
DeBoer eventually shut the door on the entire conversation, confirming that he isn’t going to provide any clarity about Thornton’s health.
“We’re not going to talk about it,” DeBoer said. “We’ve done this before.”