Thornton goes back on IR with swelling in repaired knee
NEWARK, N.J. >> Instead of flying East from Los Angeles with the rest of the team, Joe Thornton returned to San Jose on Saturday to meet with doctors about swelling in his surgically repaired right knee.
Sharks head coach Pete DeBoer downplayed the situation Sunday, describing the decision to leave Thornton back as precautionary. The team placed Thornton on short-term injured reserve, meaning he can’t play before next Sunday when the Sharks complete a four-game Eastern swing against the New Jersey Devils.
“He had a little bit of swelling after the last game, and rather than continue on the road and risk anything with it, we’re going to take the safe route and get him home and get it looked at,” DeBoer said.
The Sharks recalled Dylan Gambrell from the AHL Barracuda and he joined the team at practice Sunday. The Sharks play today (10 a.m, Pacific) against the New York Islanders.
The Sharks offered no timetable for Thornton’s return. DeBoer said he expects to receive an update on Thornton’s condition sometime this week.
This is the latest setback in what has been an injuryplagued 18 months for the 39-year-old future Hall of Famer. Thornton tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee in April 2017. He sustained the same injury to his right knee in January.
Thornton skated with the Sharks throughout training camp and logged 14:09 of ice time Friday night in a 3-2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings.
At this point, there’s no telling if the swelling is a minor setback or a preview
of future tribulations for Thornton.
“The trainers say it’s fairly common, that it can get some fluid in there sometimes with what he’s gone through,” DeBoer said. “I don’t think anybody is overly concerned. We’re just making sure we do this right.”
Thornton flashed a moment of vintage Jumbo in Friday’s game, setting up Timo Meier’s opening goal by creating space for MarcEdouard Vlasic’s point shot with a hard curl along the ride side boards.
It’s unclear why Thornton experienced swelling Friday night after he skated throughout the summer, participated in training camp and suited up for three preseason games.
“He hasn’t missed anything. I don’t know,” DeBoer said. “There wasn’t a play or anything. There’s just some swelling in there that they wanted to look at because they don’t want it to get worse.
“If we were on a short trip, he might have stayed with us. If we were in the West he might have stayed with us. But to bring him all the way out (to New York) didn’t make sense.”
The feeling around the Sharks locker room was that if the swelling flared up at pivotal time of year — down the stretch or in the Stanley Cup playoffs — Thornton could have played through the setback. But it doesn’t make sense to push through the swelling just two games into a season in which the Sharks are considered strong contenders to go all the way.
“With what he’s been through, and where we’re at right now, it would make no sense not to make sure we’re doing the right thing,” DeBoer said.
As disappointing as the setback is for the Sharks, the team is confident it can absorb Thornton’s loss in the short term.
The Sharks got a strong dose of life without Thornton during the second half of last season and still managed to reach the second round of the playoffs after acquiring Evander Kane at the trade deadline.
After re-signing Kane in the offseason and trading for defenseman Erik Karlsson on the eve of training camp, the Sharks are deep with talent.
“We’ve got some depth here,” captain Joe Pavelski said. “We’ve been through it (before). We know how to manage it. But it takes a big effort, too.”
Pavelski acknowledged that it’s challenging for a competitor like Thornton to pull himself out of the lineup instead of pushing forward. Keep in mind, Thornton played four playoff games in 2017 with two ligament tears in his left knee.
“We’ve touched base,” Pavelski said. “Obviously, he wants to be playing, especially a guy like that. He wants to skate every day. It’s always hard to sit out a game or two.”
In the meantime, Melker Karlsson replaced Thornton on Pavelski and Timo Meier’s line at practice Sunday.
Gambrell, who suited up for three games with the Sharks last season, earned the recall after putting together a dazzling performance with the Barracuda on Friday, scoring a pair of goals and earning a primary assist in the team’s opening night win over the Ontario Reign.
He learned Saturday that he was being promoted.
“We had a game the night before, so I woke up to four or five (missed) calls,” Gambrell said. “I was a little startled, but it was good (news).”