Sharks’ Thornton making case for Masterton Trophy
MONTREAL >> Joe Thornton should start clearing space in his trophy case. His 2006 Hart and Art Ross Trophies could be getting company.
As Thornton continues to push the boundaries of physical health, holding a share of the Sharks scoring lead while skating on a surgically repaired knee at age 38, it’s clear that he will be a strong candidate for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy this spring.
Over the years, the Masterton Trophy has morphed into a prize recognizing the player who bounces back from the most gruesome injury or unlikely set of circumstances. But if we stick to the true spirit of the award and give it to the skater who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication” it will be hard to find a better candidate than Thornton.
The veteran forward’s return to the ice less than five months after he underwent surgery to repair tears to the anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his left knee has been fueled by nothing other than perseverance and dedication to hockey.
Sharks coach Pete DeBoer acknowledged in November that he’d never be able to get Thornton to take a day off.
Early in the season, it appeared as though Thornton’s perseverance and dedication might not be enough to erase the damage to his restructured knee. He struggled to get to pucks, he couldn’t accelerate, he looked old.
On Nov. 11, DeBoer held him to a season-low 14 minutes of ice time as Thornton fought through an injury related to his damaged knee.
But after sitting out of
four practices that month, Thornton suddenly regained his form. By December, he looked like Joe Thornton again, racking up 11 points in 13 games.
Thornton returned to action about three months before Edmonton Oilers defensemen Andrej Sekera, who underwent a similar procedure last spring at age 30. Dallas coach Ken Hitchcock knows how Thornton did it, and tells us why Thornton is the perfect candidate for the Masterton Trophy.
“Joe never got enough credit for his passion of the game,” Hitchcock said. “His passion is contagious right throughout the locker room … players like that that never lose their edge, they never lose their passion, they can play for a long time and be effective.”
• Back in training camp, I labeled the Sharks season as a season of ifs.
The Sharks would be able to absorb the departure of Patrick Marleau if Thornton bounced back from his knee surgery, if a handful of key players produce snap-back seasons, if the squad could play stingy team defense and if they got significant contributions from their prospects.
So far, the Sharks are checking off most of the boxes.
Thornton is tied for the Sharks scoring lead with
26 points. Tomas Hertl and Joonas Donskoi are both on pace to score 20 goals and Chris Tierney should be in the neighborhood as well. The Sharks rank fifth in goals-against average (2.53) and fifth in shotsagainst (30.6).
The youngsters are coming along as well. Kevin Labanc has nine points in nine games and Timo Meier is starting to find the net with three goals in seven games.
Although they ranked in the bottom five in most offensive categories at Thanksgiving, the Sharks have scored eight more goals through 36 games than they did last year with Marleau (keep in mind, scoring is up across the league).
The Sharks still have a long ways to go to reach the playoffs, but right now they’re hitting their marks.
• No one is playing a bigger role in helping the Sharks absorb Marleau’s loss than Hertl, who’s putting together the breakthrough season the fan base has been itching for.
In addition to his 10 goals, Hertl is playing the Swiss Army knife role that DeBoer depended on from Marleau so heavily over the past two seasons.
When Logan Couture missed 30 games in 2015-16, Marleau slid into the center position
and plugged the hole. He stayed there when Couture came back, giving the Sharks a key matchup edge down the middle.
In the playoffs, when the team needed more speed in its top six, Marleau moved back up to the wing and helped the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Last season, Marleau returned to center when Hertl went down with a knee injury and he moved up to the top line when DeBoer couldn’t find an answer for Thornton and Joe Pavelski’s left wing.
Now, Hertl is DeBoer’s man for all seasons.
He started the year at center and then moved up to the wing after two games when the Sharks needed more scoring punch in their top six. After Couture suffered a concussion Dec. 15, Hertl returned to center for four games and the Sharks went 3-1.
Sunday, DeBoer reunited Hertl with Thornton and Pavelski momentarily, a line combination that propelled the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final two years ago.
• The Sharks appeared to be losing the wild card in their deck when Marleau split town for Toronto in July, but right now, the big-smiling Czech is proving that he’s no longer the team’s joker.
Meanwhile, in Toronto, Marleau has 24 points (15g, 9a) in 40 games and has taken young linemates Auston Mathews and Mitch Marner (both 20) under his wing. The joke is that Marleau, a father of four, now has six kids.
Mathews has 31 points in 30 games. Marner has 29 points in 40 games.
The Sharks will see Marleau and his line on Thursday at Air Canada Center.