Thornton likely to miss ‘several weeks.’
Sharks alternative captain’s right knee injury will keep him out several weeks, maybe longer
The Sharks’ Joe Thornton (19) skates back to bench after colliding with teammate Mikkel Boedker (89) in the third period of Tuesday’s game against Winnipeg. Thornton’s injury looks “MCL related” according to general manager Doug Wilson.
Joe Thornton will be sidelined for “several weeks,” possibly longer, by a right knee injury suffered Tuesday night against Winnipeg.
Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said Thornton was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Wednesday to assess the damage to his medial collateral ligament. It’s unclear whether Thornton will require surgery.
“It looks like it’s MCL related,” Wilson said. “It looks like he’s going to be out for several weeks,
anyhow. Our policy is if it’s more than two weeks, we let you know.”
In other words, Thornton could possibly be out for months, depending on what the MRI reveals.
The Sharks alternate captain suffered the injury after Mikkel Boedker tumbled onto Thornton’s right knee in the last minute of the third period Tuesday night, causing him to buckle. Boedker fell after getting tangled up with Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba.
Thornton, 38, suffered a major injury to his left knee on April 2, 2017, requiring offseason surgery to repair damage to his medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments. After playing in four playoff games with those tears, Thornton returned to the ice in training camp less than five months after surgery.
Thornton has played in all 47 Sharks games this season, ranking second on the team in scoring (36 points) and goals (13). After struggling early in the season, Thornton’s game started to round into form around Thanksgiving.
He had collected 26 points in his last 28 games before leaving the ice Tuesday.
“It’s tough,” alternate captain Logan Couture said. “Especially a guy that’s worked so hard to come back from a serious injury. It’s just an innocent play where guys got tangled up. You knew something was wrong when you saw his face on the ice. That guy doesn’t leave a hockey game unless something’s very hurt.
“You feel for him. He’s a guy that loves to play hockey.”
The injury is coming at a particularly inopportune time for the Sharks, who have propelled themselves
into second place in the Pacific Division, holding a three-point edge over the third-place Calgary Flames, by going 5-1-1 since the five-day players’ bye.
The Sharks haven’t lost back-to-back games in regulation since the opening week of December.
Although the Sharks produced a 3-1 record while playing four games without Couture (concussion) in December, absorbing the loss of Thornton presents a different challenge, especially when he could be out for an extended stretch.
Despite his age, Thornton continues to center the Sharks’ top line and serve as the centerpiece of the team’s fifth-ranked power play (22.9 percent). The Sharks are 17-1-3 this season when Thornton finds the scoresheet.
“The optimism is with our younger guys, the way they’ve played,” Couture said. “That helps cushion the blow a little bit, but you can’t replace Joe Thornton. You just can’t do it.”
Wilson didn’t rule out the possibility of trying to swing a deal before the NHL’s Feb. 26 trade deadline if the MRI suggests that Thornton will be out for an extended period. Wilson also doubled down on his claim that rising prospects Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc are off limits in trade talks.
“We’ll process it. Probably not,” Wilson said, when
asked if Thornton’s injury will change his approach heading toward the trade deadline. “But don’t hold me to that. You never know what becomes available as you go forward.”
Thornton, who signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Sharks last summer, is a pending unrestricted free agent.
The Sharks are encouraged by the development they’re seeing from young players, such as Meier, Labanc, Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney and Joonas Donskoi this season.
But Sharks coach Pete DeBoer acknowledged last week that Thornton’s presence in the lineup has allowed the team’s youngsters to play more sheltered minutes.
It’s unclear whether players such as Meier and Hertl will be able to maintain their level of play in expanded roles while Thornton is out.
“The nice thing is that this isn’t happening game No. 5 when we still don’t know what our identity is as a team or what works for us,” DeBoer said. “The young guys have had 40 games to get some confidence and figure out how they can be successful at this level.”
The Sharks should benefit from the pliability in their lineup. DeBoer suggested that he might slide Joe Pavelski into the middle of his line, which would allow Hertl to remain on Couture’s line where he takes the majority of the group’s faceoffs.
But the emotional leadership that Thornton brings to the locker room is irreplaceable.
Thornton fired up the bench Tuesday by mixing it up with Jets center Bryan Little, he got the boys going in Toronto on Jan. 4 by dropping the gloves off the opening faceoff with Toronto Maple Leafs pest Nazem Kadri and he left an impression with the youngsters Dec. 4 by sticking up for himself in a fight with Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson.
But DeBoer insists that Thornton can still lead from the sideline.
“He’s going to be around the room. You’re not going to keep him away from the rink,” the coach said. “But this isn’t just about Joe Thornton. We have a great leadership group, it starts with our captain Joe Pavelski.
“That leadership void, I don’t see an issue with.”
• Goalie Martin Jones and forward Joonas Donskoi skated at the optional practice Wednesday.
DeBoer called both players’ presences on the ice a “good sign,” labeling them as questionable for Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers at SAP Center.
Jones has missed the Sharks’ past three games with a lower-body injury while Donskoi has been sidelined for the team’s last two games by the flu.