Sharks’ center Thornton signs with Maple Leafs.
SHARKS’ THORNTON SIGNS WITH MAPLE LEAFS
In the hours before it became public, that he was leaving the Sharks after 15 years to join the Toronto Maple Leafs, Joe Thornton made sure to get in touch with several of his suddenly ex-teammates.
“He just told me he would miss me,” said Tomas Hertl, who began his NHL career in 2013 as Thornton’s linemate. “I was thanking him for playing with me because he was such a great teammate. It’s sad because we’ve been playing with him for so long. You feel like you’ll always play with him, but now he’s with a different team.”
Thornton on Friday ended any suspense as to where he might play next season, signing a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Maple Leafs, concluding an era in San Jose in which he helped the Sharks become one of the NHL’s most consistently successful teams.
There had been speculation in the last week that Thornton, who became an unrestricted free agent Oct. 9, could leave San Jose for the Maple Leafs. In recent days, reports indicated that Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and coach Sheldon Keefe had reached out to Thornton, as had players Auston Matthews, Jake Muzzin and John Tavares.
The full-court press worked, as Thornton is moving back to his southern Ontario roots to play for an Original Six team and chase the
one thing that has eluded him in his Hall of Fame-caliber career — a Stanley Cup.
Thornton is originally from St. Thomas, Ontario, which is roughly a two-hour drive west of Toronto and where his parents still live.
The Sharks did not release an official statement, deferring to the Maple Leafs and Thornton to first speak publicly on the signing, which will likely happen today or Sunday. The Sharks did tweet one message Friday afternoon, saying, “Going to log off for a bit. Brb. Maybe.”
“It will be weird, for sure,” Sharks defenseman Brent Burns said in a direct message. “His voice, just hearing him from across the whole room laughing. He was the first guy there every day, so that’s going to be different. He’s been a legend there for a long, long time.”
Thornton and Sharks forward Patrick Marleau, were both courted by the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2017 when they were set to become free agents. Marleau signed with the Leafs, but Thornton returned to San Jose on a one-year contract.
No two players have been more synonymous with the Sharks than Marleau and Thornton.
“Words can’t express what Jumbo has meant for my career,” Marleau wrote in a text message. “I love him like a brother and I know he will be an amazing influence on the Leafs. Our loss is their gain, no question.”
In 1,636 career NHL regular season games between the Boston Bruins and Sharks, Thornton has 1,509 points, including 1,089 assists. He has 133 points in 179 playoff games, as he helped the Sharks reach the Western Conference finals four times from 2010 to 2019 and the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
Thornton had 1,055 regular season points with the Sharks from 2005 to 2020, second-most in franchise history. His 804 assists and plus/minus of 161 ranks No. 1 in the team’s history, and he is second in games played (1,104).
There is a chance Thornton could be back with the Sharks next season, but for now, it’s tough to say goodbye.
“Been huge for me on and off the ice,” Burns wrote. “He’s mentored every guy in that room, what it takes in the gym, on the ice, the mentality it takes to play a long time the right way. Really as a guy that’s so skilled and tough as he was. An old school guy, not many left.”
Thornton’s legacy in San Jose is unmistakable.
With a larger- than- life personality, Thornton became the face of the Sharks franchise, which sold out 205 consecutive home games at SAP Center, including playoffs, from December 2009 to October 2014.
Thornton was acquired by general manager Doug Wilson from the Bruins on Nov. 30, 2005, in arguably the biggest trade in the nearly 30-year history of the franchise. The Sharks sent forwards Wayne Primeau and Marco Sturm and defenseman Brad Stuart to Boston for Thornton, who was bearing the brunt of the Bruins’ playoff frustrations.
From Dec. 1, 2005 to the end of the 2019-2020 season, the Sharks had the most regular season points of any NHL team with a record of 659-376-125.
The Sharks also had the third-most amount of playoff wins in that time, 80, as they made the postseason in 13 of Thornton’s 15 seasons in San Jose. The Sharks could never win it all, though, and do not figure to be a Stanley Cup contender this season despite changes to their coaching staff and some personnel moves.
Thornton, in his first season in San Jose, won both the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy in 2006, becoming the first and still lone Sharks player to win either award.
Thornton is in Switzerland and not expected to address reporters until Sunday. Thursday, he signed with HC Davos. who he played with during the 2004-2005 and 2012-13 seasons. He is expected to play with the team tonight.
Thornton is the third cornerstone player to leave the Sharks via free agency in four years. Marleau, brought back by the Sharks earlier this week as he nears Gordie Howe’s all-time NHL games played record, signed a three-year contract with Toronto as a free agent in 2017. Joe Pavelski left the Sharks as a free agent last year as he signed a three-year deal with the Dallas Stars.
“I know it’s kind of a cliché, that it’s a business,” Hertl said. “Still, it’ll be tough to start a season and just see when you get to the locker room and there’s not a number 19 there. Sitting there with a big smile. First guy in, always around making jokes.
“Feels the same (last year) with ( Pavelski) and now with Jumbo. I know things change, but it’s always tough to see great players and great teammates leaving. It’s tough to say why after all of these years.”
Marleau has played 1,723 NHL regular season games, just 45 games behind Howe. Thornton’s 1,636 games rank ninth all time, and he also ranks seventh in assists (1,089) and 14th in points.
The NHL has not yet finalized a schedule for the 2020-21 regular season or announced when training camp might begin. The league set Jan. 1 as a possible target date for a new season to begin but has not yet made anything official.
” He’s just an unbelievable teammate and guy to be around,” Burns wrote. “His work ethic and fun loving attitude wore off on everyone and created an awesome place. Going to be very different not having him and his aura there for sure.” WIESBLATT SIGNS >> Less than two weeks after they took Ozzy Wiesblatt in the first round of the NHL draft in memorable fashion, the Sharks signed the 18-yearold center to an three-year entry- level contract. The deal carries an average annual value of $925,000, according to PuckPedia, although Wiesblatt is not expected to turn professional for at least another year.