Joe Thornton decides to stay with San Jose
SAN JOSE >> Joe Thornton didn’t go to back to Boston, didn’t go to Dallas to join former teammate Joe Pavelski, didn’t go anywhere.
No, Joe Thornton stayed with the San Jose Sharks.
The NHL trade deadline came and went on Monday at noon (PT) and Thornton, with a no movement clause in his contract, decided to remain a member of the Sharks despite the the team being well out of the playoff race.
The Sharks play the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
Thornton, one of the most iconic players in Sharks franchise history, needed to waive the clause in his contract for general manager Doug Wilson to complete a deal. It was reported the Boston Bruins were on Thornton’s list of teams he was willing to join, along with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Thornton can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, but if he wasn’t willing to move now, the likelihood is strong that he won’t be signing anywhere else but San Jose this summer.
Up until recently, Thornton was hopeful the Sharks could put together a string of victories and rejoin the playoff race.
Instead the Sharks have been plagued with injuries, as Tomas Hertl (knee) and Erik Karlsson (thumb) were lost for the season and Logan Couture has missed the last 17 games with a small ankle fracture.
Since Couture Jan. 7 injury, the Sharks have gone 7-10-0 and entered Monday tied for 13th place in the Western Conference, 14 points out of a playoff spot with 20 games left in the regular season. In that time, winger Evander Kane was suspended for three games and the Sharks traded defenseman Brenden Dillon to the Washington Capitals for two draft picks.
Monday morning, the Sharks traded Patrick Marleau to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional 2021 third round draft pick. Then just minutes before the noon (PT) deadline, Wilson sent Barclay Goodrow and a 2020 third round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a first round draft pick this year and minor league forward Anthony Greco.
In 62 games for the Sharks this season, Thornton has 27 points and is averaging 15 minutes and 18 seconds of ice time per game.
In 1,096 prior games with the Sharks, Thornton has 248 goals and 803 assists. In 2006, he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player and Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point-getter with 125.
Thornton was named an NHL all-star in 2007, 2008 and 2009, played for Team Canada in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Thornton is the Sharks’ all-time leader in assists and plus/minus (165), and second behind Patrick Marleau in games played and points.
But Thornton’s value to the Sharks goes well beyond the numbers.
He was the heart and soul of a Sharks team made the playoffs in 13 of his first 14 years in San Jose.
He has had an impact on countless players that have came through the organization in the last 15 years, from Jonathan Cheechoo and Devin Setoguchi, to Couture and Pavelski, and younger players such as Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc.