Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockeycentre. He played for the Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected first overall by the Bruins in the 1997 NHL entry draft and went on to play seven seasons with the club, three as its captain. During the 2005–06 season, he was traded to the Sharks. Splitting the campaign between the two teams, he received the Art Ross and Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's leading point-scorer and most valuable player, respectively, becoming the only player in NHL history to win either award in a season played for multiple teams.[1] Thornton went on to play another 14 seasons with the Sharks, including four seasons as team captain and a run to the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. Thornton was the last active NHL player and the last big 4 North American sports player to have played in the 1990s.[2]
Thornton's on-ice vision, strength on the puck, deft passing ability and power forward style of play led to him becoming one of the league's premier centres and playmakers.[3] He is widely regarded as one of the best passers of all time, and he is one of only seven players in history with 1,100 NHL assists.[4] His nickname "Jumbo Joe" is a nod to his large stature and to Jumbo the elephant, who died in St. Thomas, Ontario, where Thornton was raised.[5][6]
Playing career
Amateur career
Thornton grew up playing minor hockey in his hometown of St. Thomas, Ontario, for the St. Thomas Travellers. He played "AA" hockey for the Travelers minors and in peewee won an Ontario Minor Hockey Association (OMHA) championship in 1992–93.[7][8] His Bantam year was the first for the newly created "AAA" Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs organization, and Thornton joined the "AAA" Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs of the Minor Hockey Alliance of Ontario for the 1993–94 season. The creation of this organization led to the St. Thomas Minor Hockey Association to compete at the "A" level. During his bantam year, he appeared in six games for the Junior B St. Thomas Stars of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), scoring eight points in six games as a 14-year-old. The following season, Thornton joined the Stars full-time and reeled off 104 points over 50 games as a 15-year-old,[9] and was subsequently drafted second overall in the 1995 OHL draft to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds behind Daniel Tkaczuk, who was selected by the Barrie Colts.
After his second OHL season, Thornton was selected first overall in the 1997 NHL entry draft by the Boston Bruins. Thornton suffered a fractured arm in the Bruins' pre-season but made their roster for the 1997–98 campaign. He scored his first career NHL goal on December 3, 1997, in a 3–0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.[11] Bruins head coach Pat Burns was measured in his deployment of Thornton, using him almost exclusively on the fourth line and making him a regular healthy scratch. Averaging eight minutes and five seconds of ice time per game over the course of the season,[12] he registered three goals and seven points in 55 games as a rookie. In the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs, Thornton went scoreless in six games.
In 1998–99, Thornton saw significantly more ice time, averaging 15 minutes and 20 seconds per game,[13] and improved to 41 points in 81 games, as well as a 9-point effort in 11 playoff games.
Thornton continued to build into a key player in the Bruins' line-up, increasing his points total in each of the following two campaigns. Prior to the 2002–03 season, he was named team captain, succeeding Jason Allison, who was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 2001; the captaincy position was vacant for a full season after Allison's departure. In his first season as team captain, Thornton recorded 68 points over 66 games. The following year, he notched his first career 100-point season with 36 goals, a career-high, and 65 assists. He ranked third in NHL point-scoring, behind Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche and Markus Näslund from the Vancouver Canucks.
Thornton's production declined to 73 points in 77 games in the 2003–04 campaign. He suffered a fractured right cheekbone in a fight with New York Rangers centre Eric Lindros during a game on January 19, 2004. The two power forwards fought after Lindros cross-checked Thornton in the head. The injury required surgery,[14] keeping him out of the line-up for three games.[10] The 2003–04 campaign also saw a drop in Thornton's goal-scoring production that has never since rebounded; his last 30-goal season came during the 2002–03 season.
During the 2004–05 NHL lock-out, Thornton went abroad to play for HC Davos of the Swiss National League A (NLA). He played on a line with fellow NHL players Rick Nash and Niklas Hagman, helping HC Davos to win the League championship and the Spengler Cup. Nash and Thornton have subsequently kept in contact with HC Davos and their longtime coach Arno del Curto; Thornton returned to train with the club for up to a month each summer.[15][16][needs update]
Ahead of the NHL resumption in 2005–06, Thornton became a restricted free agent in summer 2005. Negotiations on a new contract were strained: Thornton was reportedly unhappy with the direction of the Bruins franchise, and upset with criticism of his play in the Bruins' early playoff exit in 2004.[17] Boston's front office was apparently unhappy with Thornton's leadership style and for not raising his level of play during the playoffs. Nevertheless, Thornton re-signed with Boston on August 11, 2005, to a three-year, $20 million contract.[3]
Thornton began the 2005–06 season strongly (33 points in 24 games), making him the team's leading scorer by a substantial margin, but the Bruins were struggling in the standings.
San Jose Sharks (2005–2020)
On November 30, 2005, Thornton was traded to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forwards Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau and defenceman Brad Stuart.[3]Mike O'Connell, the Bruins general manager who traded Thornton, stated in June 2011 that he "would still make the trade", and that it was "satisfying" that Boston had won a Stanley Cup before Thornton's new team had.[18] Despite O'Connell's stance, the trade is widely considered to be a lopsided deal in favor of the Sharks. Upon arriving in San Jose, Thornton improved the Sharks' fortunes and found instant chemistry with wingerJonathan Cheechoo. During the absence of usual alternate captainAlyn McCauley from the San Jose line-up, Thornton donned the "A" for the first time as a Shark in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on March 30, 2006,[19] and wore the "A" whenever McCauley was out of the line-up for the remainder of the season. Tallying 92 points in 58 games with the Sharks after the trade, Thornton finished the season with 29 goals, a league-leading 96 assists and 125 points total to earn the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer. He became the first player to win the award while splitting the season between two teams. Due to Thornton's success, Cheechoo also enjoyed a career-season, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer with 56 goals. However, in the 2006 playoffs, Thornton was once again criticized for his play, as his production decreased to two goals and seven assists for nine points in 11 games as the Sharks were ousted in the second round by the eighth seeded Edmonton Oilers. In the off-season, Thornton was honoured for his regular season play and was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league' regular season MVP to go with his Art Ross Trophy.[1] He is the only player in NHL history to win the Hart Trophy while playing for two different teams in the same season.[20]
Thornton with the Sharks in October 2006
Thornton began the 2006–07 season being awarded a permanent alternate captaincy, but struggled in the first half of the season while suffering from a toe injury that did not heal until January 2007.[21] After recovering, Thornton enjoyed a productive second half, battling Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby for a second-consecutive scoring title late in the year, eventually finishing six points behind Crosby with 114. With a league-leading 92 assists, Thornton became only the third player in NHL history to record back-to-back 90-assist seasons, joining Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.[22]
Thornton began the 2007 playoffs by recording six assists in the Sharks' first-round series against the Nashville Predators. Advancing to the second round against the Detroit Red Wings, he recorded a goal and three assists in the first three games of the series. However, Thornton was effectively neutralized by Red Wings defenceman Nicklas Lidström,[23] for the remainder of the series as the Sharks were eliminated in six games.
In the off-season, Thornton signed a three-year contract extension worth US$21.6 million.[24] In the 2007–08 season, Thornton finished with 96 points (29 goals and 67 assists) all 82 games to finish fifth in NHL scoring.
Thornton (centre background) with Kent Huskins (left background) and Scott Nichol (foreground), in February 2010.
In September 2009, before the start of the 2009–10 season, the Sharks acquired Dany Heatley in a three-player trade that sent Thornton's struggling former linemate Jonathan Cheechoo, left-winger Milan Michálek and a second-round draft pick to the Ottawa Senators. Thornton, Heatley, and Patrick Marleau were joined on the Sharks' top line and enjoyed immediate offensive success together. The trio helped the Sharks to one of their best-ever regular seasons in franchise history. Although the line's production slowed down in the second half of the season, all three Sharks players finished in the League's top 15 in point-scoring. Thornton's 89 points ranked eighth, while Marleau and Heatley finished 14th and 15th in League scoring with 83 and 82 points, respectively. The Sharks entered the 2010 playoffs as the top seed in the Western Conference for the second-consecutive year and the Presidents' Trophy runner-up behind the Washington Capitals. After advancing past the eighth seeded Colorado Avalanche and fifth seeded Detroit Red Wings in the first two rounds, the Sharks were eliminated by the second seeded and eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals in a four game sweep. Thornton finished the playoffs with a career-high 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in all 15 games.
After the elimination, team management vacated all the Sharks' captaincy positions, including Thornton's role as one of the alternate captains. Prior to the 2010–11 season, he was chosen to replace the retiring Rob Blake as the eighth captain in team history on October 7, 2010. Nine days later, he signed a three-year, US$21 million contract extension with the Sharks. Near the start of the 2010–11 season, Thornton scored the fourth hat-trick of his NHL career against Martin Brodeur in a 5–2 win over the New Jersey Devils. On November 6, 2010, Thornton was suspended two games for a controversial hit to the head against St. Louis Blues forward David Perron.[27] Perron missed the remaining 72 games of the 2010–11 season due to post-concussion syndrome. He returned after missing 97 games over 13 months (394 days) on December 3, 2011. Later in the campaign, Thornton eclipsed Marleau as the Sharks' all-time leader in assists. Thornton scored his 1,000th career point with a goal in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes on April 8, 2011.[28] In the first round of the 2011 playoffs, Thornton scored the series-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 against the seventh seeded Los Angeles Kings to advance the Sharks to the second round where they would meet the third seeded Detroit Red Wings for the second consecutive season and defeat them in seven to clinch a second consecutive appearance in the Western Conference Finals where the Sharks would fall to the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks in five games.[29]
Thornton with the Sharks in December 2011
On January 24, 2014, Thornton signed a three-year contract extension with the Sharks through to the 2016–17 season.[30]
At the end of the 2013–14 season, Thornton ranked 46th on the all-time points leaders (1,194) and 24th on the all-time assist leaders (852) for the NHL. He also became the San Jose Sharks' all-time leader in assists with 567.[31] Thornton finished the 2013–14 season with 11 goals and 65 assists as the Sharks amassed 111 points, just six short of their franchise's all-time-high mark, and were among the favourites to win the Stanley Cup. Facing their in-state rival Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 2014 playoffs, the Sharks won the first three games in the series. However, the eventual Stanley Cup champion Kings won the next four games and became just the fourth team in NHL history to win a playoff series in seven games after initially trailing three games to none. Thornton finished the playoffs with just two goals and an assist for three points in all seven games.
On August 20, 2014, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan announced that Thornton had been stripped of his captaincy and that the Sharks would start the 2014–15 season without a captain.[32]Joe Pavelski was eventually named Sharks' captain at the start of the 2015–16 season.
On January 26, 2015, Thornton recorded his 1,300th career point during a game against the Colorado Avalanche with his assist on a Joe Pavelski goal, Thornton's second assist of the game.[33] Thornton is the 33rd player in NHL history to reach 1,300 points.[33] Thornton recorded 16 goals and 49 assists during the 2014–15 season as the Sharks failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2003.
Thornton finished the 2015–16 season with 19 goals and 63 assists for 82 points in 78 contests as the Sharks returned to the playoffs after a one-year slump. In the 2016 playoffs, the Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings in the first round in five games, avenging a previous loss to them two years earlier. In the second round, they defeated the Nashville Predators in seven games and advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2011, where the Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues in six games to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. This was also Thornton's first time playing in the Finals in his career. However, the Sharks lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the Finals. Thornton finished fifth in playoff points with 21 and second in playoff assists with 18.[34] At the end of the season, Thornton was named a Second-Team All-Star for the 2015–16 season.
On March 6, 2017, in a game against the Winnipeg Jets, Thornton recorded his 1,000th NHL assist on a Joe Pavelski goal, becoming the 13th player in NHL history to reach the milestone.[35]
On July 1, 2017, Thornton signed a one-year contract to return to the Sharks for the 2017–18 season.[36] In January 2018, Thornton injured his ACL and MCL and missed the remainder of the season recovering from surgery.[37][38]
On July 2, 2018, his 39th birthday, Thornton signed a one-year contract to return to the Sharks for the 2018–19 season.[39] On November 13, he scored his 400th career goal against the Nashville Predators to go along with 1,500 games played and 1,000 assists. As of 2018[update], this feat has only been achieved by six other players in NHL history.[40] On February 11, 2019, in a 7–2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, Thornton passed Gordie Howe for ninth place on the NHL all-time assists list.[41] Thornton and the Sharks reached the Western Conference Finals, though they were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in six games. Thornton put up four goals and six assists for 10 points in all 19 games during the playoffs.
Thornton signed a one-year, $2 million contract extension on September 6, 2019, to remain with the Sharks.[42] He recorded his 1,500th career point on February 4, 2020, in a 3–1 win over the Calgary Flames.[43] Thornton expressed dissatisfaction with not being traded to a playoff contending team after the February 24 trade deadline to give him the opportunity to chase a Stanley Cup, as had happened with longtime teammate Patrick Marleau.[44] The Sharks posted a disappointing record this season and did not make the playoffs for the first time since 2015 even with the playoff format being expanded and the regular season ending three weeks early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America.[45]
Toronto Maple Leafs (2020–2021)
With the 2020–21 season delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Thornton returned to HC Davos of the National League on October 15, 2020, for a third stint. Having held Swiss citizenship since 2019, he did not count against the import limit.[46][47]
On October 16, 2020, Thornton signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.[48] On December 14, 2020, Thornton left Davos to return to Toronto for the start of training camp.[49] On January 16, 2021, Thornton scored his first goal as a Maple Leaf. On January 22, 2021, Thornton suffered a fractured rib after getting hit by Edmonton Oilers forward Josh Archibald. Thornton returned to the lineup on February 27, recording 20 points (5 goals, 15 assists) in 44 games.[50] Thornton scored one goal in the Maple Leafs' seven-game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the 2021 playoffs.
Florida Panthers and retirement (2021–2022)
On August 13, 2021, Thornton returned for his 24th NHL season, signing a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Florida Panthers.[51] Thornton played 34 games and scored a career-low 10-points as the Panthers won the Presidents' Trophy as the regular season champions.
After going unsigned for the entirety of the 2022–23 season and start of the 2023–24 season, Thornton officially announced his retirement on October 28, 2023.[52] At the time of his retirement, Thornton was 12th in league history in total points scored, seventh in assists, and sixth in games played.[53]
On January 17, 2024, the Sharks announced their plans to retire Thornton's no. 19 jersey during the 2024–25 season.[54]
Thornton's next international appearance occurred at the 2004 World Cup. Established by then as a premier player in the NHL, Thornton tied for third in tournament scoring with six points (a goal and five assists) over six games. He notched two assists in the championship game against Finland, helping Canada to a 3–2 win. At the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Austria, Thornton led all scorers with 16 points (six goals and ten assists) in nine games and was named tournament MVP.[55] Canada advanced to the gold medal game, where they were shut-out 3–0 by goaltender Tomáš Vokoun of the Czech Republic.
Thornton made his first appearance in the 2006 Winter Olympics. He recorded three points as Canada was shut out in three of six games, losing to Russia in the quarterfinals. Four years later, he was again chosen to Canada's Olympic team for the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Thornton was joined by his Sharks linemates Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau, as well as Sharks defenceman Dan Boyle, on the squad.[56] The offensive trio of Sharks played on the same line in the Olympics, as well. Thornton registered a goal and an assist over seven games, helping Canada to a gold medal finish.
Thornton was later invited to the Canada's hockey camp for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but did not attend due to his son being hospitalized with an illness.[57] He was named to the Canadian roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey held in Toronto.
Thornton is married to Tabea Pfendsack, whom he met while playing in Switzerland during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.[59] The couple has a daughter[60] and a son.[61] Born in St. Thomas, Ontario, Thornton became a naturalized American citizen in July 2009 at a ceremony in Campbell, California, a suburb of San Jose;[60] he later also received a Swiss passport.[47] Joe and former Sharks teammate Scott Thornton are first cousins.[62][63]
In popular culture
The Tragically Hip lead vocalist Gord Downie's song "You Me and the B's" (from his 2017 solo album Introduce Yerself) includes a lament about Thornton's poorly-received trade from the Bruins to the Sharks in 2005.[64]
^Brennan, Pat (September 8, 2010). "Jumbo the elephant leaves a big legend in southern Ontario". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 29, 2018. Joe Thornton, an NHL star with the San Jose Sharks, is known as Jumboin part because he hails from St. Thomas.
^Rea, Kyle (July 10, 2010). "St. Thomas honours its hockey hero with banner". St. Thomas Journal. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved April 29, 2018. The nickname is a homage to Jumbo, the famous elephant killed in St. Thomas 125 years ago.
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