The San Jose Sharks are bringing back fan-favorite, Joe Thornton. They announced on Friday that they have inked the free-agent forward to a one-year deal. This will mark his 15th year with San Jose. Reports say the new deal has a cap hit of $2 million.
THE LEGEND CONTINUES! Joe Thornton is back on a one-year contract.
🦈: https://t.co/EDhHTMDrQA pic.twitter.com/D61Es3zISc
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) September 6, 2019
Joe Thornton Coming Back to the San Jose Sharks
Over his 21-year NHL career, Thornton has played for the Boston Bruins and Sharks. He has put up 413 goals and 1,065 assists for 1,478 career points in 1,566 career games.
Thornton is a four-time All-Star with his best season coming during the 2005-06 season, the year that saw him move from the Bruins to the Sharks. He finished that season with 29 goals and an amazing 96 assists for 125 points. He was awarded the Hart Trophy, as the league’s MVP, and the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading scorer. Over the course of 179 career playoff games, Thornton scored 31 goals and 102 points. He was originally drafted first overall by the Bruins in the 1997 NHL Draft.
Last season, Thornton scored 16 goals and 35 assists for 51 points. He also added 51 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers checked in at a 56.9 percent corsi-for and a relative corsi of +3.6. He had four goals and six assists for 10 points in 19 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Thornton’s four goals during the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year is a career-high for him in the playoffs.
What This Means for the Future
Thornton is one of the most popular names in San Jose. He’s mounted a dazzling 1024 points in 1034 career games with the Sharks. There’s also not much sign of decline, despite Thornton turning 40 this summer. Over the course of the last three seasons, he’s combined for a modest 137 points in 199 games.
He spent most of last season alongside Kevin Labanc and Marcus Sorensen. With Joe Pavelski leaving San Jose for the Dallas Stars, the team will likely look to keep the productive Thornton among their top-six moving into the 2019-20 season.
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