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Joe Thornton

Snapshots: Stuetzle, Thornton, Duclair, Spurgeon

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The Ottawa Senators have already been in camp for several days already, but the team will get another big name player into camp soon as 2020 first-round pick Tim Stuetzle arrived in Ottawa Saturday night. The 18-year-old is coming off an impressive performance at the World Junior Championship after he led Team Germany to one of the countries best finishes ever. After a seven-day quarantine, he will join his team and is likely to start his NHL career, according to the Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch.

“I hope I’m going to play in the NHL this season, that’s 100% my goal and I will work very hard for that,” Stuetzle told reporters in Edmonton following Germany’s elimination in the quarterfinals.

Stuetzle finished the World Juniors with five goals and 10 points in five games. The third-overall pick, who signed his entry-level deal last week, is likely going to play wing for the Senators this season.

Joe Thornton Returning To Toronto

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Veteran forward Joe Thornton won’t get to spend the holiday season in Switzerland after all. The 41-year-old has been recalled by the Toronto Maple Leafs and is on his way back to North America to begin his pre-training camp quarantine.

Thornton was signed to a one-year, $700K contract with the Maple Leafs this offseason but had been playing in Switzerland for HC Davos, where his family usually spends the summer. In 12 games for the club, he scored 11 points, a short return for one of the most legendary players in Davos history (despite his relatively low games played totals). Thornton had previously spent the 2004-05 lockout with Davos and had returned for the first half of 2012-13 when the NHL was on hold once again.

The former San Jose Sharks captain will start a new chapter of his hockey career in Toronto, the club that his father cheered for and one just a few hours up the road from his St. Thomas childhood home. While some may snicker at the idea that Thornton would chase a Stanley Cup in Toronto—a team that hasn’t won in more than 50 years—there’s no doubting the team is loaded with talent. Whether the addition of a grizzled veteran will take them over the top is still to be determined, though detractors will point out that Thornton himself has never sipped from the Cup.

Another thing that isn’t quite so certain yet is whether Thornton even has any game left. His point totals dropped off a cliff last season for the Sharks and though he has told the media he feels refreshed after the long break, 41 is 41.

Pacific Notes: Fischer, Sharks, Bowey

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With the deadline for players to accept their qualifying offers having passed earlier today, Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan reports that the Coyotes are still working on a deal for restricted free agent forward Christian Fischer, even though there is no word on whether they requested an extension from the league. The forward does not have arbitration rights.

Fischer struggled significantly last season, seeing his playing time reduced by more than two minutes, going from 13:10 ATOI to 11:01 this season) and scored just six goals and nine points in 56 games. The 23-year-old just wrapped up his entry-level deal where he made $1.08MM.

  • The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that the loss of center Joe Thornton will have a significant effect on the team. While his offense should be able to be replaced, the bigger effect is how the team will fare without his presence in the locker room, where the veterans had quite an effect over the years. Now with Thornton and Joe Pavelski gone, much of the leadership will fall on the shoulders of second-year captain Logan Couture, who will tough shoes to fill in the Sharks’ locker room. “You have to have a whole leadership group,” general manager Doug Wilson said. “It’s on a whole group of players, it’s not a one-person leadership mentality. … Yes, you’ve got some of the veterans that certainly know it’s their responsibility, but some of the younger guys, too — Tomas Hertl, Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc. It’s their time. They need to step up to the next level. We have to be the sum of all our parts.”
  • With Matt Benning gone and prospects Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg still developing, the Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that one player that the Oilers may consider adding is former Detroit Red Wings blueliner Madison Bowey. The Red Wings opted not to give the 25-year-old a qualifying offer, making him a free-agent. However, Oilers general manager Ken Holland is familiar with Bowey, who he traded for back when he was with the Red Wings and it could be a good fit. The 6-foot-2 blueliner averaged 17:54 last season in 53 games with Detroit, posting three goals and 17 points.

Joe Thornton Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Joe Thornton to a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $700K. The deal does not include any performance bonuses but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic does confirm that it includes a no-movement clause.

It’s been a long courtship of Thornton in Toronto. The team made a real pitch to bring him to the Maple Leafs back in 2017 alongside former teammate Patrick Marleau, but the San Jose Sharks legend returned to California instead. Three years later and the team has landed their man, though he certainly won’t be a centerpiece of the roster this time around.

Now 41, there’s no question that Thornton isn’t the player that won the Hart Trophy in 2006 or even the one that scored 51 points in 2018-19. He had just seven goals and 31 points last season for the Sharks, his lowest total since a 1997-98 rookie campaign. But Toronto isn’t bringing in Thornton to be the focus of the offense, but a veteran leader to add another voice in the dressing room and a little more responsibility on the bench.

If there is anyone who can understand the pain of failing playoff expectations, it’s Thornton. After 1,636 regular season games and 179 more playoff contests, the future Hall of Famer forward has still not sipped from Lord Stanley’s Cup. Ninth all-time in games played, seventh in assists, and 14th in points, Thornton will be joining only the third NHL team of his long career.

Currently playing in Switzerland for the club team in his offseason home, Thornton’s fit in Toronto isn’t even exactly clear at this point. The team already re-signed Jason Spezza to serve on the fourth line and brought in names like Wayne Simmonds, Jimmy Vesey and Travis Boyd to battle for spots in the bottom-six. If Thornton is to be penciled into that group, it seems likely that there could be another body—perhaps Pierre Engvall, who is still waiver-exempt—headed back to the minor leagues.

The Maple Leafs also still need to sign arbitration-eligible Ilya Mikheyev, who has a hearing later this month, as well as restricted free agent defenseman, Travis Dermott. All that without any actual cap space, though every time they add a $700K forward they can theoretically add some cap space by sending someone else down or trading them to another team.

There’s likely still more maneuvering for GM Kyle Dubas, but the Maple Leafs have landed one of their targets. Whether that target has any game left is still to be seen.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Joe Thornton Joins HC Davos

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While he prepares for the 2020-21 NHL season, Joe Thornton will be playing at home. His home in Switzerland that is, where he is spending the offseason with his family. Thornton will suit up for HC Davos in the Swiss NLA for the time being, even as rumors swirl about his future in North America.

Thornton has twice played for the European club in the past. In 2004-05 he spent the entire season there while the NHL was locked out, meeting his future wife and leading Davos to the league title. Thornton was awarded the NLA MVP that season and even led the Swiss club team to a Spengler Cup title, actually over Team Canada who he normally suited up for internationally. He has spoken fondly of that season in Switzerland, where he lined up with Rick Nash and Niklas Hagman to dominate the league.

Then, in 2012-13 when the league was dealing with another partial lockout, Thornton returned to Davos and once again was a dominant presence in the NLA. Nash would join him again for a time, though the club was unable to secure the league title thanks to the NHL resuming play partway through the season.

Now, with everyone talking about whether Thornton will return to the San Jose Sharks or try out a new home with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he’ll get back on the ice to prepare.

Joe Thornton Linked To Toronto Maple Leafs

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Oct 14: Not that Johnston and Mirtle needed backup, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic have both now reported interest between the Maple Leafs and Thornton. Friedman notes that several core players for Toronto have pitched the veteran forward, while LeBrun tweets that both head coach Sheldon Keefe and GM Kyle Dubas have spoken with him.

Oct 13: Once again, smoke is building around Joe Thornton and the Toronto Maple Leafs. After the veteran forward was linked to the team in the 2017 offseason (when teammate Patrick Marleau signed a three-year deal with Toronto), there has been a lingering notion that he could consider a return to Ontario at some point.

On a recent Steve Dangle Podcast, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston implied that the two sides have had mutual interest, and now James Mirtle of The Athletic has written something similar:

These talks are in the beginning stages. It sounds like there’s some mutual interest. The Leafs, as they did during free agency in 2017, have let Thornton know he’s wanted. And Thornton is listening, from his offseason home in Switzerland, where he’s been training with a top-league club.

For a while, there has been a belief that Thornton would take his time with any decision on his NHL future. The 2020-21 season is still completely shrouded in uncertainty, with no concrete date for the start of training camp or the regular season. But if the 41-year-old center does want to come back, it’s no longer a slam dunk that he will be returning to the San Jose Sharks.

While the Sharks did just bring back Marleau to chase Gordie Howe’s games played record and are obviously still a contender should Thornton return, the situation feels different this summer. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweeted as much earlier this month, saying that though it felt inevitable that Thornton would return to the Sharks when he became a free agent in 2019, he has “gotten no indications that he’s a sure thing to return” this time around.

The Maple Leafs have already made sweeping changes to their bottom-six forward group for next season, moving out Kasperi Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson, and Frederik Gauthier while bringing in Wayne Simmonds, Jimmy Vesey, Joey Anderson, and Travis Boyd. They currently still have Alexander Kerfoot penciled into the third-line center role, but the team is barely under the cap and could need to make additional moves if they are looking at any other free agent upgrades.

Thornton, meanwhile, is coming off his worst season in two decades. The Sharks legend scored just seven goals and 31 points in 2019-20, his lowest total since that 1997-98 rookie campaign. He was frustrated when the Sharks didn’t move him to a contender at the deadline, telling reporters that “it would have been nice to at least have a chance” at the Stanley Cup, a prize that has eluded him over a 22-year career.

Mirtle and Johnston both were clear to point out that things are very preliminary between the Maple Leafs and Thornton, to the point where it may be just an expressed interest, not even negotiations. But the two sides have certainly flirted before.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While cap space remains an issue in San Jose, this is not the year that their free agents are likely to break them. The team does have a key restricted free agent to sign, but the team must decide what unrestricted free agents they want to bring back after a disappointing 2019-20.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Kevin Labanc – The only significant restricted free agent the team needs to sign is Labanc, who surprised quite a few people when he signed a one-year, $1MM bargain contract last offseason with many expecting he took a low deal with the assumption he would be rewarded with a long-term deal the following year. We’ll see if that’s the case, but Labanc’s production didn’t jump off the charts like many had hoped. In fact, the 24-year-old finished with a disappointing 2019-20 season, posting just 14 goals and 33 points in 70 games, significantly less than the 56 points he produced the previous year. What type of contract Labanc receives will be interesting to see, but the forward is still considered to be a significant piece to their core and must return to his 2018-19 form if the team hopes to improve on its dismal season last year.

F Antti Suomela – The Sharks are hoping to bring back the 26-year-old back as a potential fourth-line center, but the Finnish center spent most of his season in the press box in San Jose as the team’s extra forward. He managed to appear in 20 games with one goal and seven points, serving mainly as the team’s fourth-line center. With plenty of questions marks down the team’s middle, Suomela has every chance to prove he deserves a more significant role.

Other RFAs: F Jonathan Dahlen, F Jayden Halbgewachs, F Maxim Letunov, D Nicolas Meloche, D Jacob Middleton, D Jeremy Roy, G Andrew Shortridge, D Tony Sund, F Manuel Wiederer.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Joe Thornton – The Sharks have made it quite clear that if Thornton wants to return next season, he’s welcome to. So, the question isn’t whether the Sharks want him, but whether Thornton wants to return. The 41-year-old made it clear at the end of the season that he would like to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup before his career ends. That seems unlikely to happen, which could suggest that Thornton may be more interested in joining a legitimate cup candidate for 2020-21. He was hoping to be traded to a contender at the trade deadline, but the team wasn’t able to find the right trade partner. Regardless, with the questions up the middle, the Sharks wouldn’t mind bringing back their heart and soul of the team despite his declining production. He did remain healthy all season, but produced one of his lowest totals since his rookie campaign in Boston back in 1997-98 with just 31 points.

F Melker Karlsson – The long-time bottom-six forward could be looking for another team as the Sharks must decided whether Karlsson’s lack of numbers is worth holding onto. Solid on the penalty kill, Karlsson’s three-year $6MM contract is now up and it’s likely the team might be ready to move on from him after scoring just six goals last season, his lowest numbers ever. Even his hits saw a major decline. If they do bring him back, expect it to be at a much lower AAV.

G Aaron Dell – After two impressive years in net in San Jose, the next two seasons have been less impressive. It’s likely that Dell will be asked to move on as the team attempts to find a better tandem fit with Martin Jones now that they announced the will not buy him out. Dell got more appearances this year with a career-high 33, but a 3.01 GAA and a .907 save percentage wasn’t what the team was looking for while Jones’ struggled. Expect Dell to find a backup job elsewhere in the league.

Other UFAs: F Jonny Brodzinski, D Brandon Davidson, F Anthony Greco, F Stefan Noesen, D Dalton Prout.

Projected Cap Space

Unfortunately for the Sharks, the team doesn’t have some of the cap advantages that other lottery teams possess (or the lottery pick, for that matter). The team has about $67.4MM committed to just 16 players, so there isn’t too much money remaining for the team to fill the rest of its roster spots. Regardless, they will likely dip into the free-agency pool a little bit to bolster a depleted roster, but will most likely have to focus on improving their defense and adding a more reliable goaltender who take take some of the pressure off of Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Nominees Announced For 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

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The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given out annually to the NHL player who exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. The award has been voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association since 1968, and today they announced their nominees for 2019.

Past winners of the award include Robin Lehner (2019), Brian Boyle (2018), Craig Anderson (2017), Jaromir Jagr (2016), Devan Dubnyk (2015), Dominic Moore (2014) and Josh Harding (2013).

Below are the nominees from each team:

Anaheim Ducks – Ryan Miller

Arizona Coyotes – Conor Garland

Boston Bruins – Kevan Miller

Buffalo Sabres – Curtis Lazar

Calgary Flames – Mark Giordano

Carolina Hurricanes – James Reimer

Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford

Colorado Avalanche – Ryan Graves

Columbus Blue Jackets – Nathan Gerbe

Dallas Stars – Stephen Johns

Detroit Red Wings – Robby Fabbri

Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid

Florida Panthers – Noel Acciari

Los Angeles Kings – Jonathan Quick

Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock

Montreal Canadiens – Shea Weber

Nashville Predators – Jarred Tinordi

New Jersey Devils – Travis Zajac

New York Islanders – Thomas Hickey

New York Rangers – Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa Senators – Bobby Ryan

Philadelphia Flyers – Oskar Lindblom

Pittsburgh Penguins – Evgeni Malkin

San Jose Sharks – Joe Thornton

St. Louis Blues – Jay Bouwmeester

Toronto Maple Leafs – Zach Hyman

Vancouver Canucks – Jacob Markstrom

Vegas Golden Knights – Shea Theodore

Washington Capitals – Michal Kempny

Winnipeg Jets – Mark Letestu

Three finalists and the winner will be named at a later date.

Stretch Run Storylines: San Jose Sharks

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As things stand, the NHL is planning to have games resume at some point over the coming weeks.  Assuming the regular season continues and play doesn’t jump immediately to the postseason, there will be plenty of things to watch for over the stretch run.  Over the weeks ahead, PHR will examine the top stretch run storylines for each team.  We complete our look at the Pacific Division with San Jose.

The San Jose Sharks made a solid run through the 2018-19 playoffs and looked ready to challenge for another run in hopes of winning a Stanley Cup final. Instead, the wheels fell off with the team struggling immensely. Lack of depth and not enough stars stepping up, San Jose wasn’t able to put together their winnings ways, which cost the job of head coach Peter DeBoer (who eventually took the Vegas job and turned their struggles around) and saw the team drop like a brick in the standings with the worst record in the Western Conference.

Hertl Bounce-Back

The team suffered through a number of injuries this season, but their most devastating loss was top scorer Tomas Hertl, who tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee during a game on Jan. 29. Even if the league does go with a 24-team playoffs, the Sharks would be on the outside looking in, so they have to  hope their star players can bounce back.

After a 35-goal, 74-point season in 2018-19, many thought that Hertl might take his team to the next level. His numbers, however, were down this year in 48 games, scoring just 16 goals and 36 points. The team will need the veteran to not only bounce back from a major knee injury and find that scoring touch, which could be a great challenge. Word is that Hertl is making valuable progress in his recovery and is well ahead of schedule, suggesting he should be ready to be ready for training camp, whenever that is. Of course, can he bounce back offensively?

Will Sharks Bring Back Veterans?

The Sharks will have a couple decisions to make about their longtime veterans, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Both are unrestricted free agents, but do they want to bring back both their long-time stars for another year?

Thornton will turn 41 in July and has expressed interest in returning to the Sharks for another season. The veteran was open to a trade when the trade deadline neared, but he received little interest from top playoff teams and San Jose didn’t get an offer worth taking. Thornton remains a solid middle-six option for them. Even at age 40, he still managed to score 31 points, while averaging 15:30 of ice time. The question is can he keep those numbers up or will his play continue to regress, making him more of a liability on the ice.

Marleau is a somewhat different story as the Sharks did get an offer for him at the trade deadline and did trade him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional 2021 third-rounder (unless the Penguins win the 2020 Stanley Cup, which would make it a 2021 second-rounder). However, there have been plenty of reports suggesting that Marleau, who will be a unrestricted free agent this offseason, would be open to returning to the Sharks. Even though he will turn 41 in September, Marleau finished with 11 goals and 22 points this season and showed some of his old scoring ways. Again, those numbers are also career-lows even with the Coronavirus shortening the season. However, he is just 51 games away from breaking Gordie Howe’s games played record, which suggests he’s open to another season.

Goaltending Needs

The Sharks goaltending was also a significant reason for the teams’ struggles. San Jose locked up Martin Jones in 2017 to be their long-term goalie for the next six years, but with four years still on his contract, the team has to wonder if Jones is that answer. The 30-year-old is coming off two straight inconsistent seasons as he finished this season with a 17-21-2 record with a 3.00 GAA and a .896 save percentage. The hope was that backup Aaron Dell might be able to take a bigger load, but he struggled as well this year and now will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Where will the relief come from. It seems likely the team will bring in someone to help out, but with cap room being an issue, the Sharks may not be able to add anything more than a backup. The team did sign Russian goaltender Alexei Melnichuk to an entry-level contract. The 21-year-old dominated as a backup netminder in the KHL, but likely will need some time in the AHL before being ready to contribute.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Joe Thornton Still Wants To Play Next Season

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It would have been unusual enough to have the NHL playoffs with no Joe Thornton this season, given he has appeared in the postseason 17 times over his career. But a regular season without him? That would be the end of an era. Some had wondered whether “Jumbo Joe” had played his final NHL game now that there is a chance the 2019-20 regular season could be canceled and the San Jose Sharks certainly won’t qualify for the playoffs, expanded or not. You don’t have to worry, according to the man himself, who told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that he still has “years to go” in his NHL career.

Thornton, who will turn 41 in July, has now played in 1,636 regular season games during a 22-year career, with another 179 postseason contests added on. That’s already good for ninth all-time, trailing only longtime teammate Patrick Marleau among active players. Another full season would get him close to the top-five, depending on what Marleau does, not to mention climbing up the assist and point leaderboards, where he ranks seventh and 14th all-time respectively.

Sure, he’s not the same player that won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2006, or even the powerplay anchor that recorded 82 points in the 2015-16 season. But Thornton is still a strong possession player and continues to make you snap your head and say “wow” when he threads a pass through several defenders.

The question immediately becomes where would Thornton want to play next season. He obviously has incredible ties to the Sharks organization, but went public with his disappointment when he wasn’t moved to a contender at the trade deadline. If he doesn’t believe San Jose can get back to contender status by next year, perhaps he would want to continue his career elsewhere. The London, Ontario native has been linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the past, and has a history with the Boston Bruins that would make any return a marketing executive’s dream.

Thornton has also been very willing in the past to structure his contract in a way that made it fit for San Jose, something that might have to happen again if he wants to keep playing. After making $2MM this season he will likely have to take another pay cut to stay in the league. While that may seem like a problem for some, after making more than $109MM during a long career but still never raising the Stanley Cup, Thornton is probably looking at the situation on the ice more than the dollar signs on the contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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