User:GhostRiver/thorn

Early life

• St. Thomas Stars 1993–94
• Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs 1993–94
• St. Thomas Stars 1994–95

Playing career

Amateur

• Sault Ste. Marie 1995–96
• Sault Ste. Marie 1996–97

At the end of the regular season, Thornton had 41 goals and 122 points in 59 games, as well as a +29 plus–minus and 123 penalty minutes.

Professional

Boston Bruins (1997–2005)

The Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL) selected Thornton first overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. On August 5, 1997, following a lengthy battle over his expected payment, Thornton agreed to a three-year contract with the team that awarded him a $462,500 signing bonus in addition to an average annual salary of $925,000 and several million dollars in additional incentive bonuses. At the time, the deal was believed to be the most expensive offered to an entry-level player. While the Bruins were using the 1997–98 preseason to determine whether they should keep Thornton or return him to junior hockey, Thornton soon fractured his left radius when he was slashed by Stu Barnes during an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he was expected to miss six to eight weeks as the bone healed. He ultimately missed only two weeks with the injury, making his NHL debut on October 8, 1997, for the Bruins' 3-2 overtime win against the Phoenix Coyotes. Thornton, who was a –8 through his first 21 NHL games and had limited playing time on the fourth line, picked up his first NHL goal on December 3 in a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Shortly after that goal, Thornton missed another ten games from December 13 to January 7 due to an infected boil on his left ankle. He did not record another point until January 25, registering his first NHL assist with a pass to Anson Carter in a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals. Playing in 55 regular-season games, Thornton had three goals and seven points during his rookie season.

• 1997–98
• 1998–99
• 1999-00
• 2000–01
• 2001–02
• 2002–03
• 2003–04
• HC Davos ('04 lockout)
• 2005–06

San Jose Sharks (2005–2020)

• 2005–06
• 2006–07
• 2007–08
• 2008–09
• 2009–10
• 2010–11
• 2011–12
• 2013 lockout
• 2012–13
• 2013–14
• 2014–15
• 2015–16
• 2016–17
• 2018–19
• 2019–20

Toronto Maple Leafs (2020–2021)

Although Sharks general manager Doug Wilson wanted Thornton to remain in San Jose for another season, Thornton elected to sign a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs instead on October 18, 2020. In addition to being located closer to his family, Thornton believed that Toronto gave him a better opportunity to win a Stanley Cup title. With the 2020–21 NHL season delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thornton returned to HC Davos for his third stint with the Swiss club. Because Thornton held Swiss citizenship at the time of his signing, he did not count against the NL's limit on foreign players. He spent 12 games with HC Davos, scoring five goals and recording 11 points, before returning to North America in time for the NHL season debut on January 13, 2021.

• 2020–21

Florida Panthers (2021–2022)

The Florida Panthers signed Thornton to a one-year, $750,000 contract on August 13, 2021, making the 2021–22 season the 24th of his career. On October 20, shortly into the start of the season, Thornton was fined $1,875, the maximum allowable under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement, for a slashing penalty on Tampa Bay Lightning skater Boris Katchouk. He was placed on the injured reserve ten days later with an undisclosed injury, missing eight games before returning for the Panthers' 4–1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on November 18.

International play

• 1997 WJC
• 2001 WC
• 2004 WCH
• 2005 WC
• 2006 Olympics
• 2010 Olympics
• 2016 WCH

Playing style

As of May 2021, Thornton, Zdeno Chara, and Patrick Marleau are the only active players in the four major North American sports leagues (NHL, Major League Baseball, National Football League, and National Basketball Association) whose playing careers began in the 1990s.

In popular culture

The song "You Me and the B's" on Introduce Yerself, the posthumous solo album by the Tragically Hip lead singer and noted hockey fan Gord Downie, includes the line "With constant concern I can't help her / and I cannot help her end the trading of Joe Thornton", a reference to Thornton's poorly-receved trade from Boston to San Jose. Downie had previously named Thornton as his favorite hockey player, and Thornton's favorite band had been the Tragically Hip since he was 12 years old. Thornton and Downie knew each other personally, and had built a close friendship until Downie's death from brain cancer in 2016.