For other people named Joseph Thornton, see Joseph Thornton.
Ice hockey player
Joe Thornton
Thornton with the San Jose Sharks in April 2016
Born
(1979-07-02) July 2, 1979 (age 44) St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada
Height
6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight
220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position
Centre
Shot
Left
Played for
Boston Bruins HC Davos San Jose Sharks Toronto Maple Leafs Florida Panthers
National team
Canada
NHL draft
1st overall, 1997 Boston Bruins
Playing career
1997–2022
Joseph Eric Thornton (born July 2, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. 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'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.[2] 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.[3] His nickname "Jumbo" is a nod to his large stature and to Jumbo the elephant, who died in St. Thomas, Ontario, where Thornton was raised.[4][5]
At the time of his retirement, Thornton was the last active player in any of the major North American professional sports leagues to have played in the 1990s and the last active NHL player to have played in an NHL game against Wayne Gretzky.[6]
^McKeon, Ross (June 23, 2006). "NHL AWARDS / 'Humbled' Thornton named MVP". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
^Cite error: The named reference trade-to-sj was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"NHL & WHA Career Leaders and Records for Assists". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
^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.
^DeMartino, Joe (May 26, 2021). "Adam Vinatieri was one of the last players standing from the '90s". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
JoeThornton on YouTube NBC Olympics bio at the Wayback Machine (archived May 23, 2015) JoeThornton at Team Canada JoeThornton at Olympics.com Joe Thornton...
nickname "Little Joe" from Sharks announcer Randy Hahn, a reference to Pavelski's teammate and San Jose superstar "Jumbo Joe", JoeThornton. During the 2007–08...
(next 10 games) Patrick Marleau, 2004–2009 Rob Blake, 2009–2010 JoeThornton, 2010–2014 Joe Pavelski, 2015–2019 Logan Couture, 2019–present These are the...
their first Northeast Division title since 1993 with a core built around JoeThornton, Sergei Samsonov, Brian Rolston, Bill Guerin, Mike Knuble and Glen Murray...
Boston Bruins and Edmonton Oilers are second with thirteen winners. JoeThornton became the only Hart Trophy winner to have switched clubs during his...
number 19 for Canada) to miss the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, Sakic and JoeThornton both refused the number out of respect for their injured countryman,...
Centre JoeThornton led the club in scoring with 82 points, and finished tied for fourth in the league, followed closely by centre and team captain Joe Pavelski...
player in franchise history to reach the mark and the first Bruin since JoeThornton during the 2002–03 season. For his performance, Marchand received an...
Chicago Blackhawks are tied for third with nine times each. Although JoeThornton, winner from the 2005–06 season, started the season playing for the Boston...
seventh in the NHL in assists. Among Canadian NHL players, he trailed only JoeThornton and Dany Heatley. Throughout the season, Crosby had battled with Washington...
penalty and game misconduct as a result of a play that injured Sharks forward Joe Pavelski. The Sharks took the lead 4–3 after scoring four unanswered goals...
considered controversial. Evgeni Malkin, Ed Belfour, Dale Hawerchuk, JoeThornton, Jarome Iginla, Zdeno Chara, Pierre Pilote and Michel Goulet were considered...
June 21, 1997. The last active player from the 1997 draft class was JoeThornton, who retired in 2023 and played his final games in the 2021–22 season...
Angeles would win by a score of 3–1. However, that would not be enough, as JoeThornton of San Jose scored the game-winning goal in overtime of game six to eliminate...
(1969) 42 years, 332 days – Johnny Bucyk (1978) 42 years, 325 days – JoeThornton (2022) 42 years, 282 days – Gary Roberts (2009) 42 years, 155 days –...
(1804–1889), railway contractor in England JoeThornton (born 1979), Canadian ice hockey centre JoeThornton (archer), Cherokee archer This disambiguation...
February 28, 1996. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Z. JoeThornton (October 21, 1975). "Granviel's Mother Tells of Attack Attempt". Fort...
lead and the series win. Game four was the last playoff game to be held at Joe Louis Arena. The Red Wings closed the arena after the 2016–17 season. This...
Bonds, Tim Duncan, Clint Mathis, Kevin Garnett, Tom Brady, David Ortiz, JoeThornton, and Andy Macdonald. The Backyard Sports series is licensed by the major...
home during the regular season. List of National Hockey League awards Thornton was traded mid-season to the San Jose Sharks, but is recognized by the...
for Los Angeles. The series then ended with two consecutive 2–1 games: JoeThornton and T.J. Galiardi scored for San Jose in game six at HP Pavilion, and...
Global Information
Canada