A Stanley Cup will have to wait, as Joe Thornton remains with San Jose Sharks

NHL: Joe Thornton won't get a chance to chase a Stanley Cup this season as he, perhaps surprisingly, remains with the San Jose Sharks past the trade deadline

SAN JOSE — Joe Thornton was not traded back to his former team, the Boston Bruins, or reunited with ex-teammate Joe Pavelski on the Dallas Stars.

No, perhaps surprisingly, Joe Thornton remains a member of the San Jose Sharks.

The NHL trade deadline came and went on Monday at noon (PT) and Thornton was still a member of the Sharks, who are well out of the playoff race.

Monday morning, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson traded Patrick Marleau to the Penguins for a conditional 2021 third round draft pick. Then just minutes before the noon (PT) deadline, Wilson sent Barclay Goodrow and a 2020 third round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a first round draft pick this year and minor league forward Anthony Greco.

Wilson said both Marleau and Thornton were involved in the process as they explored potential fits throughout the NHL. While Marleau found a match with the Penguins, Thornton, Wilson said, “was open to exploring it, but I’m not sure he necessarily wanted to go completely, either. That’s how loyal he has been to this organization and that’s what makes him special, too.”

It was reported the Bruins were on Thornton’s list of teams he was open to joining, along with the Colorado Avalanche, the Stars, Lightning and Penguins.

While Marleau and Goodrow have a chance to chase the Stanley Cup with their new teams, Thornton remains with the Sharks and will probably be their top line center when they play the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

“Joe was very open to explore it, just as Patty was open to explore it. That didn’t mean that either or both of them were definitely going to go,” Wilson told this newspaper.  “I think they both truly are Sharks and will always be Sharks. They wanted to take a look and see what was behind the curtain. Patty saw, it worked out, made that decision. In Jumbo’s case, it didn’t.

“We’re very pleased (Thornton’s) still here and the players can reap the benefits of being around him every day.”

Up until recently, Thornton was hopeful the Sharks could put together a string of victories and rejoin the playoff race.

Instead the Sharks have been plagued with injuries, as Tomas Hertl (knee) and Erik Karlsson (thumb) were lost for the season and Logan Couture has missed the last 17 games with a small ankle fracture.

Since Couture Jan. 7 injury, the Sharks (26-32-4) have gone 7-10-0 and entered Monday tied for 13th place in the Western Conference, 14 points out of a playoff spot with 20 games left in the regular season. In that time, winger Evander Kane was suspended for three games and the Sharks traded defenseman Brenden Dillon to the Washington Capitals for two draft picks.

The Sharks have lost four straight games and barring a complete turnaround, will miss the postseason for just the third time since the 1997-98 season.

“We’re not used to this. This is something we ever want to get used to or (have) be acceptable,” Wilson said. “We put ourselves in this position by not having a good year, and then, obviously, you don’t get off to a good start and then you run into the injuries we did, it all culminates with the position we’re in. We ended up being sellers at the trade deadline.

“That does not happen often and we don’t expect it to happen again.”

In 62 games for the Sharks this season, Thornton has 27 points and is averaging 15 minutes and 18 seconds of ice time per game.

In 1,096 prior games with the Sharks, Thornton has 248 goals and 803 assists. In 2006, he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player and Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top point-getter with 125.

Thornton was named an NHL all-star in 2007, 2008 and 2009, played for Team Canada in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Thornton is the Sharks’ all-time leader in assists and plus/minus (165), and second behind Marleau in games played and points.

But Thornton’s value to the Sharks goes well beyond the numbers.

He was the heart and soul of a Sharks team made the playoffs in 13 of his first 14 years in San Jose. He has also had an impact on countless players that have came through the organization in the last 15 years, from Jonathan Cheechoo and Devin Setoguchi, to Couture and Pavelski, and younger players such as Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc.