Former Boston Bruins captain Joe Thornton played his 24th and final season in the NHL during the 2021-22 campaign with the Florida Panthers. Last month, he was rightfully inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after his incredible career. Now, good things keep coming Thornton's way, as he has landed an exciting new job.
The San Jose Sharks have announced that they have hired Thornton as a player development coach/hockey operations advisor.
Seeing Thornton get hired by the Sharks is not surprising, as he had a spectacular 15-year run with them after Boston shockingly traded him there during the 2005-06 season in exchange for Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau, and now-Bruins head coach Marco Sturm. Now, Thornton will look to help the Sharks' young players develop in the right direction as they continue their rebuild.
The Bruins selected Thornton with the first-overall pick of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. In 532 games over eight seasons as a Bruin, he had 169 goals, 285 assists, 454 points, and a plus-25 rating.
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