From THN's Archive: Big Joe Rarin' To Go

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Big Joe Rarin' To Go - Mar. 13, 2007 – Vol. 60, Issue 25 - Mike Brophy

When the Boston Bruins unceremoniously ran Joe Thornton out of Beantown – a transaction that still mystifies many – it was on the basis he would never lead the Bruins to glory. The Bruins, who got fleeced in the deal that sent the huge center to San Jose, took years of frustration and mismanagement and placed it at the skates of their young star.

Bad call.

Thornton, you’ll recall, went on to become the first player in NHL history to win both the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s top scorer and Hart Trophy as most valuable player in a season in which he had been traded. And GM Mike O’Connell, who traded Big Joe, was fired.

O’Connell somehow became convinced Thornton didn’t have it in him to be a leader. A lot of that stemmed from Boston’s last playoff appearance, in 2003-04, when Thornton was held pointless in a seven-game upset at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. Which would be fine, except for one small detail – Thornton soldiered on in the series despite the fact he had three broken ribs. Where others would have packed it in, he kept playing. Somehow the Bruins found fault in this.

San Jose GM Doug Wilson says it is that type of leadership and commitment that makes Thornton a valuable member of the Sharks and the man the boss expects to ultimately lead his team to post-season glory.

“I think his play this season has been even better than it was last year,” Wilson says. “What you need to understand about this year, though, is he broke two toes early and he kept on playing. We couldn’t even keep him off the ice for practices. Then he broke a finger and kept playing…kept practising. Then he got strep throat.

“Joe set the tone for this team. When his teammates see what he has gone through and he just kept playing, how can they not give it their all? There are not many players who would have kept on playing after going through what Joe has gone through this year.”

HE BROKE TWO TOES AND KEPT PLAYING, THEN HE BROKE A FINGERAND KEPT PLAYING.– SHARKS GM DOUG WILSON

Thornton may be a laid-back dude, but he’s no dummy. He understands a professional athlete’s reputation is determined largely by winning and losing. In that regard, he is a lot like recently retired Steve Yzerman. A gifted center, Yzerman enjoyed many banner years with the Red Wings and was even chosen the Lester B. Pearson Award winner as the NHL’s most valuable player as selected by his peers in 1989. But it wasn’t until the Red Wings won the Stanley Cup and he hoisted the trophy over his head that Yzerman’s reputation as a sure-fire Hall of Famer was cemented.

‘IT’S ALL ABOUT WINNING’

“I have no problem with people talking about that at all,” Thornton says. “I think players should be judged on their playoff success. That’s what it’s all about: winning. Players are judged on whether or not they win championships.”

Thornton, who is 27 and in his ninth big-league season, says he is looking forward to the challenge of guiding the Sharks into the playoffs. After leading the NHL in scoring with 29 goals and 125 points last year, he had just two goals and nine points in 11 playoff games as San Jose lost in six games in the second round to Edmonton, despite having a 2-0 series lead.

Thornton has yet to enjoy that one big breakout spring. Not counting his first season in Boston, when he played sparingly and managed just seven points in 55 games, Thornton has averaged 1.01 points per game in the regular season. His average drops to 0.58 in the playoffs. That will certainly need to change if the Sharks are to succeed in the highly competitive Western Conference this year.

Thornton’s not the only one, though. As we get closer to the playoffs, there are several NHLers who will be under pressure to elevate their game in the post-season.

You think Dallas goalie Marty Turco wouldn’t like to do something to change his playoff history? He has a reputation of being a great regular season stopper (although he has struggled at times this year), but a goalie that falls flat in the playoffs. Detroit sniper Pavel Datsyuk led the Red Wings in scoring last season with 87 points in 75 games, but managed just three assists in five games as his team was dusted in the first round. He has not scored a post-season goal in 26 games.

Hey, at least those guys have been to the playoffs. Consider the plight of Florida’s Olli Jokinen. He’s in his eighth year in the NHL and has never been to the dance. Not to mention, Jokinen’s old teammate, Roberto Luongo, he of seven NHL seasons and no playoff games.

Thornton says he can’t wait for the playoffs to begin.

“The older you get, the more you realize you’ll only get so many cracks at it,” says Thornton who was sixth in NHL scoring with 16 goals and 80 points in 63 games.

“With the team we have now, I think we have a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup. I’ll be prepared going into the playoffs and raring to go. You saw what happened to Edmonton last year. Whoever gets in has a chance at winning and that’s exciting. I think we’re one of the teams that can do it.”

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