There has been quite a bit of speculation surrounding the San Jose Sharks heading into this year’s trade deadline and one of the names that’s getting a lot of attention is Joe Thornton.
Until now, Thornton hasn’t hinted at any sort of desire to leave San Jose and even his recent comments suggests he’s fully committed to the city and the team, but it sounds like he’s finally at a point where he needs to give his future outside of San Jose a thought. He addressed speculation he might moved by the Sharks who are likely to be sellers at this year’s deadline.
Thornton told reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, that it’s something he has yet to consider this season. It also sounds like he might of the Sharks are officially out of the race.
He said:
I really, I need to think about that. I haven’t thought about it at all. I’m just trying to win games here and see how it goes. I’m still optimistic we can make a run at it, I really am.
In essence, Thornton wants to win in San Jose but it if becomes impossible to do so, it sounds like he’s open to other options.
Should the Sharks find themselves out of it, plenty of teams will be interested even with his declined numbers (2-17-19 in 50 games). He’s a veteran leader, still one of the best passers in the game and he’s only being paid $2 million contract this season with no bonuses attached to his deal. He’s a perfect rental for a handful of teams.
