San Jose Sharks Acquire Center Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins

JOE THORNTON WITH 2004 WORLD CUP TROPHY - PHOTOFILE

A press release from the San Jose Sharks:

SHARKS ACQUIRE C JOE THORNTON FROM THE BOSTON BRUINS

Defenseman Brad Stuart and Forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau Sent to Boston in Exchange for 1997 NHL First Overall Selection

SAN JOSE - Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson announced today that the club has acquired three-time NHL All-Star center Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenseman Brad Stuart and forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau.

Thornton, 26, has scored 33 points (9 goals, 24 assists) in 23 games this season, ranking first on Boston and (entering tonight's games) tied for 11th in league scoring. Thornton is signed through the 2007-08 season.

"Joe Thornton is the whole package and we think is one of the top players in the game. This is a player that I would have acquired at any time. When a player of this caliber becomes available, you have to step up. We think he will be a great addition to this hockey club."

Selected by Boston with the first overall pick in 1997, he was named the 17th captain in Bruins history on October 8, 2002, Thornton has reached the 20+ goal mark in five consecutive seasons and led Boston in 2003-04 in assists (50) and points (73) for the third time in his career. He recorded his 400th NHL/Bruins point with an assist February 5, 2004 at Buffalo.

Entering tonight's game, Thornton has scored the most career points (354) among all NHL players 26 and younger, ahead of Marian Hossa (418), Sergei Samsonov (362) and Patrick Marleau (350).

He has played in three NHL All-Star games (2004, 2003, 2002), including being named a starter for the Eastern Conference Team at the 2004 NHL All-Star Game in Minnesota.

The six-foot-four, 225-pound native of London, Ontario spent the 2004-05 season with Davos in Switzerland, leading that team and finishing seventh overall in league scoring with 54 points (10 goals, 44 assists) and 80 PIM in 40 games. During the postseason, he led the league in playoff scoring with 14 points (4 goals, 20 assists) in 14 games as Davos won the Swiss League Championship.

In 2002-03, finished third overall in the League's Art Ross scoring race as one of just three NHL players to hit the 100+ point mark and was second overall in the League in assists. He became just the third player in Boston history to score 100 points with 100+ penalty minutes, joining Bobby Orr (1960-70, 1971-72 and 1974-75) and Ken Hodge (1971-72)...

Prior to making his mark in the NHL, Thornton played two seasons of junior hockey in Sault Ste. Marie/OHL scoring 198 points (71 goals, 127 assists) and 174 PIM in 125 career games. He was named the top rookie in all of Canadian major junior hockey in 1995-96 and earned a spot on the CHL All-Rookie Team. He finished second in the OHL in scoring in 1996-97 with 122 points in 59 games and earned OHL Second Team All-Star honors that season.

Thornton was the youngest member of Team Canada that won the Gold medal in the 1997 World Junior Championships, scoring four points (2 goals, 2 assists) in seven games. He played in the 2001 World Championships with Team Canada scoring two points (1 goal, 1 assist) in six games. In addition, Thornton won a gold medal with Team Canada in the 2004 World Cup, posting six points (1-5=6) in six games.

He is a cousin of current Sharks winger Scott Thornton and has played with Kyle McLaren (in Boston) and Marleau and Scott Hannan on various squads for Team Canada.

Stuart, the Sharks first round selection (3rd overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, has posted 153 points (36 goals, 117 assists) in 377 NHL games, all with San Jose. This season, Stuart posted two goals and ten assists for 12 points in 23 games. Stuart leaves tied for second with Marcus Ragnarsson on the Sharks all-time points list among defensemen, just two points shy of Mike Rathje's 155.

Sturm, selected by San Jose in the first round (21st overall) in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, has posted 273 points (128 goals, 145 assists) in 553 NHL games, all with San Jose. This season, he had 16 points (six goals, ten assists) in 23 games. Sturm leaves as the fifth leading scorer on the Sharks all-time points list.

Primeau, acquired from Pittsburgh on March 11, 2003 in exchange for Matt Bradley, played in 100 games for San Jose, posting 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists). In 520 NHL games, Primeau has 136 points (47 goals, 89 assists).

"These three individuals are not only outstanding hockey players but quality people as well," said Wilson. "We wish them the best and thank them for their contributions to the San Jose Sharks."

Joe Thornton's career summary from Hockey Forecaster. A scouting report on Super Joe:

ASSETS: Possesses great on-ice vision and creates numerous scoring chances for his linemates. Uses his reach to make things happen. Has terrific size and strength with the puck.

FLAWS: Can be undisciplined at times and take foolish penalties. Has yet to come up big in the postseason. His mental game needs work.

CAREER POTENTIAL: Franchise center.

The redoubtable but nattily attired Barry Melrose commented on the trade for Sportscenter with Steve Levy. Here are few rough quotes:

[Steve Levy] Does the team that gets the best player win, in this case the Sharks with Joe Thornton?

[A] The Bruins were in trouble. The coaches were going to get fired, the players were going to get fired... No one thought it was going to be Thornton...

We all love Joe Thornton, but he has not got it done in the playoffs. Joe Thornton is one of the highest paid players today and he hasnt been one of the best players in the playoffs. He is still young. This is a wake up call for Joe. He will use this as a motivating factor... It will be a great start for Thornton on the West Coast, not as much media.

Dont forget they get Thornton and Marleau. Marleau was the second player chosen in the draft, Thornton went first. Now they have Thornton and Marleau 1, 2. No one has better centerman than that.

More from Melrose courtesy of Sabre Rattling can be found here: Sabres are the hottest team in hockey. Even more from Melrose, thanks to Jason for sending this in: Thornton didn't live up to Bruins' expectations - ESPN.

Joe Thornton is 26 years old, and was drafted first overall by the Boston Bruins in 1997. Patrick Marleau was drafted second overall by the San Jose Sharks. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Thornton signed a 3-year $20 million deal with Boston in August. Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau made $2 million, $1.9 million, and $1,1 million respectively this season according to NHLPA.com.

Trade Rumors --- Sharks land Joe Thornton for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau

[Sharkspage Wire5] Sharks GM Doug Wilson interviewed on FSBA from Dallas:

[Q] What are your thoughts behind this trade?

[DW] It was a difficult decision. It is a player that rarely becomes available. We are getting a player who is one of the top players in the game. Boston is getting three very good players who are amazing people. All we can do is thank them for what they have done for us.

Blockbuster deal: Sharks get Thornton from Boston - SJ Mercury News.

Kukla's Korner has more.

[Sharkspage Wire4] More details are starting to hit the net. From the Boston Bruins, all 3 newly acquired players will be in the lineup for Boston on Thursday. Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail declares this the biggest blockbuster trade of the year. He also points out that Thornton was selected just ahead of Patrick Marleau first overall in 1997.

Sharks GM Doug Wilson is quoted describing Thornton on sjsharks.com "He is a leader who scores points and makes other players around him better". The Sharks also mention that Joe Thornton will join his cousin Scott Thornton with the Sharks. Super Joe will make his debut with San Jose Friday at 5PM against Buffalo.

[Sharkspage Wire3] From Sportsnet.ca:

Bruins pull off blockbuster

Sportsnet has learned the San Jose Sharks have traded Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau to Boston for Joe Thornton.

Sportsnet.ca -- In an effort to shake up their struggling franchise, the Boston Bruins have dealt away their star player.

Sportsnet has learned the San Jose Sharks have traded Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau to Boston for Joe Thornton.

Details to follow.

[Sharkspage Wire2] Spector Reports:

SHARKS TRADE FOR JOE THORNTON!

SPORTSNET.CA REPORTS THE SAN JOSE SHARKS HAVE TRADED BRAD STUART, MARCO STURM AND WAYNE PRIMEAU TO THE BOSTON BRUINS FOR JOE THORNTON!

More on this shortly.

[Sharkspage Wire] Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm, and Wayne Primeau are scratches just before game time at Dallas, all participated in the pregame warmups. Jim Fahey and Niko Dimitrakos were the expected scratches. Sharks are skating against Dallas tonight one man short, with only 11 forwards and 6 defenseman. Begin trade speculation now...

Before taking a look at the current crop of rumors, you have to take a look at the Sharks current situation. How did this team fall from Pacific Division Champions to a sub .500 team with a 9 game losing streak?

Mike Chen nails it with his post, Anatomy of a losing team.

[Doug] Wilson claims that Ottawa, Tampa Bay, and Calgary -- three teams that the Sharks theoretically resemble -- all stood pat. That is false. Ottawa made the move to get Dany Heatley, who brings a completely different style of game than Marian Hossa, a style that new coach Bryan Murray wanted the team to emphasize. Ottawa also recognized a flaw in Patrick Lalime and made a conscious gamble by signing Dominik Hasek. Tampa Bay lost Cory Stillman and replaced him by bringing back Vaclav Prospal. Calgary signed Roman Hamrlik, Tony Amonte, and Darren McCarty.

When the Sharks lost Mike Ricci, it made sense to give the minutes to up-and-coming center Marcel Goc. But to pencil in Vincent Damphousse's minutes to a rookie who hadn't played in over two years due to injuries (Milan Michalek) was a high-wire act without a safety net. Dangerous winger Alex Korolyuk's minutes were to be allocated to second year forward Niko Dimitrakos. Dimitrakos has shown some good hands, like Korolyuk; however, unlike Korolyuk, Dimitrakos is neither fast nor shifty nor possessing a good shot. Likewise, minute-munching blueliner Mike Rathje departed and the Sharks made an all-or-nothing pitch for Scott Niedermayer...and no one else. Now, the defense is struggling and no one is available.

The San Jose 2005 marketing slogan says that Sharks returned "with most of the same team as the Pacific Champions in 2004".

Vincent Damphousse and Alexander Korolyuk were players who made their linemates better by creating scoring chances with stickhandling, speed and an uncanny hockey sense. Both are gone. Mike Ricci and Scott Thornton struggled offensively in 2003-04, but were able to absorb bodies and still dish the puck to linemate Jonathan Cheechoo, who had a career season with 28 goals and 19 assists. Ricci is gone, along with the motivational 4th liner Todd Harvey.

Mike Rathje, gone (but not forgotten?). Jason Marshall, gone. Curtis Brown, gone. This is a different team than 2003-04.

San Jose started this season with rookies Marcel Goc, Milan Michalek, and Ryan Clowe on the roster. Second year players Christian Ehrhoff, Tom Preissing, Niko Dimitrakos, Josh Langfeld [played parts of 3 seasons with Ottawa] are being relied on to provide significant contributions. Two months into the season, the Sharks have called up three more rookies: Nolan Schaefer, Grant Stevenson, and Steve Bernier.

It has been a conscious move to San Jose GM Doug Wilson to go with youth in the organization to fill holes as veterans left during the lockout and the preseason. To date, the strategy has had mixed results. The gaps on this team are plenty. Starting goaltending is struggling [Nabokov 3.30GAA, SV%.865; Toskala 5.07GAA, SV%.815], and an ineffective offense [2.65 GFA, 25th] and power play [14.4%, 24th] only compound the problem.

The reality is, adding only one player will not solve the Sharks problems. A goal scoring veteran should be looked at to smooth over some of the rough spots with the inconsistent production of young forwards. A PP quarterback needs to be found because Brad Stuart, Jim Fahey, or Christian Ehrhoff are simply not getting the job done. I agree with Mike Chen that losing Mike Rathje lessened the Sharks margin for error defensively, but even with him San Jose would have struggled to score goals.

Now, show me the rumors:

- San Jose Mercury News columnist Dave Pollak reports that trades are a possibility for the struggling Sharks.

The G.M. - who acknowledged he might have been more active in last summer's free-agent market if he knew some players wouldn't meet expectations - refused to identify who may be on the block. But he did indicate that very few players were untouchable.

Sharks management has talked consistently about keeping its core group of players together in pursuit of the Stanley Cup, and has made it clear the group included goalie Evgeni Nabokov, defensemen Scott Hannan, Brad Stuart and Kyle McLaren, and forwards Patrick Marleau and Marco Sturm.

But Wilson said that new rules and a new economic structure have made the NHL a new league, "and sometimes the definition of a core player can be altered."

- From Bruce Garrioch in the Ottawa Sun on Sunday:

The Sharks are looking to deal D Brad Stuart, LW Marco Sturm and LW Nils Ekman. It's believed GM Doug Wilson would like to shake up his struggling team.

A week earlier the rumor du jour from the Ottawa Sun was that the Sharks were interested in Ottawa forward Martin Havlat. Havlat suffered a possible dislocated right shoulder after being checked in the third period against Montreal.

- The Prince of Pucks notes:

A Toronto sports radio station recently suggested the Maple Leafs might become San Jose's trade partner. As usual, the Leafs are believed to be shopping for affordable blue-line depth, something the Sharks have in abundance. Apparently the Leafs were interested in Stuart or veteran Scott Hannan, tempting the Sharks by offering up one or two of the Leafs' younger forwards in return.