Joe Thornton Officially Announces His Retirement From the NHL

 It was just a matter of time before it would happen, but it’s now official: Joe Thornton is officially retiring from the NHL. 

What a playing career it has been for Jumbo Joe: 1,714 regular season games played, 430 goals, 1,109 assists, 1,539 points, four-time all-star, Olympic gold medalist for Canada in 2010, and a Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy during the 2005-06 season as MVP and scoring leader in the NHL. His assist, point, and games played totals are good for seventh, 12th, and sixth all-time in the NHL. Thornton was drafted first overall by the Boston Bruins during the 1997 NHL Draft and played a remarkable 24 seasons in the NHL through the 2021-22 season. He was traded to the Sharks during the 2005-06 season and saw his greatest success during his 15 seasons with the Sharks before rounding out his playing career with one season each with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. 

During Jumbo's tenure with the Sharks, San Jose made the playoffs in all but two seasons. He has everything you could ask for in his hall-of-fame-worthy resume except for a Stanley Cup victory, which the closest he came to that was in 2016 when the Sharks made it all the way to the Cup Final but lost to the Penguins in six games. Thornton also helped the Sharks win the Presidents' Trophy in 2008-09 and reach the conference finals in 2010, 2011, and 2019. 

This season and much of last season, Joe Thornton his been involved with and around the Sharks, doing whatever he can to help this team move forward in their rebuild. He is expected to be the next player that the Sharks will retire his jersey and raise to the rafters at SAP Center, which I anticipate will be scheduled within the next two to three seasons. In all, Joe Thornton is an absolute hockey legend, one of the greatest San Jose Sharks of all time, and one of my favorite Sharks of all time. It has been a complete joy watching his NHL playing career pan out, especially when he was one of the faces of the Sharks from 2006 to 2020. 

Sources: ESPN, Multiple Sources via Twitter/X

You can further support my blogs by checking out my merch (sample pictured below): CPF Store