Sharks' first true superstar
Thornton again asked to rescue sinking team

Ross McKeon, Chronicle Staff Writer

Friday, December 2, 2005




In newly acquired Joe Thornton, the Sharks have their first legitimate superstar who is in the prime of his career.

Think about the elite players San Jose has had: Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov, Teemu Selanne, Bernie Nichols and Mike Vernon. All were past their prime. Drop another level to high-profile stars: Adam Graves, Vincent Damphousse, Craig Janney, Gary Suter, Joe Murphy, Tony Granato, Al Iafrate and current general manager Doug Wilson -- all were riding out their careers.

Owen Nolan didn't play at a high level long enough, and though Ed Belfour physically was in San Jose for 13 games, he checked out mentally before he ever arrived from Chicago via trade and before he departed through free agency.

Thornton, at age 26, is the new and brightest face on the 14-year-old franchise.

Not long after he slipped on a Sharks jersey for the first time in a hotel conference room Thursday night, sporting a 5 o'clock shadow and his trademark unruly blond locks, Thornton proclaimed he's excited to start a new chapter in his life.

"I thought I was going to be a Bruin for life," Thornton said. "I grew up in Boston, I was just 18 when I got there. But now it's exciting to play with some new faces, and get to know my cousin better. I can't wait."

That wait is nearly over. Tonight Thornton will see older cousin Scott Thornton to his left and Jonathan Cheechoo on his right as he makes his Sharks debut at center against the host Sabres. On Saturday night, Joe Thornton will attract a lot of attention again when San Jose visits Toronto, which is not far from his hometown of London, Ontario.

Thornton's first order of business is to help the Sharks break a 10-game losing streak. Similar expectations were heaped upon him for most of his seven seasons in Boston after the Bruins made the 6-foot-4, 223-pound left-handed-shooting forward their first pick in 1997.

"I've always had a lot of pressure on me, playing in an Original Six city, so this isn't new," he said. "And I went through this phase with the Bruins this year. I'm just going to play how Joe Thornton plays and see what happens."

He didn't survive it this season, however, as the Bruins fell to the cellar of the Northeast Division after winning it the previous season, just like the defending champ Sharks have fallen to the basement in the Pacific. That's what ultimately led to Thornton getting dealt Wednesday night to San Jose in exchange for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau, who all played for the victorious Bruins on Thursday.

"It was the last thing I was expecting," Thornton said. "(Sharks) management has already told me how excited they are to have me, so that's different."

It's no secret Thornton and the Bruins' brass endured tumultuous times. In August, when Thornton signed a three-year, $20 million deal, he confirmed Wednesday he was looking for a five-year deal instead.

"It's strange, but I've got to move on," Thornton said. "I didn't see the full commitment from them (the Bruins) I was giving them."

The Sharks hope to be rejuvenated by the acquisition before it's too late.

"Hopefully, that will be kind of an emotional wakeup call for a lot of guys who have been struggling," coach Ron Wilson said. "We're trying to win right now, and build the best team possible. That should be a clear message with this deal: It's about winning, period. It's not a fraternity or about anything like that."

With a top-three center-ice alignment of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Marcel Goc, the Sharks are now as deep as anyone in the West down the middle of the ice. And that doesn't begin to mention the new matchup problems for opposing centers and defensemen in the conference.

Ron Wilson said Alyn McCauley likely will move to a wing to continue to get the ice time he needs as opposed to dropping to a fourth-line center. In addition, the Sharks promoted rookie defenseman Doug Murray from Cleveland on Thursday. He's expected to make his NHL debut tonight. He'll be given an opportunity, along with more minutes from Christian Ehrhoff and Tom Preissing, to replace Stuart in the short-term.

Clearly, though, all eyes will be on Thornton.

"Hopefully, we can all pull it together around him and show what we're all about here in San Jose," Scott Thornton said.


I love hockey so this article was worth a read to me. Lets see if he can help them pull this off.

__________________

He never lived up to his potential in Boston and SJ has a reputation of smothering and destroying good young talent. The new talent in Boston has yielded immediate results and will probably end up being a much more significant impact towards the end of the season than Thornton can even hope for. People like Melrose will say that SJ got a great deal cause they got Thronton without giving up a star player but I disagree.

__________________

Didn't feel like opening a new thread for this. It is hockey so it can go here.



NHL Injury Updates

Martin Havlat is gone four-to-six weeks after suffering a dislocated shoulder.

By Rick Magnuson
Associate Editor

December 3, 2005


W Martin Havlat, Senators
Havlat is gone four-to-six weeks after suffering a dislocated shoulder when he was hit by the Habs' Michael Ryder during Ottawa's 4-0 victory Tuesday night. "It was a clean hit [from Ryder], but it may have been a little late," Havlat told the Ottawa Sun. "I didn't have the puck. That's the thing that bothered me." Havlat was expected to visit a shoulder specialist on Thursday to determine if surgery may be necessary. If it is required, he could miss up to six months. However, all indications point to surgery being unnecessary. Havlat has already missed five games in October for kicking a player in the groin, and he missed a game in November because of an injured hamstring.

C Peter Forsberg, Flyers
Forsberg left the Flyers' November 25 game against the Bruins after he suffered a mild right groin strain. He returned to practice earlier this week but was forced to leave prematurely after experiencing soreness. However, on Thursday Forsberg was able to skate, but he said he did not feel as good as he had hoped and it's unlikely he'll play Saturday against the Predators, reports the Philadelphia Daily News. "I thought it was going to be better [Thursday] when I skated hard," Forsberg said. "That's all I can say. We'll see what happens." So far he's missed three games because of the injury.

G Kevin Weekes, Rangers
On Wednesday, the Rangers were forced to place Weekes on the injured reserve after a rare and unusual injury. Weekes bruised his ankle on November 24 after his own net came crashing down on his skate. The injury occurred during the third period after Rangers defenseman Marek Malik pushed Atlanta's J.P. Vigier into the goal, causing it to topple. The move is retroactive to last Friday, and Weekes is eligible to return on Saturday when the Rangers visit the Capitals.

D Jiri Fischer, Red Wings
On Monday night, Fischer was once again rushed to a Detroit hospital after he experienced an irregular heartbeat. He stayed in the hospital Tuesday for tests and observations before being released Wednesday. Fischer is expected to undergo more tests at the University of Michigan Medical Center this week, according to the Detroit News. General manager Ken Holland is just happy his defenseman is safe. "We're just thankful he's getting the best of care and he's back at home," Holland said. "We don't know much more at this point. I know he's going to have more tests soon." On November 21, Fischer had a convulsion on the Wings' bench during the first period and his heart also stopped. A defibrillator was required to jumpstart his heart before he was rushed from the arena to a local hospital.

D Brian Leetch, Bruins
Leetch was activated from the injured reserve prior to the Bruins' game against the Senators last Saturday. Since returning he's posted one point in three games. Leetch was injured November 1 when he sprained his right MCL in a game against the Islanders. He missed 10 games and the Bruins went 3-6-1 during that span. Given that Leetch is 37-years-old and was not expected to return until December, we'll gladly welcome him back with open arms. It was the first knee injury that the offensive-minded defenseman sustained during his
17-year career.

G Jean-Sebastien Giguere
The Ducks finally activated Giguere from the injured reserve Thursday after he missed seven games because of a hamstring injury. He was injured November 20 when Anaheim hosted the Canucks. He left that game during the first period after aggravating an injury that sidelined him for two games earlier in the season. The Ducks had hoped to have Giguere available on Wednesday, but with Ilya Bryzgalov playing so well there was no reason to bring him back early. In fact, with Bryzgalov winning his last four as of Friday, it wouldn't be surprising to the Ducks stick with him and give Giguere more recovery time on the bench.

W Keith Primeau, Flyers
Flyers general manager Bob Clarke told the Philadelphia Daily News on Thursday he will wait as long as it takes for Primeau to rejoin the lineup, but in the meantime the team placed their captain on the long-term injured list. This move allows the team to subtract Primeau's salary from their cap until he is ready to return. And since he's already missed the minimum 10 games required by the NHL when a player goes on the long-term list, he can return at anytime. The team doesn't have a timeline for his return but they want to make sure he's 100 percent comfortable before coming back. Primeau suffered a concussion October 25 against the Habs, but he played in the next two games before leaving the lineup October 30. He hasn't returned since.

W Glen Murray, Bruins
Murray scored two goals against the Leafs on November 23 before missing the entire third period with what the club called a mild groin strain. He was unable to practice later that week but the club still listed him as day-to-day. Unfortunately, the injury has cost him four games, but he's been making significant improvements. Boston hopes he'll return Saturday against the Oilers or Sunday versus the Canucks. Although we're still worried about his groin, we're more worried about the depression he may suffer from losing his talented linemate and set-up man, Joe Thornton, to the Sharks.

Suck it up you nancy boys. You are really pissing me off. I wanna see some high sticking, blood on the ice action. My Red Wings better do something this season thats all I have to say.

__________________

NHL Finals: Ottowa over Detroit in six games. Dominator wins another Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy.

Of course, that's probably not gonna happen, but I'd like to see the aged Czechman go out on top.

__________________

Wow, SJ really did smother Thornton, who after going to the Sharks, became only the third player in NHL history with back-to-back 90 assist seasons.

Playoffs currently:

Eastern Conference

Buffalo Leads NYR 2-1...Buffalo appears to be the team to beat in the East.

Ottowa and Devils tied 1-1...Gut feeling tells me Ottowa will win, but I wouldn't bet against Marty Brodeur in the playoffs.

Western Conference

Anaheim leads Vancouver 2-1...Anaheim appears to be the elite team in the West, and although both teams in this series give my team fits, I'm only really scared to play the Ducks.

SJ and Detroit tied 1-1...Game 3 tomorrow night at the Shark Tank and I'm going to game 4 Wed. night...this is going to be a hard-fought series, as are they all, but I really do think the Sharks can take the Wings, seeing as how they're on fire, and they damn near tried to give game 2 away in Detroit, which they were successful in doing. They are both great at home and on the road, had the 3rd most wins in the NHL this year, and played shitty in round 1 but still wiped out the Trashville Predators in 5 games. They won't have home ice advantage in any series in the playoffs, but don't need it either.

I'd love to see the Sharks get their first cup in franchise history, but the Ducks seem to be the favorite as of right now. I don't know a helluva lot about hockey, except that I'll be heckling the fuck out of Det. 3 days from now.

__________________

Don't count my boys out yet DPD. Damn that was close though wasn't it? hehe

Here ya go!

STOLEN FROM YAHOO SPORTS:

San Jose 2, Detroit 1

May 1, 2007

AP - May 1, 1:16 am EDT


SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings seemed plenty comfortable at the hostile Shark Tank in the first 30 minutes, skating faster and checking harder than their hosts.

The Sharks finally figured out how to escape their midgame malaise when coach Ron Wilson shuffled all four of his lines, while Jonathan Cheechoo redoubled his efforts on his aching knee.

And Joe Thornton kept doing exactly what he's done all spring: patiently make life miserable for San Jose's opponents.

Cheechoo scored a power-play goal with 6:21 to play, and the Sharks came from behind for a 2-1 victory Monday night in Game 3 of their second-round series.

"Sometimes it takes half a game to figure out how you're going to crack the other team," Wilson said.


Though Thornton added only one assist to his team-high 10 points in the postseason, his fingerprints -- and fist prints, occasionally -- were all over a gutsy victory by the Sharks, who took a 2-1 lead in the second-round series.

"Joe sets the tone out there, and we follow him and what he does," said Cheechoo, who scored in his second straight game after failing to find the net in the Sharks' first six postseason contests. "He's physical, he's the hardest worker, and he's a great passer. We kept working hard, and we got it turned around in the second part of the game."

Game 4 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night, with Game 5 back in Joe Louis Arena on Saturday.

Evgeni Nabokov made 29 saves in another standout effort for the Sharks, who jumped ahead in the best-of-seven series in yet another tight, well-played game between tested playoff foes.

Ryane Clowe scored the tying goal and added an assist on the winner by Cheechoo, who was injured by a knee-on-knee hit in San Jose's first playoff game against Nashville. Thornton thought the game turned when Wilson changed his line combinations, reminding everybody of the game's importance.

"We play with so many different lines during the regular season that it doesn't matter who we play with," said Thornton, whose lengthy shifts left him puffing when he finally got to the bench. "We had just a couple of good shifts, and when you get two or three good shifts in a row, it boosts your bench."

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom scored a power-play goal and Dominik Hasek stopped 25 shots for the top-seeded Red Wings, who acknowledged they lost the second half of the game by a narrow margin.


AP - May 1, 1:14 am EDT


"They got a lot of pressure, and we were almost standing around," said Lidstrom, who hadn't found the net since the first two games of the Red Wings' first-round series against Calgary. "When they get momentum like they did, we have to play stronger defense. I thought we were guilty of taking penalties. It's tough to keep our lines going when we're taking a lot of penalties."

The Sharks finally tied it with a rare bit of sustained pressure with 7 1/2 minutes left in the second period. Thornton cycled the puck until it got to Matt Carle for a shot, and Clowe then flicked the rebound into a small space between Hasek's glove and pads for his fourth goal of a breakout postseason.

"Once they scored, they were better than us at that point," Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. "They flipped it in and beat us to the puck, and we turned it over more. It was a flip of the first 30 minutes. That's how I expect this series to go. It's going to continue to be a battle."

And Thornton just kept wearing away on the Wings. His relentless pressure forced a Detroit penalty in the third period, and Kyle McLaren's slap shot rebounded directly to Cheechoo, who held the puck before he flipped it past a sprawled Hasek.

Nabokov shut out the Red Wings in the series opener, but Detroit rallied back with two third-period goals in a 3-2 victory in Game 2 on Saturday, snapping San Jose's four-game postseason winning streak.

Chris Chelios, who played another outstanding defensive game for the Red Wings, participated in his 237th playoff game, passing Mark Messier for second place in NHL history. Patrick Roy played in 247 postseason contests.

Notes

San Jose's power play dropped to 4-for-42 in the postseason and got booed in the second period. The Sharks led the NHL in the category for much of the regular season. ... Detroit LW Tomas Holmstrom didn't make the flight to San Jose while recovering from a left eye injury that kept him out of the series' first two games. He could appear in Game 4 if he passes an exam. ... San Jose replaced LW Mark Bell with rookie C Joe Pavelski, who had appeared in the Sharks' last four victories. Bell was active in the last two losses.


Updated on Tuesday, May 1, 2007 1:52 am EDT


Next Opponents

Detroit at San Jose
Wed May 2, 2007, 10:00 pm EDT Detroit at San Jose
Wed May 2, 2007, 10:00 pm EDT

__________________