Joe Thornton registered two assists in Tuesday night's 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames. His first assist was important, it helped the Sharks tie the game 1-1, but it was his second helper of the night that he'll likely remember for the rest of his life.
With an assist on Kevin Lebanc's third period goal Thornton registered the 1500th point of his career, becoming the 14th player in league history to reach the 1500-point mark.
Since being selected first overall by the Boston Bruins in 1997, Thornton has gone onto have a very impressive career. He sits 10th all-time in games played (1619), seventh in assists (1083), and 14th in points (1500).
The best season of his career came during the 2005-06 season where he registered 29-96-125. His 96 assists that season ranks 16th all-time and his 125 points was the highest single season point total since Jaromir Jagr scored 127 points in 1998-99. As we know, Nikita Kucherov passed this total last season when he racked up 128 points.
Thornton narrowly edged out Jagr for the Art Ross Trophy that season and he was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player.
That same season, the Bruins traded Thornton to the Sharks for Wayne Primeau, Brad Stuart, and Marco Sturm. He is the only player in NHL history to win the Hart Trophy while playing for two different team in the same season.
As impressive as Thornton's career has been, there's one thing that he hasn't been able to achieve—winning a Stanley Cup. He came close back in 2016 but the Sharks were ultimately defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
The Sharks currently sit 26th in the league and don't look anywhere close to being contenders for the cup. With only a couple of good years left before he'll have to hang them up for good, it might be time for Thornton to consider cutting ties with San Jose and moving onto a contender for one last shot at the cup.
-
