By Larry Wigge
There's a little bit of a billiards shark inside of Joe Thornton.
What?
With 1:25 left in a February 23 game at St. Louis, the 36-year-old veteran picked a spot on the sideboards 180-feet away from an empty net and hit it for a 6-3 victory for the San Jose Sharks.
"I looked for a spot and banked it down the ice," explained Thornton, laughing at the no-look shot. "Pretty good pool shot, eh?"
The score gave the 6-4, 220-pound center two goals and two assists for the night -- good for Joe's first four-point game of the season. The streak gave Thornton a point in 26 of the last 29 game and 39 points in 23 games since since December 15 -- the most by any player in the NHL over that stretch.
Over the course of this break-out season, Thornton has 14 goals and 41 assists for a career total 372 goals and 942 assists for 1,314 points over 18 seasons.
"It should," Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said when asked if Thornton's play has inspired his teammates. "I mean my God, when this guy shows up to the rink and he's the most energetic guy in the room and he's played for 20 years almost, it should inspire you."
Thornton's last three seasons have been down point-wise for him. But his love for the game and his arduous preparation, both in the summer and between games, never went away. Neither did his skating nor his ability to control and protect the puck.
Smart. Strong. Deceptive with the puck. Jumbo Joe is a great passer and a force every time he's on the ice.
The first player taken in 1997 NHL Entry Draft by Boston has lead the league in scoring and was the league's Most Valuable Player in 2006 -- the first season he shared with the Bruins and Sharks.
"The Hart Trophy (NHL MVP for '05-06) is on the mantle in my dad's house in St. Thomas, Ontario," Thornton said. "I'm more interested in the big trophy. The Stanley Cup is all about sacrifices to be a winning team. That's my goal."
Fans of his three 100-point seasons and his critics for all the awards with no Cup, who have judged him as lazy, not one of those players who will do anything to win.
"All I know is the only time you know he's not going to hurt you is when you see him physically sitting on the bench," St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He's just so big and skilled with the puck. He's got so much stamina that he can beat you in the first 10 seconds of a shift or the last 15 seconds. That's how much of a threat he is out there."
Said defenseman Brent Burns, "He's our leader for a reason. He doesn't have the 'C" anymore, but he's still a leader. It's awesome to play with him when he's playing like that. It's a lot of fun."
Thornton started the game with two assists and kept the pace through most of the game with two goals in the third period.
"Joe was dominant tonight," Sharks center Logan Couture said. "That was vintage Joe Thornton. Unbelievable -- creating turnovers, making passes, skating. Skating like a young guy. He was flying. Me personally, got me going.
"We need Joe to play like that for the rest of the playoffs."
That the difference. The playoffs are appproaching.
"In the past, we've had good teams here ... but we were always looking too far ahead," Thornton explained. "Successful teams work their tails off in the regular season to be ready for what's coming. That's been our mindset here. Each day we go over how we can be ready. How we can be better?"
Call it one small step for San Jose and one giant leap for the Stanley Cup theory, OK?
"As far as leadership goes, the older you get the more comfortable you feel in your skin," said Thornton. "Leadership comes a little bit easier with age."
Thornton proved a good fit with the Sharks from the beginning. It's no coincidence that San Jose has posted an incomparable mark since acquiring Thornton from Boston in a November 30, 2005 trade.
"I felt it was important to build a team around him," GM Doug Wilson explained. "Steve Yzerman didn’t win until his 12th year. It's a team game built around your difference makers."
Former teammate Dan Boyle says, "He's the best passer in the league."
"He's a big dude," said Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf. "When he controls the puck down low it's tough to take it from him. That's about the biggest challenge. He has the ability to draw guys around and then make great passes."
Says former teammate Jeremy Roenick, "Best playmaker in the game, bar none, and has been for many years. When you look at the best -- Wayne Gretzky and Adam Oates -- Jumbo is going to go down as one of the best 2-3 playmakers in the game."
"I just think he's playing at as high a level as I've ever seen him," DeBoer said. "His work ethic away from the puck, how honest he plays the game, how committed he is, how prepared he is, I can't imagine many guys out there that are doing that at his age."
Says former teammate Jeremy Roenick, "Best playmaker in the game, bar none, and has been for many years. When you look at the best -- Wayne Gretzky and Adam Oates -- Jumbo is going to go down as one of the best 2-3 playmakers in the game."
The only thing that's noticeably different now is Joe Thornton's the beard and the gray is taking over.
Don't tell any of Thornton's teammates or his coach.
"I just think he's playing at as high a level as I've ever seen him," DeBoer said.
To some around the NHL, this may be the Grumpy Ol' Men.
You'v got Jaromir Jagr and Joe Thornton -- making headlines every day.
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