San Jose Sharks Season Review: Joe Thornton
The 2014-15 season was a very interesting one for the face of the San Jose Sharks franchise, Joe Thornton. Thornton had the captaincy stripped from him before the season began and San Jose was never able to shake that storyline throughout the year. The entire thing blew up down the stretch when Thornton told general manager Doug Wilson that he needed to stop lying.
Not exactly the kind of stuff you want to see between the best player on your team and the GM.
On the ice, Joe Thornton is still be a highly productive player, although his numbers regressed from what he posted during the 2013-14 season. Thornton concluded last year third on the Sharks in scoring with 65 points (16 goals and 49 assists) but was a minus-four. These numbers come off a really good 2013-14 season when he posted 76 points (11 goals and 65 assists) while being a plus-20.
Also, Thornton finished third last season in points per 60 with 1.72, but he led San Jose the year prior with 2.48 points per 60. As you can see, Thornton is still one of the highest point producers for the Sharks, but he was not on the same level a season ago.
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Most of the drop off in point production could be attributed to the move of Brent Burns back to the blue line. Instead of having Burns’ presence on his wing, Thornton had a rookie in Melker Karlsson for a majority of the year. The off-ice drama could have affected Thornton in some capacity as well but he did experience a drop off from the lofty expectations and standards he’s set during his tenure in teal.
Despite the down year, Thornton is still one of the most effective forwards in the entire league. According to the website Kukla’s Korner, Joe Thornton was the number one player in team adjusted Corsi with a plus-313.6 rating, the leader by a wide margin. The next closest player was Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins at plus-268.8, and Joe Pavelski finished sixth with a plus-256.6 rating, aided in large part by Thornton’s efforts.
Thornton’s overall Corsi For percentage increased slightly last season to 58.4 percent after sitting at 58.2 during the 2013-14 season. He’s still the main possession driver for the San Jose Sharks and will continue to be so as long as he dons a teal jersey. While Thornton is on the downside of his career, it’s not as drastic as some might make it out to be.
Joe Thornton will be motivated by all the doubters, and the turmoil that was the 2014-15 season should be a thing of the past. Wilson has brought in some new pieces during the offseason, and the Sharks have some young talent that gained some experience a season ago. Peter DeBoer would be smart to give Thornton an “A” next season as he’s still at the forefront of this franchise.
While the 2014-15 season was Thornton’s worst with the Sharks, look for a big bounce back year from him. He spent an entire year getting beaten down on and off the ice, but expect Thornton to continue his strong possession metrics. His continued chemistry with Pavelski will lead to big things for San Jose in 2015-16.
Next: Sharks Early 2015-16 Season Preview: Forwards