The Professional Hockey Writers Association of the San Jose Sharks has nominated Joe Thornton as a finalist for the 2019 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
Joe Thornton has had a historical season full of milestones and records for the San Jose Sharks. He’s been able to put together a Hall of Fame career despite facing some challenges in recent years. His resilience has been on full display this season and it’s put him in obvious consideration for the Masterton Trophy.
The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy gets awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. Each team in the NHL has a nominee selected and then the Professional Hockey Writers Association selects a winner via poll.
Jumbo was a clear choice to earn the nominee spot out of Team Teal’s dressing room after surging this season in his 67 games played recording 46 points (16 goals and 30 assists). This strong season from the future Hall of Famer comes after back-to-back seasons suffering knee injuries leading to surgeries to repair both ACL and MCL tears in each of his knees.
Joe Thornton has been a leader in the San Jose Sharks’ dressing room this year and a player that not only the younger guys look up to, but basically everyone that puts on the Teal sweater. His relentless work ethic and perseverance is a trait that all hockey players should take note of.
Since coming to San Jose midway through the 2005-06 season, Thornton has become a Sharks icon and a leader in the community. He was a crucial part of building the interest of hockey in Northern California and helped create the winning culture that in the deeply rooted throughout the Sharks organization.
The grizzled veteran has had a decorated career so far in the NHL winning the 2005-06 Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league MVP, and the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the top point scorer of the league. Jumbo Joe has also been named an NHL All-Star six times in his career (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009) and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 2006 and the NHL Second All-Star team in 2003, 2008, and 2016.
Joe Thornton has had a season where in every game that he has played felt like history in the making. Earlier this season, Thornton scored his 400th career goal against Nashville making him only the 11th player in league history to do so. He currently sits 9th on the all-time NHL assists list with 1,060, 14th on the all-time NHL points list with 1,473, and 13th on the all-time NHL games played list with 1,560.
The 39-year-old center has not only been a face of the Sharks organization over the past 13 years, but also one of the faces of the NHL. He is the playmaker and passer of his generation and has forever left his mark on the game.
Should Joe Thornton be selected as the winner, he would become the second player in Sharks franchise history to win the award. Tony Granato won the Masterton Trophy in 1997 with the Sharks in a season where he overcame a possible career-ending brain injury sustained the year before.
Don’t be surprised if Joe Thornton wins the award. He is seen as one of the few favorites to win the Masterton Trophy, which gets announced at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas after the end of the playoffs.