Shawn Thornton Proved He’s More Than Just A Tough Guy, and Bruins’ Emotional Leader Will Look to Build On Offensive Breakthrough

Editor's Note: Over the next few weeks, NESN.com Bruins beat writer Douglas Flynn will be taking an in-depth look at one Bruins player each day, analyzing that player's performance last season and outlook heading into the 2011-12 campaign.

Throughout his tenure with the Bruins, Shawn Thornton has been among the most popular players in Boston. That's not particularly surprising considering his role. Bruins tough guys have always earned a special spot in the hearts of most fans.

But Thornton is equally popular within the Bruins' locker room. A vocal and emotional leader who is always willing to stick up for a teammate, Thornton provides a healthy dose of leadership and a little bit of levity to the club, and has proven he can even chip in a few goals as well.

2010-11 stats: 79 games, 10-10-20, plus-8, 122 PIMs

Playoffs: 18 games, 0-1-1, minus-1, 24 PIMs

Contract status: Signed through 2011-12, $812,500 cap hit

Preseason expectations: Thornton was one of the first players the Bruins re-signed last offseason, locking him up for two years before he could hit the open market as a free agent. While it might seem strange to place such a priority on a player who had just one goal the previous season, that just shows the value beyond statistics that Thornton brings with his toughness, experience and leadership. And the Bruins expected all of those intangibles to continue to help produce tangible results this past season.

Regular-season evaluation: Thornton supplied the toughness expected once again. He led the Bruins in fighting majors, though his fight total did drop by a third from 21 to 14. Some of that had to do with a frightening incident late in the season when he took a skate to the face, sidelining him for three games. The decrease in fighting had more to do with the Bruins' better balance in that department this past season. With Adam McQuaid (12 fights) up for the full season, Gregory Campbell (11 fights) and Nathan Horton (7 fights) added and Milan Lucic (7 fights) healthy after an injury-plagued 2009-10 campaign, Thornton had plenty of help handling the rough stuff after being left largely on his own the previous year. Thornton had just one fight in his final 25 games of the regular season (and none in 18 games in the playoffs), but the Bruins still had 16 fighting majors in that span (plus 5 more in the postseason).

While Thornton cut back on his scrapping a bit, he was still plenty physical, finishing fourth on the team with 141 hits. Keeping the gloves on also gave him more of a chance to show what he could do offensively, and the results were impressive as Thornton recorded career-highs in goals, assists and points. Thornton was one of just eight players in the entire league with double-digit totals in both fights and goals, scoring his 10th goal in his first game back from his facial injury. He averaged 10:04 in ice time per game, again showing he is far more than simply an enforcer, and rarely gave Claude Julien a cause for concern when he was on the ice as Thornton finished at plus-8 with just six giveaways all season, compared to 23 takeaways.

Playoff evaluation: Thornton saw his ice time reduced to 6:57 a game in the playoffs and was a healthy scratch for seven games, but made the most of the chances he did get. He was the odd man out early in the Tampa series when Patrice Bergeron returned from his concussion and Tyler Seguin, who had replaced Bergeron, made too strong of a case to stay in the lineup with six points in two games. But after Seguin didn't add another point in the next seven games and with the Bruins in desperate need of a spark returning home down 2-0 to the Canucks in the Cup Final, Thornton was inserted back into the lineup. He delivered a hit on Vancouver pest Alexandre Burrows on his first shift and the Garden erupted.

Thornton didn't add much offense in the playoffs, but his energy was infectious and his presence provided a huge boost to the team. He and fellow fourth-liners Campbell and Daniel Paille turned in arguably their best effort in Game 7, controlling play with a relentless forecheck and building momentum with a series of strong shifts in Boston's eventual 4-0 win. Thornton finished the postseason with 44 hits (6th on team despite playing the fewest minutes outside of Shane Hnidy's three-game cameo), had no giveaways and even won five of the seven faceoffs he took.

2011-12 outlook: Thornton will be entering the second and final year of the deal he signed last summer. He remains the club's primary pugilist and even having just turned 34 last Saturday, it's a role he's more than willing to handle. But after last year he also proved he's capable of far more than just keeping opposing ruffians in line. He raised the bar with his career year and the Bruins will be looking for him to continue to chip in the occasional goal to go along with the toughness, conscientious defensive play and leadership he already brings to the club.

Coming Wednesday, July 27: Daniel Paille