Would Joe Thornton boost the Boston Bruins by bringing his NHL career full circle?
A quartet of ESPN NHL experts debated the merits of the Bruins acquiring the veteran San Jose Sharks center ahead of the NHL trade deadline Friday. Boston is believed to be seeking additional scoring depth as it looks to mount another Stanley Cup Final challenge, and Thornton reportedly is among the options the Bruins are considering.
A trade for Thornton would represent a romantic storyline for a player the Bruins picked No. 1 overall in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, but the likelihood of the 40-year-old’s return to Boston is a hot topic for discussion.
ESPN hockey prospects analyst Chris Peters believes the idea is “far-fetched.”
“How awesome would that be? What a fun storyline … but I’m selling,” Peters wrote. “For one, I don’t think Thornton is going anywhere. Second, I’m not sure he helps the Bruins a ton more than what they already have, in what would be a very limited role. It would be an incredible story, but unfortunately a little too far-fetched for me.”
Peters’ opinion on the subject of Thornton to Boston is a minority one among his peers, as ESPN national NHL reporter Emily Kaplan, NHL editor Ben Arledge and fantasy hockey editor Sachin Chandan believe “Jumbo Joe” is more likely to re-don the Bruins jersey than not.
“How wonderful of a storybook ending would that be for Jumbo Joe, to finally hoist a Cup with the team that drafted him first overall in 1997? There are a few caveats here, the biggest being that Thornton actually has to want it,” Kaplan wrote. “He’d need to waive his no-movement clause.”
“Buy, but it obviously can’t be the only move,” Arledge wrote. “I also love the storyline, and while Jumbo Joe isn’t piling on the numbers this season, he’d provide some depth. Maybe he’ll even have a little revival surrounded by Boston’s talent. But the big thing here is Boston needs to go get a Chris Kreider-type of player, too. Tampa Bay is back to juggernaut status, and Boston would like to add more than just a 40-year-old to push it over the top before the stretch run.”
“For no other reason than it would be nice to see Jumbo Joe make one last Stanley Cup run in the place where his career began,” Chandan wrote. “I do agree with Emily and Ben that he wouldn’t be the difference-maker for the Bruins, and that they still need to make another move for a winger. The Bruins should inquire, but I’d be surprised if Thornton waived his no-trade clause.”
Thornton played his first six-plus NHL seasons with the Bruins before Boston traded him to the Sharks in 2005 in exchange for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau. If Thornton agreed to return to Boston, San Jose’s demands would be lesser than their previous ones, and his $2 million contract also wouldn’t be prohibitive. While he certainly is within the Bruins’ reach, the extent to which they’d be willing to pursue a trade for him remains unknown to the public, at least for now.
The NHL trade deadline is on Feb. 24.
