Sharks Look to Rebuild Following Thornton’s Departure

Joe Thornton with Sharks in 2017. Photo by Dom Gagne/CSM/REX/Shutterstock

The San Jose Sharks are on a mission to rebuild their team for the coming season after center Joe Thornton decided to depart the franchise, Thornton decided to sign a one-year $700,000 contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.

Despite this loss, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson expects his side to persevere while preparing for the new season. “We have to re-establish our game. Joe, at 41, he’s looking at the runway left and opportunity [to win the Stanley Cup]. I fully understand that. But we as an organization have gone through this before in the past and we’ve bounced back quickly. It’s up to us to go to work, get back at it and learn from what happened last year.”

While the Sharks finished 15th in the Western Conference last season and thus failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs, they nearly went the distance in 2019 – making it to the Western Conference finals where they lost to eventual champions St. Louis Blues.

The Sharks have also recruited several fresh talents to their ranks, among them goalie Devan Dubnyk, veteran Patrick Marleau, and forward Stefan Noesen. What’s more, seasoned Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson and forwards Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl are healthy and match ready come the new season.