Joe Thornton has fallen hard for the San Jose lifestyle. And that’s funny considering he didn’t even think it was possible for him to be here in the first place.
Nearly five years ago, when Thornton was traded from the Boston Bruins to the Sharks, Jumbo Joe famously was stunned into tears about the prospect of being shipped west to a place he didn’t know.
“I was shocked because I thought I had a no-trade clause,” Thornton said. “I was like, ‘Wait, they traded me? Are you sure you guys can trade me?’ “
They could, and they did. And today, Thornton can’t see himself anywhere else.
With that in mind, Thornton, 31, has had preliminary talks about extending his contract with the Sharks — which ends after this season — and makes it abundantly clear that he wants to stay with the organization.
When it comes to the South Bay, Thornton sounds like a man ready to sign a lifetime contract. He and wife Tabea are building a new home in the Los Gatos-Saratoga area. He has a farmhouse in St. Thomas, Ontario, where he grew up, and the couple has an apartment in Tabea’s native Switzerland.
But, he added, “This is where the Thornton family has put down roots.”
And the family has grown with the birth of its first child, daughter Ayla, on July 14.
“He just loves it there,” said John Thornton, his brother and agent. “I could see him spending the rest of his life in San Jose.”
Thornton is hardly the first hockey player to feel that way. At an informal skate recently at the Sharks Ice training center, he was talking with Owen Nolan — the former Sharks captain who continues to make his home in San Jose.
“We agreed that you have everything here, including the best weather maybe in the country,” Thornton said. “If I want water, it’s not a lake somewhere in Canada, but the Pacific Ocean down in Santa Cruz.”
Thornton feels as if he has been on a roll.
Last summer, he and Tabea were married. Thornton also became a U.S. citizen at a naturalization ceremony in Campbell where he led the large group in the oath of U.S. citizenship. In February, he was a member of Team Canada’s gold-medal-winning squad at the Olympics — beating his newly adopted country in the title game.
Then he reached the conference finals for first time in his NHL career.
Now he’s a father.
“Hopefully there will be even better years to come,” he said. “But the last 13 or 14 months have been really good to me.”
Thornton and Patrick Marleau are two prominent Sharks who call San Jose home. And they’re not shy about singing the praises of this region.
“It’s a great recruiting tool for our organization,” Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. “A lot of these guys have enough financial resources to live basically wherever they want. For Patty and Joe to pick San Jose as their summer home tells you what this place means to them.”
Sharks have come and gone “… and stayed during this offseason.
Rob Blake retired, the team cut ties with Evgeni Nabokov, and Manny Malhotra left as a free agent. Finnish goalie Antero Niittymaki was a big acquisition. Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Devin Setoguchi and Scott Nichol were among those re-signed.
“I think we’re better now,” Thornton said. “This team is set up to have success for the next four or five years.”
He plans on being part of it. John Thornton said he began talks with Sharks general manager Doug Wilson in early July about another extension. (Thornton previously signed a three-year extension in 2007.) Ayla’s birth put the discussion on the back burner, but the Thorntons both sound confident a deal will happen.
Said John Thornton: “We’re moving in the right direction.”
For his part, Joe Thornton believes he took some positive steps during last spring’s playoffs. After a poor first round against Colorado, he played the best postseason hockey of his career when the Sharks exorcised demons by eliminating archrival Detroit.
Then came the one, big disappointment in his last year. He had just one assist in the Western Conference finals as the offense evaporated and San Jose was swept by Chicago. So he continues to carry weight on his broad shoulders for being one of the NHL’s top talents the past dozen years, but still having no Stanley Cup to show for it.
The singular knock on him is that perhaps he can be too easygoing in a sport that prizes edgy grit. But when asked if people reading about how great his life is going might wonder if that will translate to a less hungry player, Thornton turned serious.
“Winning the Cup is what you dream about from the time you’re 8 years old,” he said. “I want to win. I’ve had the good contracts. I’ve gotten all the points. I’m just playing for a Cup now.”
Contact Mark Emmons at 408-920-5745.
