Two days before his jersey number gets raised into the rafters at SAP Center, San Jose Sharks legend Joe Thornton will officially be recognized with a special ceremony on Nov. 21 at San Jose City Hall.
The ceremony, which begins at 3 p.m. at the city hall rotunda, will include a proclamation by Mayor Matt Mahan declaring Nov. 23 as Joe Thornton Day in San Jose and feature a special flag-raising ceremony.
On that day, Thornton will become the second player in Sharks franchise history to have his number (19) retired. The team retired Patrick Marleau’s No. 12 on Feb. 25, 2023, and Mahan and the city gave him the same proclamation that day.
Thornton announced his retirement on Oct. 30, 2023, after an illustrious 24-year NHL career.
Thornton ranks first in Sharks history in assists (804), points per game (0.96), power-play points (402), and plus-minus (+161). He is second all-time in team history in points (1,055), third in games played (1,104), and fourth in goals (251).
Thornton, drafted No. 1 overall by the Boston Bruins in 1997, had 1,539 points in 1,714 games over an NHL career that lasted until the end of the 2021-2022 season.
Likely to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame next year, Thornton is sixth all-time in games played, seventh in assists (1,109), and 14th in points.
Thornton also played in 187 postseason games with 145 playoff points, won an Olympic Gold Medal with Team Canada in 2010, and was part of Canada’s victorious team at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
Thornton captured the Hart Trophy as MVP and the Art Ross Trophy as scoring leader in 2005-06 after he was traded early that season from Boston to San Jose. The trade changed the direction of the Sharks’ franchise, leading to playoff appearances in 13 of the following 14 years and numerous sellout crowds at their 17,000-seat downtown arena.
On Nov. 22, several former Sharks players, including former captain Joe Pavelski, are expected to participate in the team’s Legends Game at Tech CU Arena in San Jose.
Pavelski, who announced his retirement in July after 18 NHL seasons, was Thornton’s teammate with the Sharks from 2006 to 2019. Thornton was the Sharks captain from 2010 to 2014, and Pavelski wore the ‘C’ from 2015 to 2019.
Others expected to participate include Los Angeles Kings general manager and former Sharks captain Rob Blake, Brian Boucher, Dan Boyle, Jonathan Cheechoo, Ryane Clowe, Scott Hannan, Dany Heatley, Marleau, Douglas Murray, Evgeni Nabokov, Mike Ricci, John Scott, Devin Setoguchi, Alex Stalock, Scott Thornton, Raffi Torres, and Tommy Wingels.
