San Jose Sharks: Joe Thornton open to another one-year deal

Should the San Jose Sharks bring back Joe Thornton despite having two bad knees?

The San Jose Sharks faced a tough loss last summer. Longtime forward Patrick Marleau parted ways with the franchise, signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs instead. He was the second overall pick of the 1998 NHL Draft. Now, the Sharks face the potential loss of another legend in center Joe Thornton.

Thornton was a free agent last offseason but eventually wound up re-signing with San Jose. He’s been with the franchise since being traded to the Sharks during the 2005-06 season. Thornton won the Hart Trophy during that season after leading the league in points with 125. 92 of those came with San Jose.

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Last offseason, Thornton was coming off a significant knee injury after tearing the MCL and ACL of his left knee. He was able to recover, putting up 36 points in 47 games (though 18 of those points came on the power-play).

Thanks to tearing his ACL and MCL in his right knee in January, Thornton missed the entire Stanley Cup Playoffs. Without him, the Sharks got eliminated by the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals.

During San Jose’s locker cleanout, Thornton met with the media and expressed his desire to remain with the franchise.

"“I want to come back, and I’m sure we’ll try to work something out. It’s no secret I’m a Shark.”"

The former Sharks captain was also asked about his future in San Jose and if he’d be willing to take a pay cut.

"“Absolutely, there’s enough money around for everybody… I’m comfortable signing one-year deals.”"

However, should the Sharks be interested in a reunion? Sure, they have cap space. Assuming the cap ceiling will be at $80 million, the Sharks are projected to have just over $19.5 million of cap space with 20 players signed.

Even after factoring in extensions for restricted free agents Tomas Hertl, Dylan DeMelo and Chris Tierney, that will leave them with around $13 million of space. But let’s say the Sharks want to re-sign Evander Kane. He’ll likely command about $6 million to $7 million a year. That leaves only about $6 million at most for Thornton.

It’s worth noting the Sharks have been tied to soon-to-be free agent center John Tavares. Obviously, if San Jose wants to sign him, that would be quite the financial commitment. Most likely, Tavares will command an annual cap hit with eight digits before the decimal point.

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Thornton’s time in San Jose could be over, especially if the Sharks go after Tavares. But as they say, all good things must come to an end.

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