SAN JOSE, Calif. _ Under less suspenseful circumstances, Joe Thornton followed the precedent that he set last summer, opting to rejoin the Sharks for another year.
Thornton signed a one-year contract reportedly worth $5 million with the Sharks on Monday, ensuring that he'll return to San Jose for a 14th season in teal.
The 38-year-old's decision isn't surprising. He expressed a desire to remain with the team two days after the Sharks were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs in May. He stayed flexible throughout the negotiating process, ensuring his contract gave the Sharks wiggle room under the salary cap to pursue John Tavares in free agency and extend Logan Couture to a long-term extension. Tavares signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
Thornton's free agency took on a much different tone than last summer when he allowed himself to be courted by the Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs before deciding to re-up with the Sharks. The veteran center eventually signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the team after Patrick Marleau reached a deal with the Maple Leafs.
At this point, it's unclear what Thornton's role with the Sharks will be next season. Will he return to the top line with Evander Kane and Joe Pavelski and see reduced ice time on the third line?
It's hard to know what to expect from Thornton in 2018-19 considering that he's now 39 years old and coming off major surgeries in both knees. Thornton went under the knife on Jan. 25 to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee roughly seven months after he underwent surgery to repair the same ligaments in his left knee.
The veteran forward suffered the injury on Jan. 23 after teammate Mikel Boedker fell on his right leg, causing his knee to buckle. He injured his left knee on April 2, 2017, but still managed to suit for four games in the Stanley Cup playoffs before undergoing surgery.
Despite the injury, Thornton skated on the first day of training camp less than five months after surgery last fall. He struggled early in the season, lacking the explosiveness to accelerate. At one point, head coach Pete DeBoer even acknowledged that he didn't know whether Thornton would ever be 100 percent again.
But as the winter progressed, Thornton regained his form, recording 26 points in 28 games before suffering his right-knee injury in late January. The Sharks are hoping that Thornton will rebound from his latest knee injury in similar fashion this winter.
Thornton rejoins the Sharks as the franchise's second all-time leading scoring with 973 points. He's first on the franchise's assists list (745), second in games played (961) and third in goals (228). He also ranks 16th on the NHL's all-time scoring list (1,427) and ninth in assists (1,030).
