HOH list is best players of all time. NHL's was top 100 NHL players of all time. I still can't believe Belforu was excluded, best goalie of the 90s after Hasek. MSL as well is a big one... 2 scoring titles and a 10 year run as a top 5 RW.
Yea that engine has done what exactly? Made the finals once despite being one of the best teams in the league. But lets not derail the thread.
Well the first of many myths behind Thornton is that he’s been on “one of the best teams in the league”. Consistent? Absolutely, and we were contenders, but always fell short....and it’s hardly his fault.
Thornton carried the sharks for many years, the agenda against him is primarily based on him being the face and player of the sharks, and having them fail time and time again. It’s ridiculous how much he becomes the scapegoat when he’s the farthest reason why they haven’t won. The sharks have always lacked depth, the deepest team we had was the 2016, where They made the finals. We have always had problems defensively, which never complimented our goaltending. People who actually know about the sharks know these problems and don’t just be sheep and follow the Thornton hate bandwagon.
Thornton is hardly the problem. A lot of those sharks teams simply lost to better ones. The 2010 hawks, the 2011 Canucks, the 2013 and 2014 Kings, and yes as much as they collapsed in ‘14, the Kings still went on to beat the ducks AND hawks to a cup win. Yet it’s Thorntons fault we didn’t beat those CLEARLY superior teams?
It’s an old narrative that doesn’t seem to die because of ignorance, but to suggest Thornton “hasn’t won a thing” in the league is obnoxious. Plenty of less than stellar players have cups over Thornton, while most don’t have his resume or legacy as a player and playmaker. He drove SJ out of the gutter and is the reason why they were even contenders.
People love to change the standards with him. Many have a negative opinion about him because he never single handily carried the Sharks to a cup with a Smythe win, even though guys like Crosby, Ovechkin, and even Toews never did that, Yet we hold Thornton to a different agenda. Thornton never had a Kane or Keith, a Malkin or Kessel, or a Kuzy or Backstrom. But context gets ignored and it’s back to hating on Thornton because it requires less logic and thinking and is simply easier for the “simple minded” fans, and by simple minded I mean stupid(not calling you stupid, but my point stands with your opinions).
He deserved to be on that list over guys like Nieuwendyk, who won 3 cups as a side piece, but the whole “3 cups with 3 teams” along with a Smythe was a juicy enough story. Sundin, who’s international resume and being a Toronto media darling got him votes, Gartner, who didn’t win ANYTHING at all and simply compiled goals in some of the highest scoring eras in hockey history. Whether he deserves to be on over Toews is debatable, I think so but my bias is clear....but bias aside Thornton is still among the best to ever play on many levels.