Joe Thornton Discussion Thread

[Notsince67]

You underestimate the ego of these guys, Joe Thornton is old news. Ever met a kinda famous hockey player 2-3 years after they retire - nobody cares, they are just middle aged guys with free athletic gear. Some need to fight against that

What are you on? Everybody who is a fan cares.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I want Mitch and Jumbo on the same line so they can break the NHL record for the most consecutive passes completed in one shift and then section 302 will win free hot dogs

Having had time to digest this, trying Thornton in the top 6 seems like an interesting idea and definitely worth trying but putting him and Marner on the same line makes no sense to me at all.

 

[LeafsNation75]

What are you on? Everybody who is a fan cares.

Look at how popular Darcy Tucker is among Leafs fans and his last year with Toronto was in the 2007-08 Season. If not him look at other previous Maple Leafs players like Doug Gilmour, Curtis Joseph, Wendel Clark, Felix Potvin, and Mats Sundin.

I have no doubt in my mind when Joe Thornton retires he will still be remembered. However it's not wrong to suggest he will be more remembered for what he did in San Jose, unless he wins a Stanley Cup with Toronto in 2021.

 

[Notsince67]

Look at how popular Darcy Tucker is among Leafs fans and his last year with Toronto was in the 2007-08 Season. If not him look at other previous Maple Leafs players like Doug Gilmour, Curtis Joseph, Wendel Clark, Felix Potvin, and Mats Sundin.

I have no doubt in my mind when Joe Thornton retires he will still be remembered. However it's not wrong to suggest he will be more remembered for what he did in San Jose, unless he wins a Stanley Cup with Toronto in 2021.

He will be a legend here if they win the cup. That is why he is here

 

[LeafsNation75]

He will be a legend here if they win the cup. That is why he is here

Whenever Toronto wins the Cup anyone on that team will become legends in the city.

 

[The Iceman]

Joe Thornton singing Britney Spears on Swiss TV might be the best thing I’ve discovered on the Internet. #SJSharks #LeafsForever

HOW GREAT IS THIS???

 

[Coachcorner]

Joe Thornton singing Britney Spears on Swiss TV might be the best thing I’ve discovered on the Internet. #SJSharks #LeafsForever

HOW GREAT IS THIS???

I know right. Big Joey Thornton one of those rare individuals who change the whole energy of a squad. With only arriving and opening his thang (mouth). Simmonds, him and Bogosian changed it forever for us. Now they LOVE each other and want to win it for us and for each other. Not all of them want to win for (US), but for them it'll happen. We might actually win something real juicy J and big this year. It's that fun.

 

[The Iceman]

Having had time to digest this, trying Thornton in the top 6 seems like an interesting idea and definitely worth trying but putting him and Marner on the same line makes no sense to me at all.

And how many minutes can Jumbo give the team?
He is top line and PP. Sounds like 7 minutes a night more than a 41 year old can handle.

 

[Gary Nylund]

And how many minutes can Jumbo give the team?
He is top line and PP. Sounds like 7 minutes a night more than a 41 year old can handle.

7 minutes too many sounds about right. I have no idea what the plan is, just have to wait and see and hope Keefe hasn't lost his freaking mind I guess. But if they have to rotate in someone else for 7 minutes a night, hard to see it working well without being able to develop any continuity.

 

[Gabriel426]

7 minutes too many sounds about right. I have no idea what the plan is, just have to wait and see and hope Keefe hasn't lost his freaking mind I guess. But if they have to rotate in someone else for 7 minutes a night, hard to see it working well without being able to develop any continuity.

I think it was PK Subban-back when he was still great- said something like easy minutes vs hard minutes. Having possession of the puck is easy minutes while chasing the puck is the opposite. Maybe the first line with Jumbo will start 95% of their shifts in the Ozone.
I really don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. Just need to trust Keefe.

 

[Gary Nylund]

I think it was PK Subban-back when he was still great- said something like easy minutes vs hard minutes. Having possession of the puck is easy minutes while chasing the puck is the opposite. Maybe the first line with Jumbo will start 95% of their shifts in the Ozone.
I really don’t know, your guess is as good as mine. Just need to trust Keefe.

Easy minutes vs hard is a thing for sure. I don't see that making up for 7 minutes a night so I agree, nothing to do but trust in Keefe and hope he's got something up his sleeve though it's hard to imagine what the plan might be. Whatever happens, it's at least gonna be interesting.

Five days until hockey. Sweet!

 

[LeafsNation75]

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

7 minutes too many sounds about right. I have no idea what the plan is, just have to wait and see and hope Keefe hasn't lost his freaking mind I guess. But if they have to rotate in someone else for 7 minutes a night, hard to see it working well without being able to develop any continuity.

Think of it as instead of not playing Matthews/Nylander in the last 4-5 minutes of a one goal game, you take guys like Thornton off of LW and replace them with Hyman/Simmonds types while still playing your best players in the dying minutes.

Almost like an anti-Babcock

 

[JimmyPower]

I know right. Big Joey Thornton one of those rare individuals who change the whole energy of a squad. With only arriving and opening his thang (mouth). Simmonds, him and Bogosian changed it forever for us. Now they LOVE each other and want to win it for us and for each other. Not all of them want to win for (US), but for them it'll happen. We might actually win something real juicy J and big this year. It's that fun.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Think of it as instead of not playing Matthews/Nylander in the last 4-5 minutes of a one goal game, you take guys like Thornton off of LW and replace them with Hyman/Simmonds types while still playing your best players in the dying minutes.

Almost like an anti-Babcock

Anti-Babcock, that does sound promising.

Choosing Thornton's minutes carefully, that makes sense I guess. Still, I hope our entire game plan isn't going to revolve around planning Thornton's ice time.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Anti-Babcock, that does sound promising.

Choosing Thornton's minutes carefully, that makes sense I guess. Still, I hope our entire game plan isn't going to revolve around planning Thornton's ice time.

At least Thornton won't get overplayed to much with his minutes the way Babcock would always keep playing Patrick Marleau.

 

[Gary Nylund]

At least Thornton won't get overplayed to much with his minutes the way Babcock would always keep playing Patrick Marleau.

Yeah for sure. Just thinking about that (along with some of the other stuff Babs did) makes me .

I like Keefe a lot so I have no problem trusting him. How he handles old man Thornton's minutes will be maybe even at the very top of my list of things to watch with great interest. It seems like a complicated challenge but maybe he has a simple plan all worked out, who the hell knows?

 

[ACC1224]

At least Thornton won't get overplayed to much with his minutes the way Babcock would always keep playing Patrick Marleau.

If Thornton plays with Matthews plus PP you don’t expect him to get Marleau minutes? I imagine it’ll be pretty close.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Yeah for sure. Just thinking about that (along with some of the other stuff Babs did) makes me .

I like Keefe a lot so I have no problem trusting him. How he handles old man Thornton's minutes will be maybe even at the very top of my list of things to watch with great interest. It seems like a complicated challenge but maybe he has a simple plan all worked out, who the hell knows?

At least Keefe started to give Matthews a lot more minutes right away.

Looking back I can't believe how Babcock told the media how Matthews playing so many minutes one night was a negative and it was after they had won.

 

[LeafsNation75]

If Thornton plays with Matthews plus PP you don’t expect him to get Marleau minutes? I imagine it’ll be pretty close.

The difference is in some of those games with Marleau he wasn't on Matthews line when he got those minutes. At least Keefe won't be shy to reduce Thornton's minutes or maybe put Hyman back on Matthews line during a game if it's needed.

 

[ACC1224]

The difference is in some of those games with Marleau he wasn't on Matthews line when he got those minutes. At least Keefe won't be shy to reduce Thornton's minutes or maybe put Hyman back on Matthews line during a game if it's needed.

I don’t think any coach is shy to limit minutes if they feel it’s necessary. Looking at the schedule, If Thornton plays well I’d expect him to get minutes in the game he dresses and also be scratched at times to get him some rest.

 

[Gary Nylund]

At least Keefe started to give Matthews a lot more minutes right away.

Looking back I can't believe how Babcock told the media how Matthews playing so many minutes one night was a negative and it was after they had won.

Man if we started compiling a list of weird s..t Babcock said and did ...

I don’t think any coach is shy to limit minutes if they feel it’s necessary. Looking at the schedule, If Thornton plays well I’d expect him to get minutes in the game he dresses and also be scratched at times to get him some rest.

It's an interesting question to me - assuming Thornton is 100% rested, how many minutes can he play in one game without a drop off in play quality? It's also hard to see him sitting out in the playoffs if he's playing well so what happens then, a new approach for the playoffs doesn't seem sensible. It's a mystery.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I don’t think any coach is shy to limit minutes if they feel it’s necessary. Looking at the schedule, If Thornton plays well I’d expect him to get minutes in the game he dresses and also be scratched at times to get him some rest.

Honestly asking how many times should Thornton be made a healthy scratch? The last NHL game he played was on March 11, 2020 because San Jose missed out making the Western Conference bubble in Edmonton. Since that time Thornton played 12 games for HC Davos. So the question needs to be asked if he's had enough rest in between his last game with San Jose and those 12 games with HC Davos? Plus this is going to be a 56 game schedule instead of 82 games. Unless he does not need to not play on the second night of a back to back.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Joe Thornton singing Britney Spears on Swiss TV might be the best thing I’ve discovered on the Internet. #SJSharks #LeafsForever

HOW GREAT IS THIS???

Ugh.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Man if we started compiling a list of weird s..t Babcock said and did ...

Game 7 against Bruins in 2019. Babcock throws an injured and jittery Gardiner out for 4 shifts in 3 1/2 minutes (!) chasing his stupid ass matchups leading to 2 goals against and sinking us in the game early.

Sorry, had to.