Joe Thornton is back ....

[Levie]

Toews to me seems like someone who absolutely hates losing.

Toews to me seems like a solid 2 way player that has the luck of being surrounded by a great team.

 

[EmergencyExit]

I agree with PF and GI. For the longest time I didn't see it but now I realize he is indeed pidgeonholing himself.

If his passes don't result in goals, then oh well we didn't get the bounces. Everyone on the ice knows he's not going to shoot so they just pick off the passing lanes. If he shot more then the defense has to worry about his amazing playmaking as well as the fact that he is a threat to score. Bums me out man.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Toews to me seems like a solid 2 way player that has the luck of being surrounded by a great team.

I think people take away too much from Toews because the constant media attention given to him is aggravating to non-Hawk fans.

Toews is part of what makes Chicago great. All the ******** talk about intangibles aside, he is a very good player.

 

[Swervin81]

It's all mental with Jumbo. People just don't realize how much talent he has, even today. In his prime, he is one of the most talented hockey players I've ever seen.

He is just so passive, it ****ing drives me nuts. He tries his hardest, but he has a huge mental roadblock. Keeps trying to pass off when he should shoot or take it to the net and he has a laser of a shot as well as elite size and strength to get to the net. If he wanted to he could've been a 50 goal scorer if he was more selfish and decided to take things into his own hands. That's how good he is. There's just a purely mental roadblock preventing him from reaching that next gear and taking matters into his own hands.

He is selfless to a fault. Everyone who knows how to shut him down knows all they have to do is cheat in the passing lanes. He keeps trying to force passes in that situation instead of taking matters into his own hsnds. I love Jumbo, but this is by far the most frustrating part of his game.

 

[SJSharks42]

Yup, hate how one dimensional he makes himself. Doesn't need to be like that but he's been playing this way for so long, don't think he'll ever change. Maybe he's the one who needs to be the third line center.

 

[ThorNton Apologist]

Just hate that Jumbo is getting all the heat and choker label for this series, so I decided to change my username. Everybody can point the finger if they want, but this team's issues are from just "Thornton being a choker" We all saw how atrocious the defense was with Vlasic gone. Did we really expect to win the series with him out? All I can say for Thornton is that he wants it more than anybody else on this team. Is he a great playoff performer? No, but he has consistently been the best Shark in the playoffs. Its sad that he wants it soo much but he realistically only has 3-4 more years of leading this team and having a chance of going deep in the playoffs. Sooner or later he is going to think about leaving this team if it means a greater chance at a cup. As much as I believe that will happen in the future if we fail to win in the next 2-3 years, it would be a sad sad day for this organization.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Just hate that Jumbo is getting all the heat and choker label for this series, so I decided to change my username. Everybody can point the finger if they want, but this team's issues are from just "Thornton being a choker" We all saw how atrocious the defense was with Vlasic gone. Did we really expect to win the series with him out? All I can say for Thornton is that he wants it more than anybody else on this team. Is he a great playoff performer? No, but he has consistently been the best Shark in the playoffs. Its sad that he wants it soo much but he realistically only has 3-4 more years of leading this team and having a chance of going deep in the playoffs. Sooner or later he is going to think about leaving this team if it means a greater chance at a cup. As much as I believe that will happen in the future if we fail to win in the next 2-3 years, it would be a sad sad day for this organization.

If he wanted it so much, he'd shoot more when it counts instead of waiting for the team to dig themselves a hole. Take more ownership scoring goals rather than worrying about setting up teammates and having to rely on other people to produce.

 

[OrrNumber4]

It's all mental with Jumbo. People just don't realize how much talent he has, even today. In his prime, he is one of the most talented hockey players I've ever seen.

Yup.

Much of the same goes for Marleau. If he could just step out of his comfort zone...he could be such a better player.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Yup.

Much of the same goes for Marleau. If he could just step out of his comfort zone...he could be such a better player.

No he couldn't. The 2 are completely different.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Yup.

Much of the same goes for Marleau. If he could just step out of his comfort zone...he could be such a better player.

Out of the two, I think it's easy to say that Marleau gets a lot more out of his talent than Jumbo does. I don't know what kind of comfort zone you're talking about with Marleau. He does pretty much everything asked of him which has included different play styles and roles while doing it at a higher level.

 

[5H4RK5]

Thornton is a player that executes to perfection but I think mentally a captain must be knowing of all his teammates. Know how to get them to play the way we should be playing when closing out a team. I think he is a better "A" than a "C" He is the precise execution we need but not the mental or emotional leader.

 

[SJeasy]

This is not to heap things on JT, but of the top 50 playoff scorers in the last decade he has the most negative +/-. That isn't good. The guys who go long are near even or slightly to the plus. There is a reason for this negative. JT is also way up there on playoff dropoff (~25%) in scoring. Normal is a 10% drop for top liners. Marleau is in the 5% crowd. Couture, 15%. Pavs, 8%.