Thornton Cup with Toronto compared to Bourque with Colorado?

[CoachBadkitten]

Thornton has had an amazing career, Bourque was the 2nd best defenseman of all time. It’s not close in “meaningfulness” level imo

 

[Pizza!Pizza!]

Some similarities in the career timelines for sure, but Thorton, as good as he is, is nowhere near as loved and revered as Bourque was. Every fan in the league that wasn't from New Jersey was rooting for the Avs that series. Thorton is a HHoF lock even without a cup, but Bourque is universally considered one of the top 3 defensemen in the history of the sport. He finished 2nd in Norris voting in his last season, at the age of 41!, only losing to prime age Nick Lidstrom who I would argue is another member of that top 3 all time D club. It was much more meaningful and impactful for Bourque to win than if Thornton did. The only way this should have even been a thread is if Jumbo Joe were to carry the Leafs to their first cup in 70 years by averaging 3-4 PPGs in the playoffs - then there'd be some room for debate.

 

[the_fan]

Bourque is a top 5 or actually top 3 d-man of all time, Thornton is not top 5 anything

 

[snipes]

Bourque is pretty much the consensus #2 D man of all time after Orr and was still producing at an elite level with Colorado. Bourque was so deserving of a Cup, I don’t think anyone in this era is even close to Bourque in terms of players “deserving a Cup”.

Bourque AINEC

 

[snipes]

Bourque is a top 5 or actually top 3 d-man of all time, Thornton is not top 5 anything

Bobby Orr is the only D man ahead of Bourque all time.

 

[the_fan]

Bobby Orr is the only D man ahead of Bourque all time.

I agree..

I dont know why I said top 5. Some might put Lidstrom over Bourque but for me Orr and Bourque are top 2 followed by Lidstrom.

 

[snipes]

I agree..

I dont know why I said top 5. Some might put Lidstrom over Bourque but for me Orr and Bourque are top 2 followed by Lidstrom.

Harvey, Lidstrom, and Shore round out the top 5 in some order after Orr then Bourque.

Orr at #1 and Bourque at #2 are pretty locked in for me. #3-5 is where it’s interesting.

 

[ole ole]

About the same for me.
Funny how many people justify voting Bourque just because he was better.
I think there are plenty of other factors, such as Toronto being Thornton's boyhood team and relatively unlikely to win this season.
Also, the gap between Bourque and Thornton isn't THAT massive.

E. As some have pointed out, it will depend a lot on Thornton's contribution.

I think Joe pulling them through a 1st rd would be pretty impressive.