TORONTO — Joe Thornton was probably sound asleep under the Swiss Alps, resting up to open up his 24th professional hockey season, when the CN Tower alit in teal.
The colour long associated with the heart and soul of the San Jose Sharks — all their hopes and disappointments, fun times and funky beards — reflected across his brand-new NHL stomping ground, the one closest to his boyhood house in St. Thomas, Ont.
A Jumbo homecoming signalling Jumbo expectations. And it only required a minimum-wage salary. One year, $700,000 (free of 35-plus performance bonuses), and one more shot at the Stanley Cup dream Thornton has been hunting down for 41 years, 106 days and counting.
His ardent pursuers, the Toronto Maple Leafs, have been chasing the thing for 53 years, 164 days and counting.
Their mutual but separate quest, painfully futile for so long, will unite in 2020-21.
The NHL’s active leader in assists (1,089) and points (1,509) signed on to join the NHL’s active leader in heartbreak and hype.
Whether this whole thing ends in a parade or in shambles, who knows?
Either way, it’s a helluva story. And one singed with historical symmetry.
On Sept. 17, 1997, the same day Thornton registered his first-ever point in an NHL uniform (during a Bruins pre-season game), Auston Matthews was born.
Then there’s this: Thornton just happens to be the last active player to have scored a goal at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Heartstrings = pulled.
Financially, the Thornton contract is a small swing, on par with the organization’s Travis Boyd and Denis Malgin signings. (Fun fact: Calle Rosen can strut Ford Performance Centre this season knowing his paycheques are larger than that of a future first-ballot Hall of Famer.)
Emotionally, it’s a big deal — and one long in the works.
The Maple Leafs first pitched a UFA Thornton to sign alongside close friend Patrick Marleau back in the summer of 2017, with Mike Babcock and Lou Lamoriello pushing the upside of guiding their young, hyper-talented core.
Loyal Thornton instead stuck around San Jose until it became plain the Cup would no longer be within reach if he stayed put.
So, when Thornton expressed disappointment after being left untraded to a contender at the 2019 deadline, pulling him out of teal was worth another attempt.
GM Kyle Dubas called a week ago, when free agency opened last Friday. Coach Sheldon Keefe, too. Then the players encouraged one of hockey’s all-time most beloved characters and deftest passers to join the cause. Jake Muzzin. John Tavares. Matthews. Maybe more.
Thornton mulled it over. He texted back and forth with Marleau.
And when he decided to jump the Sharks, he called his longtime teammates — Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, Brent Burns, probably more — and explained his decision. All class.
“Somebody that inspires everybody around him,” Dan Rusanowsky, San Jose’s play-by-play voice on KFOX 98.5 FM told Sportsnet 590 The Fan Friday.
“He’s going to help the Maple Leafs quite a lot, and he’ll be at the best when it matters the most.”
“He loves bringing everybody together,” Marleau told Good Show Friday.
“He does keep himself in great shape, and I think one thing that’s always a constant in his game is the size and reach, the way he can protect pucks and obviously his vision, and none of that has changed over his career.”
What has changed with Thornton is what changes with everyone who lives as long and tries as hard.
He has slowed down, considerably.
Which is to be expected after 1,636 regular-season NHL games and another 179 playoff contests; 73 games and counting in the Swiss League with HC Davos because he never takes a lockout or a pandemic to vacation; plus dozens more representing Team Canada on the national stage.
Thornton’s 2019-20 stat line — seven goals, 31 points, minus-19 rating, 49.4-per cent faceoff wins in 70 games — provides ammo to those who believe this could be last-legs Jaromir Jagr in Calgary all over again (one goal, six assists, 22 games, flight to Kladno).
But the Thornton-to-Leafs signing isn’t so much about him swiping a few more draws or popping a few more apples on the second power-play unit than Alexander Kerfoot.
It’s about character and culture. A room that needed shaking up, lightening up, perhaps smartening up.
And Dubas’s aggressive approach to crib from the Tampa Bay Lightning blueprint and surround his superstars with the right attitude on the fringes. Experienced yet hungry.
Guys who know what it takes to win playoff rounds 1, 2 and 3 — and how it feels to lose Round 4.
We remember Keefe revealing something very telling about the Maple Leafs’ dynamic amidst the roller-coaster 2019-20 when the coach was asked about Jason Spezza, and it had nothing to do with on-ice action.
“He’s been a great voice in the locker room and on the bench. You know, we don’t have a lot of guys that are overly vocal on the bench and talk a lot,” Keefe said. “He’s got a great rapport with the referees and linesmen. Those things make a difference for a young team like ours.”
Like Spezza, Wayne Simmonds and Zach Bogosian before him, Thornton is coming here to calm the nerves, steel the fragile, and read the room.
Leadership without letters.
“I like helping out the younger guys. I was born to play hockey, and I’ll play as long as I can, as long as I’m healthy,” Thornton told My Channel this week between tune-up sessions with HC Davos.
“I just love playing hockey. I really do. I have a passion for the sport.”
VANCOUVER – The Vancouver Canucks announced Tuesday that defenceman Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract in order to officially retire as a member of the NHL team.
The signing will be part of a celebration of Edler’s career held Oct. 11 when the Canucks host the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Canucks selected Edler, from Ostersund, Sweden, in the third round (91st overall) of the 2004 NHL draft.
He played in 925 career games for the Canucks between the 2006-07 and 2020-21 seasons, ranking fourth in franchise history and first among defencemen.
The 38-year-old leads all Vancouver defencemen with 99 goals, 310 assists and 177 power-play points with the team.
Edler also appeared in 82 career post-season contests with Vancouver and was an integral part of the Canucks’ run to the 2011 Stanley Cup final, putting up 11 points (2-9-11) across 25 games.
“I am humbled and honoured to officially end my career and retire as a member of the Vancouver Canucks,” Edler said in a release. “I consider myself lucky to have started my career with such an outstanding organization, in this amazing city, with the best fans in the NHL. Finishing my NHL career where it all began is something very special for myself and my family.”
Edler played two seasons for Los Angeles in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He did not play in the NHL last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The sixth-ranked Canadian women will face World Cup champion Spain in an international friendly next month.
Third-ranked Spain will host Canada on Oct. 25 at Estadio Francisco de la Hera in Almendralejo.
The game will be the first for the Canadian women since the Paris Olympics, where they lost to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout after coach Bev Priestman was sent home and later suspended for a year by FIFA over her part in Canada’s drone-spying scandal.
In announcing the Spain friendly, Canada Soccer said more information on the interim women’s coaching staff for the October window will come later. Assistant coach Andy Spence took charge of the team in Priestman’s absence at the Olympics.
Spain finished fourth in Paris, beaten 1-0 by Germany in the bronze-medal match.
Canada is winless in three previous meetings (0-2-1) with Spain, most recently losing 1-0 at the Arnold Clark Cup in England in February 2022.
The teams played to a scoreless draw in May 2019 in Logroñés, Spain in a warm-up for the 2019 World Cup. Spain won 1-0 in March 2019 at the Algarve Cup in São João da Venda, Portugal.
Spain is a powerhouse in the women’s game these days.
It won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2022 and was runner-up in 2018. And it ousted Canada 2-1 in the round of 16 of the current U-20 tournament earlier this month in Colombia before falling 1-0 to Japan after extra time in the quarterfinal.
Spain won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2018 and 2022 and has finished on the podium on three other occasions.
FC Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati (2023) and Alexia Putellas (2021 and ’22) have combined to win the last three Women’s Ballon d’Or awards.
And Barcelona has won three of the last four UEFA Women’s Champions League titles.
“We continue to strive to diversify our opponent pool while maintaining a high level of competition.” Daniel Michelucci, Canada Soccer’s director of national team operations, said in a statement. “We anticipate a thrilling encounter, showcasing two of the world’s top-ranked teams.”
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024
TORONTO – The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced cookie brand Oreo as the team’s helmet sponsor for the upcoming NHL season.
The new helmet will debut Sunday when Toronto opens its 2024-25 pre-season against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Arena.
The Oreo logo replaces Canadian restaurant chain Pizza Pizza, which was the Leafs’ helmet sponsor last season.
Previously, social media platform TikTok sponsored Toronto starting in the 2021-22 regular season when the league began allowing teams to sell advertising space on helmets.
The Oreo cookie consists of two chocolate biscuits around a white icing filling and is often dipped in milk.
Fittingly, the Leafs wear the Dairy Farmers of Ontario’s “Milk” logo on their jerseys.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
