Joe Thornton reportedly has his next move all lined up

Jumbo Joe, say it ain't so!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 1 year ago
Joe Thornton reportedly has his next move all lined up
Zuma Press

A report out of Switzerland has NHL legend and future Hall of Famer Joe Thornton signing on as "Head of Sports" for the country's famous Spengler Cup tournament.

From SwissHockeyNews.ch:

As every year, Joe Thornton is currently practicing with HC Davos. As SRF reports, he has already agreed to become the new Head of Sports of the Spengler Cup once he is going to retire from professional hockey.

Asked about it by Blick, Spengler Cup president Marc Gianola did not want to confirm that Thornton will become the new Head of Sports: "This is just one of many options we have offered him," he says.


As I understand it, the Head of Sports is essentially Director of Hockey Operations for the tournament, one of the biggest hockey tournaments in all of Europe. For those who don't know though, Thornton spends much of his offseason time in Switzerland and has talked openly about playing for HC Davos before retiring. His wife Tabea Pfendsack is Swiss and the pair met while Thornton played for Davos during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. Their children have split their childhood between Switzerland and the United States and there's a real belief out there that Thornton will eventually retire to Switzerland when he finally hangs up the skates.

For what it's worth, I'd be surprised if an NHL team came sniffing around Thornton this offseason. He managed just five goals and 10 points in 35 games with the Florida Panthers last season and looked outclassed and out of place on many evenings. Despite the fact that he's a living legend and one of the game's all-time greatest playmakers, Father Time has caught up with him and he no longer has the speed to keep up with NHL pace.