Report: Thornton wanted to be traded, Wilson wouldn’t pull the trigger

Why you gotta play Jumbo like that, Dougie?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Report: Thornton wanted to be traded, Wilson wouldn’t pull the trigger
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In case you missed it yesterday, the NHL trade deadline came and went and Jumbo Joe Thornton was not shipped off to a contending team like most fans and analysts speculated and had hoped.

Thornton, of course, won’t have a chance to raise the Stanley Cup this season as the San Jose Sharks are nowhere near a playoff spot. He’s an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason and, being 40 years old, there’s no guarantee that he’ll be back next season. In effect, this could be it for Jumbo Joe. If indeed he’s done, he’ll have put together one of the best careers by a player to have never won the Stanley Cup. It’s a shame… a damn shame.

But here’s the thing… Jumbo could have been traded yesterday if it weren’t for Sharks GM Doug Wilson. Check out these comments from Thornton himself expressing how disappointed he is that Wilson couldn’t pull the trigger on a trade.

Check it out:



Damn… 22 years. Why you gotta play Jumbo like that, Dougie?

Well, maybe he didn’t. NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reports that teams did have interest in Thornton, but none that can be considered Cup contenders.

Check it out:



Hmmm… that’s odd considering there was talk all day that the Dallas Stars were pushing hard to acquire Thornton. Are the Stars not considered Cup contenders? They stretched last season’s Cup winning St. Louis Blues to double OT in Game 7. That’s about as close to being a Cup contender as you can possibly be. And to be honest, the Stars look even better this season.

In any event, Jumbo Joe is forced to ride things out with the Sharks for the remaining 20 games of the regular season and will make a decision on his future in the summer.

Source: Kevin Kurz