Florida Panthers forward and St. Thomas native Joe Thornton says he hasn’t decided whether to retire or play a 25th NHL season.
Thornton played sparingly for the Panthers this season, collecting just 5 goals and 10 points during 34 regular season games.
“Jumbo Joe”, who turns 43 on July 2nd, was the second-oldest skater to appear in a game this season behind fellow NHL veteran and former Boston Bruin Zdeno Chára.
Thornton and Chára are actually the last remaining active players in the four major North American sports leagues who played in the 1990s, while Thornton stands as the earliest drafted first-overall selection still active.
He’s played in a total of 1,714 games, scoring 430 goals and registering 1,539 career points.
The Railway City native is actually the NHL’s active points leader, with Alexander Ovechkin (1410) and Sidney Crosby (1409) rounding out the top 3.
Thornton, who was selected first overall by the Bruins in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft went on to play 7 seasons with the club before signing a contact with the Sharks that would see him remain in San Jose for 15 seasons.
Following a 1 year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jumbo Joe signed a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Florida Panthers who were ousted from the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs just this week.
Written by: Kennedy Freeman with files from the Canadian Press
