Thornton, who signed a one-year contract with Florida on Aug. 13, left San Jose to sign a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 16, 2020. The Maple Leafs and Sharks did not play last season.
The 42-year-old forward, who had not played since Jan. 31 because of an undisclosed injury, has scored six points (four goals, two assists) in 25 games this season. He was minus-1 in 10:03 of ice time.
"I wasn't quite sure, so to be back in the lineup tonight, I'm going to be awfully excited," Thornton said before the game. "It's going to be fun. I saw]*
Selected by the Bruins with the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, Thornton is 12th in NHL history with 1,535 points (429 goals, 1,106 assists), seventh in assists and sixth in games played (1,705). He has played 24 seasons with the Panthers, Maple Leafs, Sharks and Bruins.
Thornton has scored 134 points (32 goals, 102 assists) in 186 Stanley Cup Playoff games. The Sharks qualified for the playoffs in 13 of his 15 seasons, including the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, when they lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.
"The people here were so kind to me and we shared a lot of experiences together," Thornton said. "For years it was such a hard building to play in, and the energy that they brought to us, it was electric and it's going to be fun to be part of it again."
Thornton won the Hart Trophy voted as the NHL most valuable player, and the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer in the NHL in 2005-06, when he scored 125 points (29 goals, 96 assists) in 81 games with the Bruins and Sharks.
"I'm excited for him. It's going to be a special night," Panthers coach Andrew Brunette said. "I'm guessing [he's excited], but he's always in a good mood. He's always having fun. So I don't know if it's much different than any other day."
NHL.com independent correspondent Chelena Goldman contributed to this report
