Larger-than-life Thornton set to have No. 19 retired by Sharks

SAN JOSE -- If ever there was a perfect nickname for a larger-than-life character, it would be "Jumbo."

Jumbo Joe Thornton is all of that. And then some.

It’s a point San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and San Jose Sharks president Jonathan Becher were trying to make Thursday during a ceremony inside the prestigious rotunda at San Jose City Hall, where civic leaders officially declared Saturday, Nov. 23 to be “Joe Thornton Day.” That’s when the No. 19 worn by the former San Jose Sharks forward will be retired and raised to the rafters of SAP Center at San Jose prior to the game against the Buffalo Sabres (8 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, MSG-B).

With about 100 people gathered at city hall for the proclamation, they were told that some of Thornton’s former teammates had been asked to use one word to describe him. Some of the answers were icon and legendary. And, last but not least, beard, in reference to his trademark salt-and-pepper facial hair that extends far below his neck.

Then it was time for Thornton to come to the podium and offer his own self-analysis.

“I probably would have used the word, sexy, mayor,” he said, causing the room to bust out into laughter.

Those were Thornton’s first comments to the audience. Of course they were. That’s Joe Thornton in a nutshell. Entertaining. Raw. Unfiltered. Unscripted. No moment too big. Still a kid to the core, even in a 45-year-old man’s body, his words, like they always have, come from the heart, not from a speech written on a piece of paper.

After acknowledging Mayor Mahan, who was appropriately decked out in a teal Sharks Thornton jersey, Thornton looked out at the crowd and broke into a mischievous grin.

“Joe Thornton Day in San Jose. It sounds pretty good, eh?” he said.

Several minutes later, as dignitaries posed with Thornton on stage, he made his own proclamation.

“We’re changing it to Joe Thornton Weekend, by the way,” he said, igniting another round of cheers.

In reality, this love-in between player and community has been going on for almost two decades, dating back to when he was first traded to San Jose by the Boston Bruins on Nov. 30, 2005.

Having played for the Sharks from 2005-2020, Thornton ranks first in team history in assists (804), points per game (0.96), power-play points (402), and plus/minus (+161); second all-time in points (1,055), third in games played (1,104), and fourth in goals (251).

In the process, he and close friend Patrick Marleau, the Sharks’ all-time leader in games played (1,607), helped turn a region known to be one of the top high-tech centers in the world into a hockey hotbed, a place where visiting teams were greeted with one of the most raucous atmospheres in the NHL at an arena known as “The Shark Tank.”

During Thornton’s 15 seasons with the Sharks, San Jose had the best regular-season record in the NHL (659-376-125), made 13 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, reached the Western Conference Final four times, and made it to the Cup Final in 2016, where it lost to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. It is the one blemish in Thornton’s illustrious career: no Stanley Cup championship.

“We were all devastated when we lost to the Penguins,” said Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer, who was the Sharks coach at the time. “But I can tell you, every guy in our room was even more devastated for Joe. That’s the type of love his teammates had for him.”

The same type of love this community still has for him.

“You can’t mention San Jose without mentioning the Sharks and Joe. You’ve given your all to both,” Mayor Mahan said, looking down at the front row where Thornton’s wife, Tabea, his children, daughter, Ayla, and son, River, and his parents, Wayne and Mary, were seated.

“It’s everything to have Mom and Dad here, and my wife and kids. It means everything,” Thornton said. “To share these moments with them is very special because, as a family, you go through a lot in the hockey world. Hey, I phoned my mom and dad after every game.”

It is that grassroots humility that has caused San Jose to embrace him all these years.

Mayor Mahan recounted a particular story in which Thornton made one little girl’s dream come true as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Not only did he drive with her to a Sharks game, he had customized socks made for her with her photo on them.

Now, San Jose has the chance to say thank you, starting with an alumni game Friday followed by the retirement ceremony Saturday. All the while, the city will be lit up with teal lights in his honor at places like San Jose Civic Auditorium and the headquarters of high-tech giant Adobe.

It is the acknowledgement of a remarkable journey, one that took a kid from the southwestern Ontario community of St. Thomas all the way into the heart -- and hearts -- of Silicon Valley, even after he announced his retirement Oct. 28, 2023.

“I never thought I’d get my own day,” Thornton said, “but here we are.”

* * *

To find the inspiration of the Jumbo nickname Thornton still goes by to this day, you need only drive two miles from his childhood home where his parents still live.

There, perched high on a bluff in St. Thomas, is a statue of Jumbo The Elephant, one of the most iconic figures in the history of this community.

On Sept. 18, 1885, Jumbo, who was in town on tour with the Barnum & Bailey Circus, was being brought back to his box car when he was unexpectedly struck and killed by a freight train.

P.T. Barnum once estimated that Jumbo was 13 feet tall. Thornton, at 6-foot-4, might only be half that size, but shares the characteristic of also being a larger-than-life character.

In 1985, 100 years after Jumbo’s tragic death, the city of St. Thomas authorized the statue in commemoration of Jumbo. Thornton spent part of his childhood in the statue’s shadow. Hence the nickname.

But that isn’t the only connection St. Thomas continues to have with Thornton.

On June 23, 2018, Thornton was on hand when the local recreational complex, featuring two ice pads, was renamed the Joe Thornton Community Centre. In 2023, the venue hosted the Kraft Hockeyville game between the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Like San Jose, St. Thomas is proud to call Jumbo Joe one of its own.

And, like San Jose, city officials in St. Thomas on Thursday proclaimed Saturday, the day his number will be retired by the Sharks, to be Joe Thornton Day.

“Joe Thornton has brought pride to the city of St. Thomas, not only for his accomplishments but as a role model and ambassador for our community, demonstrating the values of perseverance, teamwork and humility,” St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston said.

Thornton has a 100-plus acre farm just outside of town and still comes here with his family for about a month every summer, a celebration of his roots and the chance for the kids to be around their grandparents. A number of his former teammates have been there to visit, including Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews, who Wayne said once spent Christmas there with his parents.

“It’s great,” Wayne said. “We love having the family around.”

Family is a big deal to Wayne and Mary. Wayne said his own father “was an alcoholic and wasn’t around much.” They made sure the same wouldn’t happen when it came to their three kids, Joe and John, who is three years older than Joe, and Alex, who is eight years older.

To that end, Wayne and Mary’s home is a shrine to their kids, full of trophies, hockey jerseys, you name it. There is a custom-made Bruins shuffleboard table in the basement, in honor of Joe being selected No. 1 by Boston in the 1997 Draft, complete with authentic autographs from Hall of Famers like Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. Dozens of Joe’s NHL and junior jerseys are everywhere you look, not to mention newspaper articles about him spanning the past three decades. They even have a “Jumbo” Joe Thornton ChiaPet, which caused his former Maple Leafs teammate William Nylander to bust out laughing in the Toronto dressing room earlier this week when he saw a photo of it.

“We’re so proud of him, of all our kids,” Wayne said.

So much so, that Wayne and Mary became kind of legends themselves in the hockey world for driving all over North America to watch Joe’s games. Instead of flying and staying in hotels, they would hop in the van and commute between cities, sleeping in the back of it as part of their adventures.

“I remember one time someone associated with the Bruins found out I’d been staying in the TD Garden parking lot in the van,” Wayne recalled. “He immediately said, ‘You can come stay at my place’.”

The person who offered the invite? None other than the legendary Orr.

“I politely said ‘thanks but no’,” Wayne said with a chuckle. “We enjoyed what we were doing, the experience, the adventure.”

Imagine that. A Thornton embracing the adventures of life?

Like father, like son.

* * *

The tales and adventures of Thornton are legendary, according to DeBoer.

And so is his lasting impact on the hockey world, past and present.

“I can’t be happier for him and his family and the recognition he’s getting,” DeBoer said. “You’ll never meet a better teammate or person. He’s one of my favorite people.

“But it’s more than that. We need fun figures in our game. Our sport, in my opinion, lacks that. And it’s hard to find a bigger personality than Jumbo.”

DeBoer would know. After all, he first crossed paths with Thornton almost three decades ago and found out firsthand.

“I remember coaching Joe and Patrick Marleau for Canada at the 1995-96 U-18 tournament,” he recalled. “We had an off day, and the team went canoeing at a local lake. The next day we got a call saying the canoe Joe had been using was all mangled up. Who knows how it happened?”

DeBoer laughed.

“That’s Joe,” he said. “Never boring. I mean, for example, I’ve never met anyone who liked being naked more than him.”

Excuse us?

“Here’s an example,” DeBoer said. “I remember during the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, he and Brent Burns were walking around Pittsburgh shirtless like they didn’t have a care in the world. And look at all the interviews he did without a shirt.”

These days Nylander often goes shirtless when meeting with the media. The Maple Leafs forward admitted this week it’s a habit he got from Thornton.

“Of course he does,” Thornton joked of Nylander’s admission. “Why wouldn’t he when you’re sexy like me?”

Thornton, Nylander, Matthews, defenseman Rasmus Sandin and Mac Hollowell all lived in a house together for several weeks when they first came back to Canada prior to the 2021 season which was to start Jan. 16. Due to travel restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the League temporarily realigned, creating a Canadian division. Thornton had signed with Toronto as an unrestricted free agent on Oct. 16, 2020.

“He just enjoyed life,” Nylander said. “He might have been around 40 but he was just a kid at that time too.

“It was just non-stop playing games. The house had an ice rink, basketball court, badminton court. There was so much stuff to do. And we were never sitting still. We’d be sitting down, and he’d be going. ‘Let’s do this, let’s do that’.”

On one particular occasion, Matthews said Thornton was in the house wearing skates with his blades taped up, breaking them in.

“What can I say?” Thornton said when reminded of the incident. “I love hockey. You know that.”

Rick Nash certainly does.

During the 2004-05 lockout, Nash, now the director of player development for the Columbus Blue Jackets, went to Switzerland to play for Davos of the Swiss League. There, he became teammates and friends with Thornton.

“I was playing for Columbus at the time and went over there for the work stoppage,” Nash said. “I didn’t know Jumbo very well before that. We had a flat. He was living with his brothers. We’d go for dinner, go skiing, chat in the gondola on the way up the mountain. It was one of the best times in my life.

“Joe and his brothers were really competitive. We’d always play a board game called RISK. It’s a game where you’d try to take over the world. There were all these plastic pieces and Joe would always come through Australia as part of his strategy. One night we were in the middle of a game and had to go to dinner. So we folded it up and all jammed into the Skoda with it. Trouble was, it was a stick shift and Joe wasn’t used to it. It was a herky-jerky ride. Then, when we got to the restaurant, he claimed some of the game pieces had moved during the ride. It became a full-grown controversy.

“Such a great memory. Such a great person. So glad he’s being honored. He’s so deserving.

“I’ll say this much. There’s only one Jumbo.”

To that end: when Thornton announced his retirement last year, it came via a video in which he wore a sun hat and was shirtless.

Of course he was. Why would you expect anything different?

* * *

So, what now for Joe Thornton?

Becher says the door is always open for him to join the Sharks organization. To this point, Thornton said he has no plans to do that.

“I'm helping coach the U12 hockey team with the Junior Sharks. That's good enough for me right now,” he said.

In the meantime, he is mentoring 18-year-old forward Macklin Celebrini, selected No. 1 by the Sharks at the 2024 NHL Draft in June. Celebrini is spending his rookie season living with the Thorntons and is embracing every part of the experience.

“I’m jealous,” Matthews said.

The Maple Leafs captain has reason to be.

“Amazing,” Celebrini said of the experience.

Thornton agrees.

“The kids love it,” he said. “He and River play a lot of road hockey on the driveway.”

It’s all part of the influence Thornton has on those around him.

“It’s what he does,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said. “His enthusiasm is infectious.

“It’s one of the many things that makes him special, and will make the ceremony special.”

In the end, Jumbo Joe will do what he’s always done, greet every day with a smile and a joie de vivre.

Only this weekend will be a bit different. It is, after all, the chance for his friends, his family, his former teammates, the hockey world, the communities that he’s called and still calls home, all of them, to show their appreciation of how he’s affected their lives.

“I’m going to cry a lot this weekend, by the way,” he said. “But I’m going to laugh a lot too.”

In the way only Jumbo Joe can.