Tuesday certainly was a night to remember for Joe Thornton, the Sharks and hockey fans in general.
Jumbo and the Florida Panthers ended up beating San Jose 3-2 in overtime, but it was a pregame ceremony -- and a battle between former teammates -- that created a lasting memory for all involved.
Prior to Tuesday night's game, Thornton was welcomed back to SAP Center for the first time since his departure following the 2019-20 season. The Sharks legend received a touching video tribute and a standing ovation from the home crowd.
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After the game, Sharks goalie James Reimer discussed the special night.
“Throughout your NHL career there’s going to be special nights and I’ve been lucky enough to play in a few really special nights," Reimer told reporters after the game. "Whether it’s guys 1,000th game or sometimes some guys who recently retired and they drop the puck or something like tonight where Jumbo comes back and obviously he’s nearing the end of his career and just being able to celebrate what he’s done for this city and this team and also for the league. As a player, it’s pretty special to be a part of those nights and even though he’s not on your team, in that moment he’s just a fellow player in the brotherhood. You’re just happy for his accomplishments.”
Brent Burns, a teammate of Thornton's for nine seasons, had the most to say about Jumbo after the game.
“I think it’s just great to see him any time," Burns said. "There’s a lot of guys that owe him a lot, not only from his energy but from the stuff that he shares with other people, the work ethic. I think he really makes guys realize what they need to do. To not only give him a chance but give him a long chance at playing, I think we’re pretty blessed to have seen him at the top of the world.
"There’s nobody better doing little things that a lot of people don’t realize how good he was at doing and how hard it is and those things that he did, he worked at it every day. I can’t say enough about him, he’s an incredible human, obviously, he's an incredible hockey player. It’s the off-ice stuff … he’s special, he’s one-of-a-kind, he’s an incredible guy."
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The two have become very close friends, and if pressed further, Burns could talk about his former teammate for hours. Not only that, but the tribute video the Sharks played before the game featured just a snippet of the 15 seasons of memories Thornton made in San Jose.
"Just a really really special guy and it’s great to see, I think it was awesome to see the reception that he got," Burns added. "The video … It was great. You could have asked Steven Spielberg to do a two-and-a-half-hour movie with him and we wouldn’t have got bored. He’s just a special guy.”
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Now that is a movie we would all love to see.
Tuesday night marked the final time that Thornton will face off against his former team this season, and quite possibly .. the last ever.
