The (apparently) former Sharks captain Joe Thornton is 17th overall in the NHL when it comes to playoff points per game since the 2012 postseason. Thornton’s 18 points in 23 games comes out to a .78 points per game rate, which is better than Jonathan Toews’ .73, Marian Gaborik’s .72, and the Kings’ Mr. Game 7 “clutch man” Justin Williams’ .77. The description “playoff under performer” should never be associated with Thornton during his time in San Jose.
Joe Thornton Is Really, Really Good
Joe Thornton is really, really good. Really, really, Donkey? Really, really.
The school of hockey thought that I grew up with rates centers as much more valuable, and as we know the NHL’s Western Conference is much tougher than the East. The only three Western Conference centers with better playoff PPG rates than Thornton over the last three years are Ryan Getzlaf. 1.1, Anze Kopitar. .86, and Jeff Carter, .80.
With small sample sizes in particular, these differences in points per game are rather minimal. Getzlaf, Kopitar, Toews, Carter, and Thornton are all top of the line producers of offense. Based off this one statistic alone, nobody can make a case for one over the other.
That said, there is a case to be made for Thornton being the best of the bunch. When it comes to face-off percentage, Thornton’s 56.1 success rate blows Getzlaf out of the water. Anaheim’s top center wasn’t even over 50%, maybe starting with the puck a bit more would help the Ducks’ possession woes.
Possessing the Puck
Speaking of possession, when looking at players who played in over 70 games last season, Thornton was 7th overall according to behindthenet.ca, ahead of Getzlaf and Carter but behind Toews and Kopitar. When it comes to being a true elite center in the Western Conference, one that can score, dominate the circle and possess the puck, the stats are showing you want Thornton ahead of Carter and Getzlaf.
That leaves Kopitar, Toews, and Thornton as the three top centers in the West. Before you throw my Sharks bias in my face, let me state that personally I do believe Kopitar and Toews are better players. However, there is one particular stat that allows one to argue in favor of Thornton being the best player in the Western Conference (or at least better than Kopitar).
Points/60
Last season, of all skaters who played over 500 minutes at five on five, Thornton finished 13th overall in points per 60. His 2.50 mark was just barely behind Sidney Crosby’s 2.54 (12th overall), and Evgeni Malkin’s 2.57 (10th). It was slightly ahead of Toews’ 2.35 (22nd) and far superior to Kopitar’s 1.95 (74th).
As the popular Sharks blog Fear the Fin points out, Thornton is still the Sharks MVP. He frequently faces tough matchups and is asked to take a lot of key defensive zone face-offs. He simply shines in every meaningful way, up and down the ice against elite competition.
Is he the best player in the Western Conference? No, probably not. However, no one hockey statistic proves one player to be the best. It is still a subjective stance based off objective information. However, it is interesting to note that Thornton only had nine fewer even strength points (66 vs 57) than Crosby had last season despite playing in the tougher conference.
Inception
The point to be had here is that Thornton is still without a doubt a top-10 player in the NHL. Any thoughts the Sharks had of trading him were put there via inception by either Leonardo DiCaprio or Kings GM Dean Lombardi. Unless your favorite player is Toews, Crosby, Malkin, or Kopitar, chances are Thornton is probably better than him.
Its an article by Bensch that says its all.
I am a Bruins fan who still believes that Boston made a mistake trading Joe. His passing abilities are second to know. If big Joe would play mean he would dominate the whole league.
He skates like a 6 foot player. He has a big shot which he doesn’t use enough. When Joe plays mad Toews or Kopitar couldn’t hold his jock. San Jose’s biggest problem is there coach. He should have been fired two years ago.
Mark
Not a big fan of the way Mclellan uses his players, playing Brown over Kennedy and Pavelski at wing hindered this team vs LA. To be honest I think Thornton uses his size tremendously well. He fights here and there to send a message and uses his reach and frame to dominate down low.
…there’s no mistaking jumbo’s talent & whilst I, as a shark fan, respect joe’s playing ability, I’ve found him to be just a little too cool, calm & collected in his position as the guy who wears the “c”…
…I think he’s found a spot within himself wherein he can perform up to his considerable abilities but that doesn’t carry across as the guy to lead the team when the chips are down…
…jumbo’s a superb contributor & a knowledgeable mentor & I hope he’ll continue to do that as a shark but as a leader we need a guy who knows when to show more fire to get the whole bench inspired…
…but make no mistake, in the right role, joe thornton is as valuable as they come…
Bikes, not every captain is a vocal guy on the bench. Plus other guys can do the talking, doesn’t have to be one guy with the C. Appreciate the comment!
Leadership isn’t dissimilar to the style of Mikko Koivu. (Love Koivu, but I’d take Thornton over him and leave the C.)