Bruins ship Thornton to Sharks in blockbuster four-player trade
Joe Thornton is headed to the West Coast.
The Boston Bruins shipped the superstar forward to San Jose for forwards Wayne Primeau and Marco Sturm and defenseman Brad Stuart, the Sharks reported on their web site Wednesday.
Thornton, 26, is a three-time all-star who had nine goals and 24 assists in 23 games this season for the Bruins. The six-foot-four, 223-pound power forward is due to make $6.66 million US this year.
"He is a leader who scores points and makes other players around him better," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement. "To get a player of this calibre, you have to give up something to get something. You would make this trade last month, this month or next year. It follows our philosophy of making our team better for this year and next year."
Thornton, the first overall pick in the 1997 NHL entry draft, adds instant scoring punch to a struggling Sharks offense that ranks near the bottom of the league with just 62 goals scored. Thornton, the cousin of Sharks forward Scott Thornton, has 169 goals and 285 assists in 532 career games.
To all the NHL fans out there, did you see this coming?, cause I sure didn't. Apparently he wasn't playing hard every night as a captain should, so the Bruins decided to deal him off. I think this trade benefits both teams, San Jose gets Thornton, but the Bruins get rid of a potential problem and pick up some pretty good players in return.
