Latest news with #JoeThornton
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wild's Marco Rossi Training With Hall Of Famer Joe Thornton
The offseason is in full swing and players have begun to start training with training camp and preseason just under two months from now. Minnesota Wild forward Marco Rossi is still without a contract but that is not going to stop him from training. NXTShot Sports Agency posted a photo on Instagram of Rossi training. He was working with Hall of Fame forward Joe Thornton in Davos, Switzerland. Rossi, 23, is coming off a career-year. He recorded 24 goals, 36 assists, and 60 points in 82 games last year for the Wild. He posted a career-hight in goals, assists, points, plus-minus, power-play goals, power-play assists, power play points, game-winning goals, shooting percentage, and overtime goals. The only thing that took a dip was his face-off percentage. Rossi has now been working with Thornton to improve that. Thornton played 1,714 career NHL games and recorded 430 goals, 1,109 assists, 1,539 points and had a career face-off percentage of 52.5. The grind doesn't stop for Rossi as he continues to improve and work on his game. A bright future is in store for him. Who's In Charge? Wild's Power Play Has Three Commanders ST. PAUL, Minn - The Minnesota Wild enter the 2025-26 season with a good problem on its hands. Who runs the top power play? In previous years, the Wild never really had a sure-fire number one type of defenseman who could run the top unit. Minnesota Wild Youngster Is Having A Big Offseason The 2025-26 season will be a big one for the Minnesota Wild youngsters. Guys like David Jiricek, Danila Yurov, Liam Ohgren, and Zeev Buium will all be a big part of the upcoming season's success. 'The Narrative Out There Is That We Are Dying To Trade Him, That's Not The Case At All': Wild GM Bill Guerin Shines Light On Marco Rossi Situation ST. PAUL, Minn - July 1st is quickly approaching, a week from Tuesday that is. This means the Minnesota Wild have eight days to figure out a solution to the Marco Rossi situation before he is eligible to sign an offer sheet with any team on July 1.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mitch Marner spotted hanging out with former Maple Leafs teammates
Mitch Marner still has time for some old buds, it seems. The former Toronto Maple Leafs all-star shared some snaps on his Instagram account of some fun summer hangouts with friends made during his time in Toronto. Marner, who was born and raised in Toronto, posted a carousel of photos of himself with wife Stephanie and their newborn son, Miles, along with a couple of former teammates up at a cottage and on the golf course. Marner is seen relaxing with Joe Thornton and chilling in the pool with Zach Bogosian and his children. Marner, Thornton and Bogosian — who currently plays for the Minnesota Wild – all suited up for the Leafs during the 2020-21 season, with the trio apparently becoming close friends. Leafs fans – many of whom have been famously known to be fickle – had mixed feelings about the snaps. Marner, who spent the first nine years of his NHL career with the Leafs, left the team this off-season and signed a massive eight-year, US$96-million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. During his time with Toronto, Marner racked up 221 goals and 520 assists for 741 points over 657 regular-season games, but often was the biggest target for criticism over the franchise's repeated post-season failures. 'Take that Bearwear sweater off. Banned from Muskoka. Head down to Lake Tahoe,' one user commented on Marner's post. 'This is like when ur ex drops a summer dump with all new friends and ur like woo, dodged a bullet,' another wrote. 'A lot of golf pics for not having time to have a 1 day charity golf tourney,' a third commented, referring to Marner cancelling his annual event this summer in the midst of his departure from the team. Marner's remaining fans in Toronto should have Jan. 23, 2026, circled on their calendar, though. That's the date the star comes to town for his lone visit of the 2025-26 season with the Golden Knights. Toronto Maple Leafs sign depth defenceman to new contract Maple Leafs' William Nylander named Sweden's hockey player of the year The star winger had shared a heartfelt post after leaving the team for Vegas, thanking the fan base and the organization for his time with the Leafs. 'Now that my time in Toronto has come to an end, I wanted to share what these last nine years have meant to me,' Marner wrote. 'Leaving isn't easy. This city is where I grew up, where I fell in love with hockey, and where I've had the incredible honour of living out my childhood dream. Wearing the Maple Leaf on my chest wasn't just about playing for a team, it was about representing my home.' 'When I was drafted, all I wanted was to help bring a Stanley Cup to Toronto,' Marner said. 'That was always the goal, and I came up short. I know how much this team means to this city, and I know the expectations that come with wearing this jersey. 'I gave everything I had, but in the end, it wasn't enough. That's hard to admit, because I wanted it so badly, for all of us.'
New York Times
30-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
A brief history of the Joe Thornton Award, a fake trophy for best debut with a new team
It's summer and nothing's happening. Let's make up another fake award. We did this last summer, when we introduced the Sam Pollock Trophy for a season's best trade. Prior to that, we've also done the Jimmy Carson Trophy for best sophomore season, as well as the Ray Bourque Trophy for best final season. None of these actually exist, but they should, and that's enough for our purposes. Advertisement For today's award, we're going to create the Joe Thornton Award for the best debut with a new team. A couple of quick rules: Rookie debuts have their own award, so they don't count — a player has to have previously played for another NHL team before joining a new one. Unlike most awards, we're taking the playoffs into consideration. And finally, a player has to have played at least half the season with his new team, because I don't feel like figuring out how to rate deadline pickups. Other than that, the field is open — we can be looking at trades, free-agent signings, waiver pickups or whatever else. We'll cover the cap era, starting with a 2006 recipient. It's Slow News Summer, let's argue about an award that doesn't exist. The contenders: We're starting with what might be the toughest call in the whole exercise, or at least the most crowded field of contenders. The first season after the lockout featured a ton of turnover around the league, as teams adjusted to the new salary cap after having been dormant since 2004. You might assume that Joe Thornton would win the Joe Thornton Award. But it's no sure thing, as we have to consider other Hall of Famers, including Atlanta's Marian Hossa, Anaheim's Scott Niedermayer and Edmonton's Chris Pronger, plus Teemu Selanne going back to the Ducks. But the winner is: Thornton. He's the only player to ever win a Hart Trophy and Art Ross during a season that saw him switch teams, which is kind of hard to overlook. But it's closer than you'd have thought, and there are going to be future seasons where we'll wish we had anywhere near this deep a field. The contenders: It's not as star-studded as last year, but we do have some solid candidates. Alex Tanguay had a point-per-game debut with the Flames after coming over from Colorado, while Marc Savard dropped 96 points in Boston after leaving Atlanta. Advertisement But the bigger stars are on the back end. You might expect Zdeno Chara to be an easy pick here after signing with the Bruins, but he actually had a so-so debut in Boston, only finishing 20th in Norris voting in 2007 before being a finalist in 2008 and winning in 2009. So this one really comes down to Anaheim's Chris Pronger, who was a Norris finalist, or Vancouver's Roberto Luongo, who was the Vezina runner-up. But the winner is: I'm tempted to go with Pronger, since we said the playoffs count and he was dominant there as always while helping the Ducks win it all. But Luongo finished second in Hart voting that year, so I think he probably has to be the pick. The contenders: The field thins out in Year 3 of the cap era, with no goalie candidates apart from Florida's Tomas Vokoun and a forward crop that's limited to the big UFA class of 2007 — Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Scott Gomez — all of whom were good but not great. But the winner is: I'm going to use this lackluster year as an excuse to give an award to a classic Hall of Very Good guy in Brian Rafalski, who went from New Jersey to Detroit as a free agent and then finished ninth in Norris voting to go with a Cup run. The contenders: Oof. There aren't many. In fact, if you look at the top point scorers for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons combined, not one name in the top 35 played for multiple teams. The goalies aren't much help, and the best blue-line option is probably Brian Campbell, who signed in Chicago and had 52 points in his debut. But the winner is: Marian Hossa, whose one year in Detroit saw him score 40 goals during the season and six more in a playoff run that famously ended just short of the Cup. The contenders: My first thought was that Hossa could win back-to-back, but his first season in Chicago saw him limited to 57 regular-season games, and he somehow only scored three goals in their Cup run. That's still enough to put him in the running in another thin year — put it this way, I spent way too much time trying to talk myself into the Scott Gomez as a Canadien experience. Advertisement But the winner is: Call it a homer pick if you want, but Phil Kessel had 30 goals in his Leafs debut despite missing the first month due to what was basically the last injury of his career. See, Leaf fans, the trade worked out great. The contenders: Antti Niemi was solid in his first year in San Jose after winning a Cup for the Hawks. With essentially nothing to choose from up front, his main competition will come from the blue line. But the winner is: It's another ex-Hawk, as Dustin Byfuglien scores 20 goals for the Thrashers after being a cap casualty in Chicago. The contenders: My first thought was Brent Burns going from the Wild to the Sharks, but his debut season wasn't great. There's a surprisingly solid case for Ilya Bryzgalov's first year in Philadelphia, and in theory, I shouldn't be using the benefit of hindsight here, but I just can't do it. But the winner is: Let's go with Brad Richards, whose first year as a Ranger saw him bank 66 points. This one also ends badly, but not Bryzgalov-level bad. The contenders: The big names here are the two Wild mega-contracts, Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. Don't sleep on PA Parenteau, who went nearly a point-per-game after joining the Avalanche. But the winner is: Suter. I'd forgotten that he finished as the Norris runner-up in his first year in Minnesota, just barely losing out to P.K. Subban. That's kind of a fascinating vote; I wonder how different Suter's HHOF case would feel if he had that Norris instead of falling a few votes short. For now, Hall voters will have to settle for factoring in his Thornton Award. The contenders: This is a tough year, with most of the biggest transactions coming around the deadline (including Martin St. Louis, Ben Bishop and Roberto Luongo). Mark Streit is worth a look for the Flyers here, as is Cory Schneider in New Jersey. Advertisement But the winner is: Tyler Seguin, who had 84 points and plenty of Hart votes despite not being the sort of guy who pays the price. That's the third ex-Bruins to win our award, by the way, a number nobody else will surpass. The contenders: It's another weak field, although Thomas Vanek was solid after joining the Wild and Paul Stastny was OK in St. Louis. But the focus ends up being on the goalies, where we have names such as Jaroslav Halak with the Islanders and Ryan Miller in Vancouver. But the winner is: Devan Dubnyk, who becomes our second winner from a midseason move. He went from journeyman to Vezina finalist in half a season in Minnesota, even finishing fourth in MVP voting. The contenders: Ryan Johansen and Seth Jones just get in under the wire of our half-season rule, but neither has enough time to really stake out a claim for the Thornton. Dougie Hamilton has a solid first year in Calgary, and we get a couple of strong goaltending options in Edmonton's Cam Talbot and San Jose's Martin Jones. But the winner is: We said we're counting playoff performance, so I think we have to go with the forward who had 59 points on his new team before exploding in the postseason for what should have been a Conn Smythe performance. Yes, it's our first two-time winner: Phil Kessel gets his second Thornton for his first year in Pittsburgh. The contenders: First things first — no, Taylor Hall didn't win the MVP in his first season in New Jersey. He was actually just OK in Year 1, with 53 points before banking 93 in Year 2. But while Hall is out, we still have two more contenders from that wild hour. The question is, who takes the Thornton: Shea Weber or P.K. Subban? But the winner is: Subban, in a photo finish. Weber was actually a bit better during the regular season and finished sixth in Norris voting. But Subban makes up that gap during the playoffs, leading the Predators to the Stanley Cup Final. Advertisement The contenders: Mike Smith is solid in Calgary, and Artemi Panarin is excellent in Columbus. But 2018 throws a wrench into our process by introducing expansion, meaning we've got an entire roster in Vegas that's 'new' to a team. Should that count? Probably not, but somebody should have thought of that before we started this whole thing, and here we are. But the winner is: Marc-Andre Fleury, who went .927 for a team we all thought would be terrible. William Karlsson finishes a close second. The contenders: The biggest name to switch teams is Erik Karlsson, going from Ottawa to San Jose, but his production dipped and he missed nearly 30 games. There's also John Tavares, who scored a career-best 47 goals in his first year in Toronto, and Robin Lehner having a career year in his one season with the Islanders. But the winner is: The playoffs loom large once again. Tavares is the clubhouse leader in April, but Ryan O'Reilly's Conn Smythe playoff run in St. Louis allows him to make up the ground and steal the Thornton. The contenders: It's a crowded field, with names such as J.T. Miller, Jacob Trouba and Mike Smith all in play. Sadly, Phil Kessel doesn't do quite enough in Arizona to make a run at a three-peat. But really, this year's award comes down to the Blue Jackets. Or rather, the ex-Blue Jackets, as Matt Duchene, Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin all depart in free agency. But the winner is: Panarin, and it's not all that close. He racks up 95 points in a shortened season with the Rangers, finishing as a Hart finalist and runaway Thornton winner. The contenders: Jacob Markstrom was OK in his first year in Calgary, but his big breakthrough came in season two. Alex Pietrangelo missed a big chunk of his first season in Vegas. And the forward list is just bleak — of the top 60 points leaders from 2019 to 2021, only one played for multiple teams. And that was Mike Hoffman, playing for two teams you have no recollection of him ever being on. Advertisement But the winner is: Let's go with Devon Toews, who fits in well enough in Colorado to earn some Norris votes after coming over from the Islanders. The contenders: It's another expansion year, meaning every veteran from the Kraken is eligible. We've also got Seth Jones in Chicago and Dougie Hamilton in New Jersey, plus a sneaky-good comeback year from Shayne Gostisbehere in Arizona. But this one really comes down to a couple of forwards. But the winner is: In some years, Pavel Buchnevich's 30-goal debut with the Blues would get it done. But this year, he's narrowly beaten out by Sam Reinhart, who goes from Buffalo to Florida and immediately explodes for a career year. Don't worry, Sabres fans, he probably won't keep that up. The contenders: This was that weird year where half the league changed goalies, and the blue line has some interesting names such as Brent Burns and MacKenzie Weegar. But yeah, I'm guessing that last name kind of gave it away. But the winner is: It's going to be an ex-Flame, and since we're factoring in the playoffs, that means a fairly easy win for Matthew Tkachuk in Florida over Johnny Gaudreau in Columbus. The contenders: It's another weak field, one that nearly opens the door for Erik Karlsson's disappointing debut in Pittsburgh to take home the trophy. Instead, my vote came down to two forwards: Alex DeBrincat in Ottawa, or Matt Duchene in Dallas. But the winner is: DeBrincat's numbers were a bit better, but Duchene is a center, and more importantly, he's moved around so much in his career that we should probably give him a Thornton as a lifetime achievement award. The contenders: We end with a strong field, although not necessarily one built around the names we would have expected. Instead, this one largely comes down to Jake Guentzel's 41 goals in Tampa against a trio of goalies: Ottawa's Linus Ullmark, Washington's Logan Thompson and L.A.'s Darcy Kuemper. Advertisement But the winner is: Offense sells, but I think we have to go with Kuemper here, based on his Vezina finalist season that kind of came out of nowhere. The contenders: There is literally no way to know, and it would be silly to even pick someone. But the winner is: Just kidding, we've already engraved Mitch Marner's name on the trophy. (Top photo of Joe Thornton in 2006: Elsa / Getty Images)
Yahoo
26-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Bruins Superstar Gets Exciting New Job
Former Boston Bruins captain Joe Thornton played his 24th and final season in the NHL during the 2021-22 campaign with the Florida Panthers. Last month, he was rightfully inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after his incredible career. Now, good things keep coming Thornton's way, as he has landed an exciting new job.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Wraparound: Did The Canadiens Make A Smart Low-Risk Bet On Veleno?
The Wraparound has another episode of rapid-fire NHL topics as the off-season continues. Did The Canadiens Make A Smart Low-Risk Bet On Veleno? by The Wraparound undefined Here's what Emma Lingan, Michael Augello and Jonathan Bailey discussed: 0:00: Is Lukas Dostal the Anaheim Ducks' goalie of the future? 4:58: Will the Columbus Blue Jackets end up trading Yegor Chinakhov? 9:02: Was signing Joe Veleno a smart low-risk bet for the Montreal Canadiens? 11:44: Which 2025 draft pick that has signed their entry-level contract will make an appearance in the NHL this season? 14:30: How will Joe Thornton impact the San Jose Sharks as a player development coach? 17:58: How will Mitch Marner be received by Toronto Maple Leafs fans in his return to Scotiabank Arena? 22:50: Was Dakota Joshua the type of player the Toronto Maple Leafs needed to acquire? 27:20: Did the Chicago Blackhawks do enough this off-season to support Connor Bedard? 33:55: Did the Winnipeg Jets do enough this off-season after losing Nikolaj Ehlers? See below for where to subscribe to the show for future episodes. Apple Podcasts Spotify Podbean iHeartRadio Amazon Promo image credit: Talia Sprague-Imagn Images
