Why Thornton's Sharks tenure made San Jose his forever ‘home'

Joe Thornton declared it Joe Thornton Weekend, not Joe Thornton Day.

And who’s arguing with the always smiling, larger than life Sharks legend, whose No. 19 jersey is being retired at SAP Center on Saturday?

Thornton spoke at San Jose City Hall on Thursday afternoon, after Mayor Matt Mahan officially proclaimed Nov. 23 as Joe Thornton Day. It’s Jumbo’s only media availability this weekend.

He touched on a wide range of topics, from going up to the rafters next to Patrick Marleau, if he’s ever going to take an official position with the Sharks, and if he’s hoping to score four goals in Friday’s Legends Game.

Thornton’s opening statement:

"Joe Thornton Day in San Jose … sounds pretty good, eh?

"Jonathan Becher, thank you so much for your kind words. You know how much the city of San Jose means to me and my family, who are right up here. It’s important for the city to have a winning team, and I know that you and the Sharks management team are on the right path again.

"Mayor Matt Mahan, thank you so much. I never thought I’d get my own day, but here we are.

"You know how important the Sharks are for this city when one of their former players gets honored like this. Let’s keep it that way for generations to come. The SAP Center, like the team itself, is in the heart of the city, and I love that. This city bleeds teal.

"I see my old friend Tom McEnery, the old mayor of San Jose, you did so much to bring the Sharks to San Jose, and for that, Tom, you should be getting your own day too. Thanks for introducing me to the city back in 2005, and I love the fact that my kids and your grandkids are friends. It’s one of those full-circle moments, Tom."

"To the great people of San Jose, I loved playing in front of you for 15 years. The community embraced me and loved me, and I never took that for granted, so let’s have a great Joe Thornton Day. 

"Let’s go Sharks!"

Thornton, on his best memories in San Jose:

"Best memories in San Jose … there have been so many. I think Game Seven against Vegas, you have to put up that," Thornton said. "That was incredible.

"I think my first game coming here to San Jose, skating through the Shark Head, that was unreal. The people here have been so, really, really, good to me. It’s been great. "

Thornton, on what brought him back to San Jose after leaving in 2020 and if he knew that he was coming back:

"We didn’t know," Thornton said. "I think I persuaded the family to come back because I love it so much. I always had a good idea we’d be coming back, but I don’t know, if you asked my wife or my kids that. I always knew I’d come back because I love the people and I love the area so much."

Thornton, on any plan on eventually taking an official job with the Sharks or if he’s happy as “Director of Vibes”:

"I help coaching the U-12 Junior Sharks hockey team, and that’s good enough for me right now," Thornton said with a smile.

Thornton, on his journey from a small Canadian farm town to the capital of Silicon Valley:

"I listen to a lot of music, and Jim Morrison says, 'The West is the best' and I truly believe that," Thornton said. "I love the East Coast, I love visiting, but I love the West Coast. It sure is far — we’re far away from home. We do get off to home quite a bit, it’s nice to see mom and dad, but this is where home is, and this is where I love to live.

"Mom and dad still live in the same house, I know the address.

"I never thought I’d live in California — it was a dream growing up. I love The Beach Boys too, they always talked about California dreamin’. At a young age, I was in love with California, and here I am right now."

Thornton, on the importance of family in this journey:

"It’s everything," Thornton said. "To have mom and dad here, and my wife and kids, it means everything. To share these moments with them is very special. As a family, you go through a lot in the hockey world. I call my mom and dad after every game.

"I’m going to cry a lot this weekend, by the way, but I’m gonna laugh a lot too. Hockey’s been a family thing for a lot of years, it still is."

Thornton, on if he has a speech ready and if he will take part in warmups:

"I’ll answer the speech thing first. I got the speech pretty much dialed in," Thornton said. "And no, I don’t plan on doing warmups.

Thornton, on his number being next to Patrick Marleau’s in the rafters:

"I’ve known Patty since I was 17 years old. For me to go in there right after him — he got drafted here second overall in ‘97 and I went somewhere else — to be up there together, it’s a special night for me," Thornton said. "To see the No. 12 and the No. 19 up there — and I’m sure there’s going to be numbers coming after us — I’m looking forward to it."

Thornton, on if he ever thought his number would be retired by an NHL franchise:

"No. You ask my dad my first year, I didn’t think I’d survive my first year — even my second year," Thornton said. "To end up playing as long as I did, I don’t know how I did it — I know with the support of a loving family, that’s what got me through it."

Thornton, on what it would mean to help this new era of San Jose Sharks win a Stanley Cup:

"It’s so exciting. We’re lucky enough to have Macklin [Celebrini] at the house, and we see him all the time. I know my son River’s excited about that," Thornton said. "It feels good around here now, it feels really good. You can see we’ve got some really good young talent here. It’s going to take a while, as everybody knows. There’ll be a parade here one day, and I can’t wait for it."

Thornton, on if there was a player he wished he had played with:

"I played with a lot of good players. Probably Eric Lindros," Thornton said. "I was a fan of him growing up, I thought he was going to join one of my teams earlier on in my career, but he didn’t. I would have really enjoyed playing with him, I think."

Thornton, on the importance of making the Hockey Hall of Fame one day:

"We’ll work on that, whatever happens. I was just really excited to see Jeremy [Roenick] go up, it was a heartfelt speech," Thornton said. "I love watching buddies — go in, watching them and supporting them. It’s a huge honor for guys like that.

"I’ve been in a couple of times. That’s a pipe dream, that stuff doesn’t happen."

Thornton, on the impact he’s had on players around the league:

I get so many texts, and I keep in contact with so many guys. I know their feelings on how I feel about them. I’m just so lucky I’ve met so many good, good guys that I’ve kept in contact with — we’ll be friends for a lifetime," Thornton said. It’s nice to have good friends, let me tell you."

Thornton, on the Legends Game, and maybe scoring four goals in it:

"I don’t know how many people would enjoy that," Thornton said with a laugh. "But you never know,"

"There’s 36 guys in total, and honestly, I’m looking forward to seeing every single guy. I hope I get a shift with every single guy. It might take a long time, the game, but — the guys are starting to trickle in now, and we’re texting back and forth, everybody’s getting excited. We’re looking forward to the game tomorrow and, obviously, the jersey retirement on Saturday."

Thornton, on his happiest day as a Shark:

"Every day. Honestly, every day, I love…I loved going to the rink — and I know my wife can tell everybody — I showered at the rink everyday," Thornton said. "It was a day off? I went to the rink, I rode the bike, I worked out. I loved going to the rink, and I still go to the rink every day now. If it’s with my son or if it’s not, I’m always at the rink. It really is my happy place."

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