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Joe Thornton was the cornerstone of the Boston Bruins for eight years -- until he was abruptly shipped off to the West Coast with a dinnertime phone call.
The San Jose Sharks acquired the power forward Wednesday night, parting with Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau in a trade between two last-place franchises desperate to shake up their dismal seasons.
As a rising superstar, a probable 2006 Canadian Olympian and the face of the Boston franchise for several seasons, Thornton was stunned by the rather graceless end to his tenure with the team that drafted him with the No. 1 overall pick in 1997.
General manager Mike O'Connell called Thornton's cell phone after he had just finished dining with his parents in Boston.
"I was blindsided," Thornton said in a conference call. "On the one hand, it's disappointing; and on the other, it's good to start over again. When you don't win, there's going to be changes."
The 26-year-old star signed a three-year, $20 million contract in August with Boston, where he was the club's captain for the last three seasons. Thornton was less than complimentary of O'Connell and coach Mike Sullivan, whose jobs both are rumored to be in jeopardy.
"Obviously (the Bruins) believe in their coach and their general manager, and I'm next in line, so I've got to move on," he said. "I came back here to win, and we haven't been winning. Whose fault is that? I'm not sure, but I'm out of here, so it must be mine."
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Thornton was tied for 11th in the NHL in scoring entering Wednesday's games with nine goals and 24 assists, but Boston has lost nine of its last 10 games. The Sharks, who lost 4-1 to Dallas, are 0-7-3 in their last 10 games during one of the worst stretches in franchise history.
San Jose general manager Doug Wilson said he expects Thornton to be in the lineup Friday in Buffalo, where the Sharks will play the second game of a three-game road trip. Wilson agreed the trade was among the biggest in franchise history, alongside the trade of former captain Owen Nolan to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2003.
While O'Connell phoned it in, Wilson flew to Dallas to speak to all three departing players personally.
"Players like Joe Thornton don't come available very often," Wilson said. "When you do a deal of this magnitude, character still has to be the No. 1 thing, and he'll fit right into our group. ... We thought he was almost untouchable. You think about him and you kind of wish, but don't think he'll be available."
Thornton and Patrick Marleau, the Sharks' captain and leading scorer, were the top two picks in 1997. Both joined the league that year as raw 18-year-olds, but eventually emerged as top NHL centers and teammates on several Canadian national teams.
Thornton has scored more than 20 goals in each of his last five NHL seasons, including two 30-goal campaigns. In 2003-04, he led the Bruins with 23 goals and 50 assists.
Sharks forward Scott Thornton is Joe Thornton's cousin. Their fathers are brothers, and they're already delighted by the possibility of making road trips together.
"I obviously know him," Scott Thornton said in Dallas. "He's one of the top 10 players in the league. He's a big, powerful forward. I expect him to be a giant on special teams."
AP - Nov 30, 10:47 pm EST
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Still, Scott Thornton expressed regret in losing Sturm, Primeau and Stuart, who were last-minute scratches from the lineup in Dallas.
"We lost three great teammates," he said. "The bottom line is we're all to blame for this. ... We should all feel guilty about this."
The departing Sharks are expected to play for Boston on Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators.
"We felt we needed to shake up the team and sometimes you have to make some difficult decisions to better the team," O'Connell said in a statement. "We feel we received three players who can help us immediately."
All three new Bruins are bona fide NHL talents -- but all three also had flaws that contributed to the Sharks' malaise this season.
Sturm is the Sharks' second-leading scorer with six goals and 10 assists this season, but the speedy German forward still hasn't developed into the topflight goal-scorer most expected him to be. He missed the Sharks' playoff run in 2004 after breaking his leg late in the regular season.
Stuart, who has two goals and 10 assists, finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie following the 1999-00 season. But he has struggled for long stretches this season, prompting public criticism of his passing and physical play by coach Ron Wilson.
Primeau, a gritty fourth-liner, has five goals and three assists this season.
