Swooning Bruins trade Thornton for three Sharks
The struggling Boston Bruins traded captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night in exchange for three players.
The Bruins get forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenseman Brad Stuart for Thornton, who signed a three-year, $20 million contract with Boston in August and was considered the franchise’s future.
“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.”
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Thornton, a three-time All-Star, had been the key to the Bruins’ offense. This season, the 26-year-old Thornton has nine goals and 24 assists for Boston, which has lost nine of its last 10 games and is in last place in the Northeast Division.
“Boston defenseman Jonathan Girard retired, abandoning his comeback more than two years after he was seriously injured in a car accident. … Detroit defenseman Jiri Fischer had another abnormal heartbeat this week and returned to the hospital for treatment. Fischer last week collapsed in convulsions on the bench during a game against Nashville. … Pittsburgh goaltender Jocelyn Thibault cleared waivers, but the Penguins apparently plan to keep him on the club for now.
On the ice
Canucks 5, Avalanche 2: At Vancouver, British Columbia, Brendan Morrison scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway late in the second period, sparking Vancouver over Colorado.
Mighty Ducks 6, Coyotes 1: At Anaheim, Calif., Dustin Penner scored his first two NHL goals on power plays and assisted on another by Teemu Selanne, leading Anaheim past Phoenix.
Blackhawks 3, Kings 2: At Chicago, Kyle Calder scored two power-play goals, Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 19 shots and Chicago defeated Los Angeles.
Blue Jackets 3, Wild 2 (SO): At St. Paul, Minn., Jaroslav Balastik’s goal in the third round of a shootout lifted Columbus past Minnesota.
Stars 4, Sharks 1: At Dallas, Antti Miettinen scored on a penalty shot, Sergei Zubov added a power-play goal and Dallas sent San Jose to its 10th straight loss.
Lightning 2, Maple Leafs 1: At Tampa, Fla., Pavel Kubina scored a tiebreaking power-play goal with 8:38 left in Tampa Bay’s win over Toronto.
Flyers 2, Devils 1: At Philadelphia, Mike Knuble and Patrick Sharp scored in the second period to give Philadelphia a win over New Jersey.