Welcome back, Joe

BOSTON – Nine camera crews, including two from Canadian networks, were waiting here Monday to greet Joe Thornton. There could have been 49 crews and it probably wouldn’t have fazed Thornton.

Typical Joe Cool.

In his first visit to Boston since the blockbuster deal between the Bruins and Sharks on Nov. 30, Thornton did his best to downplay any angle relating to revenge, bitterness or sour grapes.

Even when discussing a perceived benefit of the trade – going from the fish bowl of an Original Six city to the relative anonymity of a California hockey star – Thornton managed to cast Boston in a favorable light.

“People have been very polite here,” Thornton said. “They’ll come over and say ‘good luck’ or ‘good game.’ Very polite. It’s not like Red Sox Nation where it’s over the top. Being a Bruin was great.”

And as he has done since being dealt for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau, Thornton again made the point Monday that becoming an ex-Bruin was not his idea. That’s why Sharks defenseman and Boston native Jim Fahey is expecting the locals to cheer loudly for Thornton tonight.

In fact, Fahey said he would not be surprised to see Boston fans siding with the Sharks just for this game because of Thornton. Many fumed at Bruins management after the trade, and backing the Thornton-led visitors would be a convenient way to re-iterate those bruised feelings.

Thornton’s Boston-only totals of 24 assists and 33 points are still team highs for the Bruins 15 games after the trade. With the Sharks, Thornton has six goals and 20 assists for 26 points – the same number of points that Stuart, Sturm and Primeau have scored for Boston.

“He poured his heart and soul into this city, and now he’s doing the same thing in San Jose,” said Fahey.

In the immediate aftermath of the trade, Thornton made a clear distinction between the fans, whom he thanked, and Bruins brass, whom he tweaked. (“Maybe the Boston management is pointing fingers, but it’s a team sport,” he said).

Sharks head coach Ron Wilson also showed his sense of humor Monday by assigning Thornton’s line to wear yellow jerseys at practice.

So, in his first Sharks practice here, Thornton ended up skating in Bruins yellow and black. All that was missing were the spokes of the logo.

“Looked OK, eh?” Thornton said. “Looked familiar.”