Thornton (most likely) retiring
It's been whispered for a quite a while, but after today's game, Scott Thornton confirmed that he's strongly leaning toward retirement. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and, at age 37, he said that while he still loves playing, the daily pains and aches of being a hockey player are just becoming too much to overcome.
``It's not 100 percent,'' Thornton said about his decision to retire, ``but it's probably as close as you can get to it. I've been trying to prepare myself for it. I think that's the next step, to move on.''
Thornton got to enjoy a nice moment after the game. As the Kings skated out to give their jerseys to fans, Thornton's wife, Joelle, was there to surprise him and accept the jersey from what will probably be his last game. It's unfortunate that most fans probably weren't aware of how nice a moment it was. I was standing near the end of the Kings' bench and heard a couple people wonder aloud why that was happening.
``I had no idea she was going to be out there,'' Thornton said. ``She was kind of embarrassed. She's been with me since juniors, and after all these years she finall you made it onto the ice.''
If he is indeed done, Thornton will finish with 17 NHL seasons, 941 games, 144 goals and 141 assists.
``I wish I could have won a Cup. I had an opportunity with Dallas,'' Thornton said. ``But I have no regrets. I walk away knowing that I made a lot of life-long friends, and I stayed true to myself and stayed grounded. I think I'm the same person I was when I started.''
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J.P. Hoornstra writes about NHL and IHL hockey for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. He welcomes any and all dialogue on the finer points of hockey.
E-mail J.P. at jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.com.
Jill Painter joined the Daily News in 2000 and during the last eight years she's covered the Dodgers, Cal State Northridge, UCLA, Kings, golf and everything in between. Even though she's from Colorado, she still freezes in the Staples Center press box but always manages to thaw her fingers in time to make deadline. E-mail Jill at jill.painter@dailynews
.com.
Vincent Bonsignore is a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News. E-mail Vinny at vincent.bonsignore
@dailynews.com.
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Congratulations on a great 17 year career, Thorton. Thanks for mentoring the next generation of Kings...
Great character guy-good
luck
I think crow put him out there at the end of the game too. One last shift... Best of luck to ya Thorton.
You should mention, that Tueday's game in San Jose had another special moment for both Thornton cousins, Scott and Joe.
The large video board displayed Scott Thornton's career stats during an intermission, and the fans kept clapping louder and louder. Scott could not contain a smile, and he eventually acknowledged the crowd with a raised glove.
The fans did something similar later in the game when it was shown Joe Thornton's assist was his 300th point as a Shark. Action was still going on in front of him, but he raised his hand to a standing ovation as well.
Thank you Scott for 17 great years and for always giving it your best...
I wonder how long it will be before the Kings send off a player into retirement with a Stanley Cup ring. I'm getting sick of this last game of the season stuff.
Rich,
I have a suggestion maybe you could pass along to Dean Lombardi...
Assuming Scott would agree to this, why don't the Kings make some sort of arrangement with San Jose so that the Kings waive Thornton and the Sharks pick him up. That way he'd have 1 more shot at a cup before hanging up the skates.
sincerely, good luck in your post hockey life...
but...
good ridance... thanks for taking a valuable roster spot from other players who deserved it more than you. thanks for never finishing a check... I'm glad you're man enough to (possibly) call it quits. how much did we pay this guy to reek up the ice for 2+ seasons?
I always got really mad when bob or jim or nick or daryl would refer to him as a veteran physical presence... to me, thornton was one of the weakest players on the ice... playing him and wilsie on the same line was like the oposition having a 5 on 3 advantage... worst 2 forwards since we had craig johnson and mikko eloranta.
I've come to know Scott pretty well over the last few years. He is a great guy and a class act. He always gives it his all on the ice. Good Luck to Scott, Joelle and Nash.