Long time Captain of the San Jose Sharks Joe Thornton was stripped of his C this season and like everyone else, I could not figure out why the team would do that to a player who has given so much and led so well for so long.
Once I had heard that the Sharks had done this I started to go over the roster looking for who could possibly be named the next captain for this organization. I had narrowed it down to a couple players who could possibly be named next, but every time I passed over Thornton's name it was just obvious that he should still have the C.
I don't know why they took it from him or what the reasoning was behind it. If it was an organizational decision or if there was a rift between Thornton and the coaching staff or management?
Either way, he didn't have it anymore and they needed to figure out who would fill those shoes for the team.
It was kept very hush hush all pre season and even right up until moments before the game last night in LA. No one knew who would get it. Then in a indescribable twist that seemed to almost be a slap in the face of Thornton, the team turns around and give, "Jumbo" as he is known, an A on his sweater.
WHAT!!??
Well Joe, prepare your face because here comes the slap.
Are you kidding me? You just stripped a player of the Captaincy and then you turn around only weeks after and give him an Assistant Captaincy?
To me that is just crazy. They basically told him that we don't want you to lead this team anymore like you have been doing, but here, we will put this A on your sweater because you are a good leader.
I don't know about you, but if I was stripped the way he was and then given an A back, I would tell the team "thanks but no thanks. Find someone else." But I get it. The classy thing to do is to accept the A and move on and help out the team. That's the thing with being part of a team. You do what's best for it. Even if it doesn't feel right to you.
So what does this mean for Joe Thornton? I feel if this team can continue winning and playing well this season, he will stay in San Jose. But if they start to falter, I would not be surprised in the least to see him on the move to a new team. His name has been mentioned around the trade deadline as it is in the past couple seasons so it wouldn't surprise me at all.
It is really really early in the season to even think like that yet, but it's just a feeling I'm getting about this.
To me this is just a terrible way for the Sharks to have handled this whole situation involving the Captaincy. But it appears that Joe has handled this very professionally and is just going to move along and help the team as much as he can. I don't know both sides of the story at all about why he was stripped to begin with but to have that happen to a player who wore the C for so long seems odd to me.
What do you think? Should Joe have accepted the A or just gone without for the season and "silently" led this team? Leave a comment and let me know what you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment