San Jose Sharks
Joe Thornton Has Signed with…HC Davos
“It’s like my home away from home.”
Joe Thornton wasn’t talking about San Jose, where he’s played for the last 15 seasons.
He wasn’t talking about hometown Toronto, rumored to be making yet another run at the UFA.
No, Thornton was talking about HC Davos in Switzerland, where he’s just signed up to play until the beginning of the next NHL season. He met his wife Tabea in Switzerland and the Thorntons usually spend summers there.
This will be the San Jose Sharks legend’s third stint with Davos. In 2004-05, he played 40 games, and in 2012-13, 33 games.
The 41-year-old may suit up as soon as this Saturday for the National League side.
“What I saw from him in training, he is absolutely capable of helping our team in competition. His first step with the puck, his puck control, and his passing ability are still at an extremely high level,” HC Davos general manager Raeto Raffainer said in a team press release. “It will be a great pleasure for all hockey fans to see him play on Swiss ice again.”
Thornton will wear No. 97, which he wore in 2004-05 for Davos and also in international play for Team Canada. Marc Aeschlimann currently wears No. 19 for HCD.
“I just love playing hockey,” Thornton told MySports in Switzerland. “I was born to play hockey. I’ll play as long as I can, as long as I’m healthy.”
"Jumbo Joe" Thornton est à Davos jusqu'à la reprise de la NHL !
À 41 ans, le 🇨🇦🇨🇭 a encore une grosse envie de glace ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/WAjxkeu4Ut
— MySports_CH_fr (@MySports_CH_fr) October 15, 2020
Special thanks to davos1921 for his help translating the HC Davos press release. Follow Renato for all your Joe Thornton in Switzerland updates!
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Does anyone feel if there’s indeed a Canadian division this upcoming season, as rumored and talked about for the last while, that might be a factor for Joe to not go to Toronto? With his kids and family in SJ, is it worth it to play in Toronto in a semi-bubble environment for the Leafs instead of Sharks? Of course I would love to see Joe win a cup but I just feel that could be a deciding factor that didn’t exist in other years.
I don’t think his family is really bound by that. It isn’t like his wife has a job she has to go to in SJ. He could easily rent a nice place in Toronto, and he plans on retiring in Switzerland, so it isn’t like he has to maintain SJ residence or anything. The part that confuses me about this is Toronto isn’t exactly a contender. Obviously, the Leafs had a better season last year, but I could easily see the Leafs missing the playoffs next year. It isn’t like this is some sure fire conference finals team. By points… Read more »
To answer your question, Gary, as far as I know, there’s no expected barrier for his family to go to Canada if they so choose. At least, I don’t know that to be a thing that’s holding back UFAs. But of course, his family is important and could factor into any decision. The Leafs aren’t a sure-fire contender by any means, but in terms of talent and ceiling, I don’t know if there’s any comparison between Toronto and San Jose. SJS does have its stars, of course, but not young stars in the Matthews and Marner stratosphere. So I wouldn’t… Read more »
What I meant was his children would be in school in SJ and probably doesn’t want to be in Toronto , but then again, I am not even sure what the education system is like right now in sj and whether you can do classes remotely for kids at that age. Haha sorry I don’t know any of this and probably shouldn’t have brought it up.