Sheng’s Daily: Thornton to Toronto (Again)?

Many happy returns for the San Jose Sharks?

Patrick Marleau and Matt Nieto are back!

We heard from Marleau, Nieto, and Doug Wilson yesterday — Wilson was interesting, acknowledging his roster construction mistakes earlier this year and revealing a little bit about how the San Jose Sharks might play next season.

Marleau, Nieto & Wilson Talk About Joe Thornton, Mistakes Made

Sharks Bring Back Marleau, Nieto

And who are the best UFAs left?

The Best Free Agents (Sharks) Money Can Buy!

In other San Jose Sharks news…

Aaron Dell is headed to Toronto:

View this post on Instagram

Couldn’t be more excited to sign another NHL contract and to join the @mapleleafs! Ready to get started on the ice and ready to turn @heyniclovin into a Canadian girl. San Jose, I’ll always be grateful for my time here and my start in the NHL. The Sharks organization gave me an incredible opportunity and I’ll forever be thankful. See you soon Toronto! 🍁🔵⚪️

A post shared by Aaron Dell (@adell32) on Oct 13, 2020 at 6:57pm PDT

Will Joe Thornton join him? It’s the rumor that never dies, but according to James Mirtle, some Maple Leafs players have reached out to Thornton urging him to join them. I dug into it a little bit — and I’m hearing this is a real possibility. It doesn’t mean it’ll happen, of course, as Toronto is up against the cap:

I shoo-shooed Thornton to Toronto after they re-signed Spezza, but digging into this a bit, I think it's a real possibility: https://t.co/wzGWOcSKE4

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 13, 2020

Around the NHL…

A lot to unpack here from Jimmy Murphy: Because of injuries, both Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak are likely to miss the projected January 1st season opening, but Jeremy Jacobs may be preventing Don Sweeney from getting help…

With Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak unable to start the 2021 season if it begins on January 1, will #NHLBruins GM Don Sweeney get another top 6 forward, or is he under an internal spending cap from owner Jeremy Jacobs?

My take for @BOSHockeyNow:https://t.co/RNkDPknwOI

— MurphysLaw74 (@MurphysLaw74) October 13, 2020

Source: Increasing optimism for the 2020-21 AHL season

In-Depth: Alex Pietrangelo Goes Gold

Noah Dobson’s Time is Now After Islanders Trade Devon Toews | NYHN+

Is Brendan Gallagher on the block? What’s the latest on Tyler Johnson? (TSN)

Scott Burnside has a terrific piece taking us into the Carolina Hurricanes war room during the Draft and free agency. (The Athletic)

Stars owner Tom Gaglardi’s mounting financial difficulties lead to more furloughs. (The Athletic)

An interesting piece by Jack Han about why Soviet hockey ignored “handedness fetish” when putting together units and how it benefited them. (The Hockey Tactics Newsletter)

How Meghan Duggan transformed hockey and those around it. (The Athletic)