San Jose Sharks: Why Joe Thornton's Injury Is a Good Thing

Joe Thornton is the leading scorer for the San Jose Sharks.

Not just this season, either: Jumbo has scored more points as a Shark than anyone else every year except his first (2005-06) in Teal, when he joined two months into the season. That season, he led the entire league and still gave Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo a run for their money in Sharks scoring.

He had also played 379 straight regular season games, and 420 overall. He wears an "A" on his sweater because he compliments his position as one of the great offensive players in the league with good defence, and because he is reliable.

On Saturday, he went awkwardly into the boards and is now day-to-day with a "lower body injury"...I will say what the Sharks will not: Joe hurt his right leg and was not in the lineup on Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche. (For a recap of the weekend's games, please check out Shark-Infested Blogger.)

As the team's top-line centre (although ironically, he started this game for the first time as a Shark on the second line), an injury to Joe is devastating to the Sharks quest to gain the top seed in the West. It may even put their third consecutive division title in jeopardy.

But it is the best thing that could happen for their playoff chances, especially if he misses more than a couple games.

How could this be a good thing? There are several reasons:

1. This team waits too often for Joe to make a play, especially on the power play. This stagnates the offence until they struggle long enough to make the necessary changes, and that has killed them in playoffs past.
   
2. The smaller margin for error on the team should compel them to play with more urgency. This is the kind of adversity (unlike a long streak of poor play that was being called adversity last week) that could prepare the team for the more competitive post-season.
3. Joe has often lacked the necessary passion to succeed in the playoffs, and he will be anxious to get on the ice and get back into form if he misses more than two games.
4. When a player is on the ice for that many minutes for that many consecutive games, there is always a question of fatigue. Once again, if he gets a few games off, that will help him re-charge his battery. (This reason should also be applied to Evgeni Nabokov.)
   
5. The thing the Sharks have lacked in this season and in playoffs past is secondary scoring. Other players forced to step up now can be more ready to do so when it counts.
   

For these reasons, I would hold him out if there is even the slightest soreness for his and the team's own good. He should be put back in for at least a couple games in the final week if he is ready to play so he can get back into a rhythm with his linemates.

The division does not matter as much as having a healthy, rested, and eager Joe in late April. The Sharks are already three points away from securing home ice in the first round, and that means much more than being a first or second seed.

In fact, as a fourth seed, San Jose could very well get a better match-up (i.e. not the Red Wings) than by winning the division. But the real issue is that the loss of any one player, even Thornton, should not prevent a contending team from winning a division when they are four points up with six games remaining.

Even if Joe misses the entire four-game road trip, the Sharks host Vancouver and their hunters, the Phoenix Coyotes, for the last games of the season. I hope Jumbo comes back only for those two challenging teams to prepare himself for playoff intensity...his team should already be there.