Jumbo Joe Thornton: Can Fans Leave Him Alone?

Now that the Sharks are having all kinds of playoff success, you’d figure the “Joe Thornton sucks,” kind of talk would take a back seat. Not necessarily.

Instead of slamming Thornton directly, now people across the Internet and sports news are simply saying that Joe Pavelski is much better and Thornton still blows it in the playoffs. Give the guy a break already.

As a Shark, Jumbo Joe has 50 play-off games under his belt and over those 50 contests he has 43 points, almost a point per game.

However, he only has eight goals, what do you expect? Joe Thornton isn’t a goal scorer. He’s a distributor. The only two players in the league that rival him for the best pure passing center in the league are Henrik Sedin and Nicklas Backstrom.

Why would Joe Thornton shoot the puck while he’s on the ice with Marleau and Heatley? It’s his job to find those guys, and he does.

35 assists in only 50 playoff games is about 57 over 82. Thornton has averaged about 65 assists per season over his last three campaigns, so are we really so upset with him over eight assists?

Right now the Sharks have to be the hands down favorite to hoist the mug this year.

I really can't see how the Wings will be able to come back from the onslaught the Sharks have pushed on them, especially with Howard in net, who completely blew the game and series last night.

No matter who comes out of the Hawks/Canucks series, I don't think either can handle the Sharks. The only team in the East with a chance against San Jose are the Penguins, which would be a great final.

If San Jose finally get to the Stanley Cup and take it from the Penguins, fans and critics in the sports media might actually give Jumbo Joe a break. But it's not like he ever deserved the scrutiny anyway.

Oldest cliche in the book; you win as a team, and lose as a team. The Sharks are going to win the cup as a team this time around.