Joe Thornton, amid laughs and tears, joins hockey immortals in Hall of Fame

A teary-eyed Joe Thornton thanked his family his former teammates and the NHL organizations he played for including the Sharks as he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night in Toronto Thornton was part of an esteemed Class of which included former NHL stars Zdeno Chara Duncan Keith and Alexander Mogilny and women s hockey greats Brianna Decker and Jennifer Botterill in the Competitor Category and coaches Jack Parker and Dani le Sauvageau in the Builder Category Thornton and Keith helped Canada win the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Parker the former longtime coach at Boston University was a mentor to several former Sharks players and to ex-Sharks coach David Quinn Thornton noted after he won Olympic gold he saw a naked woman on a motorcycle waving a maple leaf flag and declared I looked at my pregnant Swiss wife Tabea and declared I m so proud to be Canadian Several of Thornton s former teammates including Patrick Marleau Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture plus members of the Sharks front office and organization were in Toronto to be a part of the celebration Thornton was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in June in his first year of eligibility and became the first athlete who spent the majority of his career with the Sharks to be inducted Considering what Thornton accomplished in his career it s not hard to see why Nicknamed Jumbo a nod to Jumbo the elephant who as part of the Barnum Bailey Circus died in a train accident in in his hometown of St Thomas Thornton won the Hart Trophy and led the NHL in scoring in - and his points rank him th all-time Thornton was drafted No overall by Boston in and played eight seasons with the Bruins In that time Thornton captained the Bruins from to and led the crew in scoring three times including points in - In the bulk notable exchange in Sharks history Thornton was acquired by San Jose from Boston on Nov He played seasons with the Sharks from to and in his first season with San Jose Thornton led the NHL in scoring with points winning the Art Ross Trophy He also won the Hart Trophy as the performer adjudged to be bulk valuable to his club becoming the first athlete in NHL history to win the scoring title after being traded mid-season I was with my parents my girlfriend when I got a phone call and I was narrated I was traded to San Jose Thornton explained of the November business that sent him from the Boston Bruins to the Sharks It was a hard scarce hours but then it hit me I m I m in the prime of my career so let s go west I played two nights later and our head coach Ronnie Wilson one of the best revealed Joe just go play hockey ' Joe Thornton discusses his agreement from Boston to San Jose in his Hall of Fame speech pic twitter com dL mszgGPL TSN TSN Sports November Thornton was only the third performer in NHL history to lead the league in assists three consecutive seasons He led the Sharks in scoring eight times and helped lead the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in Thornton was named to the NHL s First All-Star Gang in - and the Second All-Star Gang in - Being a Shark is something I m extremely proud of and I sure have been enjoying watching the organization play this year Thornton disclosed as he acknowledged Macklin Celebrini who is staying at Thornton s house in the South Bay Macklin I can t wait to continue being roommates with you I ll be coming in hot Thornton finished his playing career with one-year stints in Toronto - and Florida - and officially reported his retirement on Oct In regular-season games Thornton had goals and assists for points th the greater part all-time Thornton also had points in NHL playoff games Internationally Thornton helped Canada win gold at the World Junior Championship and the and World Cup of Hockey The Sharks retired his number in and earlier this year he was named to the NHL Quarter Century Band Thornton officially began his three-day celebration on Saturday as he and other honored members of this year s class received their Hall of Fame rings and blazers Thornton returned to his hometown of St Thomas on Saturday night and was honored by one of his youth hockey teams the St Thomas Stars at the arena that bears his name This year s inductees were recognized Sunday night before the Toronto Maple Leafs played the Carolina Hurricanes at Scotiabank Arena