Joe Thornton, a former Boston Bruin and San Jose Shark, formally announced his retirement from the NHL on Saturday. What you should know is as follows:

The 44-year-old, known by his nickname “Jumbo Joe,” spent 24 seasons in the NHL with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, San Jose Sharks, and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins selected Thornton first overall in the 1997 NHL Draft.
In 1,714 career games, Thornton scored 1,539 points, 430 goals, and 1,109 assists.
Thorton took both the Hart Trophy for being the most valuable player in the league and the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points scored in the 2005–06 campaign.

• Boston’s legacy of Thornton

  In 1997, Thornton was selected first overall by the Boston Bruins, where he was projected to become a franchise player. However, he left Boston on November 30, 2005, feeling as though he had not achieved his goals. Under former coach Pat Burns, Thornton began as a fourth-liner at the age of eighteen. Looking back, Burns’ tough style aided Thornton’s adjustment to the NHL and taught him valuable habits off the ice.

  Thornton scored a career-high 101 points in 2002–03, setting a new record. He mostly centering Mike Knuble and Glen Murray on the Bruins’ top line. However, after the lockout, Thornton and the Bruins had a difficult season in 2005–06, leading the team to doubt the center’s future.

  

• In exchange for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm, and Wayne Primeau, Thornton was transferred to the Sharks by former general manager Mike O’Connell. It proved to be one of the NHL’s most lopsided transactions ever.

  Thornton finished his career with 1,055 points in 1,104 Sharks games. The next season, the Bruins traded Stuart and Primeau to the Calgary Flames. Prior to being moved to the Los Angeles Kings, Sturm collected 193 points in 302 games for the Boston Bruins. — Fluto Shinzawa, beat reporter for the Bruins

  The legacy of Thornton in San Jose

  Former general manager Mike O’Connell traded Thornton to the Sharks in return for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm, and Wayne Primeau. It turned out to be one of the most unfair trades ever made by the NHL.

  In 1,104 Sharks games, Thornton concluded his career with 1,055 points. The Bruins dealt Stuart and Primeau to the Calgary Flames for the next season. Sturm had 193 points in 302 games for the Boston Bruins before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings. — Bruins beat reporter Fluto Shinzawa

  Thornton’s legacy in San Jose

• Thornton, who was criticized for his performance in the playoffs while playing with the Bruins, was crucial to San Jose’s 15-year run of club success. ACL and MCL tears kept him out of the 2018 postseason. He made 13 appearances in the playoffs, made four trips to the conference finals, and saw one Stanley Cup Final. The 2015–16 season, in which he scored 80 points in his age-36 season and additional 21 points in 24 postseason games as the Sharks finally advanced to the Cup before falling to Pittsburgh in six games, may have been his most fulfilling.

  

  His 2011 Game 6 winner and celebration after eliminating Los Angeles are ingrained in San Jose legend. His flamboyant reaction to Thomas Hertl’s four-goal performance in 2013 cemented his status as a beloved icon, as did his famous beard and outgoing demeanor. Despite the lack of a Stanley Cup on Thornton’s résumé, the Sharks saw consistent success while he was with the team. In club history, Patrick Marleau’s No. 12 was the first to be retired. It would be logical for them to move No. 19 up to the SAP Center’s attic to join his seasoned comrade.

  Thornton is the Sharks’ all-time leader in assists (804), points (1,055), games (1,104), and goals (251), among other categories. He also leads all San Jose players in scoring per game with 0.96. He is ranked 12th all-time with 1,539 total points. Only Jaromir Jagr, who is 11 years older than him, is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and it seems inevitable that he will be when he becomes eligible for induction. — Eric Stephens, beat reporter for the Sharks