‘Next Year’ is Now for Thornton, Sharks

PITTSBURGH — Joe Thornton has seen the Stanley Cup awarded in person once in his life.

It was 1997, and he was 17, a top NHL prospect. Agents Mike Barnett and Eddie Mio had an office in Detroit and season tickets in the lower bowl behind the net at Joe Louis Arena. Mio said he thought it would be a good experience for him to see the Red Wings face the Philadelphia Flyers in the Final.

He went to Game 4 with his brother John, a huge Steve Yzerman fan and the reason he started wearing No. 19. They witnessed the Red Wings end their 42-year championship drought, arena rocking, confetti falling. They saw Yzerman — the guy critics had said couldn’t win, the guy the team had almost traded — lift the Cup for the first time at age 32.

John said they were “bawling” at the sight of it.

“I didn’t know his struggles or anything like that at the time,” Joe said. “I just thought, ‘This guy’s the man, and he won it.’ That’s all I thought, ‘Wow, that’s Stevie Yzerman, and he’s hoisting the Cup. What a special moment.’ “

Two weeks later, Joe was selected by the Boston Bruins as the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft at Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

Nineteen years later, his San Jose Sharks are trying to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in their 25-year history, facing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Final. Game 1 is at Consol Energy Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports), across the street from where old Civic Arena used to be.

The Bruins traded Joe to the Sharks in 2005-06, the season he won the Hart Trophy. The Sharks stripped him of the captaincy two years ago after they blew a 3-0 series lead and lost to the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. He might have been traded if not for a no-move clause in his contract, and here he is four wins from winning the Cup for the first time at age 36.

“I can’t imagine the feeling if Joe gets that chance,” John said.

Joe’s primary motivation isn’t to prove people wrong. He has enough confidence to know how good he is. He has enough perspective to know winning isn’t everything and one player can’t do it all in such a team sport.

Asked at Media Day on Sunday about being a scapegoat in Boston and San Jose, he said: “Really, if you know me, it doesn’t affect me. I know I’m a great player. I know we’ve had some great teams. It just hasn’t mixed. It does take 20 guys, and that’s just the reality …

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