Joe Thornton: On Pace for an NHL First

by: Michael P. Kelly

‘Tis the season for giving and nobody in the National Hockey League does it better than Joe Thornton. The Bay Area Benefactor has tallied 37 assists in 34 games, and has scored more points than anyone else in the league. Jumbo Joe has more helpers than Santa Claus. He’s fired more passes at teammates than Tiger Woods has at cocktail waitresses. Joe Thornton is the ultimate wingman; caddy Steve Williams is a close second. Alright, enough Tiger jokes for now, back to Thornton. The guy is on pace for 89 assists which would be the second highest total of his career. What interests most people about the season Joe Thornton is having is how many assists he may end up with. Will he break the 100 mark, maybe? The more compelling story for me is how many goals he will have scored when the regular season ends.

Joe Thornton leads the league in scoring with 44 points. Of those 44 points, just 7 are goals. If Thornton continues scoring goals at this pace he will finish the season with 16 or 17 goals, depending if you round up or down. Fascinating, I know. However, what will be fascinating is if Thornton winds up leading the league in points at seasons end, with so few goals. Presently, the lowest goal total of any scoring champion is 17, scored by Bill Cowley in 1940-41. Keep in mind that NHL teams played only 46 games in a season back then, Thornton plays 82. That’s right, no one in over 90 years of NHL play has ever led the league in points, while scoring fewer than 17 goals, which is what Joe Thornton is on pace to do this season. So what does that tell us? It tells me that many of today’s NHL superstars are specializing in one facet of the game and not apologizing for it.

Look down the NHL scoring leader list and you will notice a large discrepancy between goals and assists.

Rank          Name                   Goals           Assists                  Difference

1 J. Thornton        7                      37                                30

12 Getzlaf               6                      30                                24

15 Stastny              8                      26                                18

16 Plekanec           6                      28                                22

19 St. Louis            6                      27                                21

23 Green                6                      26                                20

26 Kaberle             2                      29                                27

It is not just the playmakers putting up lopsided numbers either. Seldom in the past were many instances where top point scorers would have more goals than assists. That is a common occurrence this season.

Rank          Name                   Goals          Assists                  Difference

2                      Gaborik             23                    19                                4

4                      Crosby              20                    18                                2

6                      Heatley             21                    16                                5

7                      Ovechkin          21                    16                                5

14                    Marleau            20                    14                                6

27                    Cammalleri     18                    12                                6

28                    Stamkos          17                    13                                4

Players are clearly playing to their strengths. Teams would rather a ‘Joe’ in spades than a jack of all trades. The top team in each conference today features multiple players that specialize in one aspect of the game. Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin are an example in Washington. Thornton and Dany Heatley are tearing it up in San Jose. One sets up, the other finishes, simple as that. Many wondered why the Chicago Blackhawks signed Marian Hossa this off-season, knowing they would have to part ways with one or two younger player to fit him under the cap. Perhaps they are trying to follow this mold. Putting Hossa with a world class playmaker like Kane could elevate the Hawks to the elite level they hope to operate on. This strategy has proven successful in the regular season; the playoffs are another matter. Washington and San Jose have never won a Stanley Cup; the Blackhawks are mired in the longest cup drought of any NHL team that has won it. Only time will tell.

As for Thornton, hard to say if it will be labeled a dubious record, potentially finishing with the lowest goal total of any league scoring champion. I doubt the power forward loses much sleep over the fact that he has just 7 goals in 34 games. Besides, if Joe one day decides he wants to master the art of scoring, Tiger Woods is just a phone call away.

Lookout Crosby Ovechkin – here comes Joe

Michael P. Kelly

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