The Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee announced today that Joe Thornton, one of San Jose’s most iconic NHL players, has been selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Player Category. He joins Jennifer Botterill, Zdeno Chara, Brianna Decker, Duncan Keith and Alexander Mogilny in the Player Category, as well as Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau in the Builder Category as part of the 2025 class. The official induction ceremony will be held during the Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Weekend from Nov. 7-9, 2025, culminating with the induction celebration on Monday, Nov. 10.
Thornton authored one of the most prolific careers in National Hockey League history, beginning with being selected first overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1997 NHL Draft, appearing in his first NHL game on Oct. 8, 1997, and proceeded to play for the franchise into the 2005-06 season, before the Sharks completed one of the most historic trades in the National Hockey League.
Thornton’s trade to the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 30, 2005 set in motion the most successful era in Sharks franchise history. From his first game with the Sharks on Dec. 2, 2005 until the end of the 2019-20 season when Thornton departed the team, no NHL team accumulated more standings points than the Sharks (1,443) and only the Pittsburgh Penguins (660) won more regular season games than the Sharks (659). In that span, the Sharks won 80 Stanley Cup Playoff games (T-3rd in the NHL), appeared in four Conference Finals (2010, 2011, 2016, 2019) and reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.
Thornton concluded his remarkable playing career following the 2021-22 season and his career statistics place him amongst the greatest players to ever play the game – and as the playmaker of his generation. From the time he entered the NHL in 1997-98 through his final NHL game, no player scored more points than Thornton (1,539) or collected more assists (1,109). Only Patrick Marleau played in more regular season games (1,779) than Thornton (1,714).
On Nov. 23, 2024, he became the second player in Sharks franchise history to have the distinguished recognition of having his jersey number retired, joining Marleau, whose No. 12 was retired on Feb. 25, 2023.
Among all NHL players all-time, Thornton ranks 14th in points, seventh in assists, and sixth in games played. He is one of only 14 NHL players to ever eclipse the 1,000-assist mark and was just the seventh player in NHL history to skate in 1,500 games, collect 1,000 assists and score 400 goals.
As a San Jose Shark, his name is at or near the top of nearly every franchise regular season statistical category: 1,055 points (2nd), 804 assists (1st), 251 goals (4th), 1,104 games played (3rd), +161 (1st), 631 penalty minutes (4th), 402 power-play points (1st), 87 power-play goals (3rd), and 40 game-winning goals (4th).
Thornton’s career is filled with milestones and accomplishments – most of which were accomplished while wearing a Sharks sweater.
Thornton was named the winner of both the Art Ross Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy in 2006, the season he was acquired by San Jose. He was selected to six NHL All-Star Games (2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009), and was named an NHL First All-Star Team in 2006, and an NHL Second All-Star Team in 2003, 2008 and 2016.
Other major career milestones include:
- In 2006-07, Thornton became only the third player in NHL history to have back-to-back 90-plus assist seasons (96 in 2005-06, 92 in 2006-07), joining only Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
- 1,000th NHL Game – Oct. 21, 2011 at New Jersey
- 1,000th NHL Point – April 8, 2011 at Arizona
- 1,000th NHL Assist – March 6, 2017 at Winnipeg
- 1,500th NHL Game – Nov. 8, 2018 at Dallas
- 400th NHL Goal – Nov. 13, 2018 vs. Nashville
- 1,000th Game as a Shark – Jan. 15, 2019 vs. Pittsburgh
- 1,500th NHL Point – Feb. 4, 2020 at Calgary
- Became the first set of teammates (Marleau) in NHL history to play in the same game having both played in 1,600 regular-season games, Dec .12, 2019 vs NY Rangers
- On Jan. 2, 2020 at Pittsburgh, Thornton and Marleau became the 13th and 14th players in NHL history (along with Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara) to play at least one game in four separate decades.
- One of five NHL players to lead the League in assists for three consecutive seasons (Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr, Stan Mikita and Henrik Sedin).
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Thornton appeared in a combined 187 games with Boston, San Jose and Florida, collecting 134 points (32 goals, 102 assists). During his era between 1997-2022, Thornton ranked fifth in postseason games played, fourth in assists, and seventh in points among all NHL players.
Thornton was named the Sharks Player of the Year three times (2006, 2007, 2016) and the Sharks Player of the Month 13 times.
Internationally, Thornton represented his native Canada on numerous occasions, including the Men’s Winter Olympics (2010 {gold medal} and 2006), the World Cup of Hockey (gold medals in 2004 and 2016), the World Championships (2001 and 2005 {silver medal}) and the 1997 World Junior Championships (gold medal).
