I admit hockey has its own etiquette and I admit I don't ardently follow the Sharks. Having admitted that, I still think Joe Thornton is a chump.
I watched the season-ending game on tv Monday night and two seconds into it, right after the opening draw, Thornton got into one of those hockey fights with Ryan Getzlaf. I was not there and don't know who started it. But come on. The Sharks were facing elimination. It was Thornton's job to focus on the game. It was not his job to make some stupid macho statement.
When I saw what he did I was not impressed. I thought he had his mind on the wrong things and I wondered if fighting after two seconds would help or hurt his team. Guess what.
From what I could see, Thornton beat up Getzlaf. From what I could see Getzlaf scored an insurance goal. From what I could see the Ducks won. So Thornton won the fight and lost the game. Nice going, Joe.
1000 percent right.
I was just having a variation of this conversation with a close friend of mine. If you hurt your team under the guise of "personal honor" I don't find your honorable at all. That fight could have a variety of outcomes and Joe needed to focus on his responsibility to the other members of the team who had worked rear ends off for an entire season. I found it indulgent, ill timed and absurd. Hockey does seem to have a different code but there are other people “available” for this type of activity. It’s a silly as Joe Montana picking a fight in a play-off game. Key players have a responsibility to stay focused and lead!
This all started the game before. Thornton was trying to fire up his team - and maybe himself - by chirping at Getzlaf from the opening puck - challenging his manhood and offering to fight. The Sharks won that game. Looked like the fight in the last game was Getzlaf's idea. He went at Thornton right off the bat and got his butt kicked - but had the last laugh.
Hard to know if fighting does anything much in the playoffs. During the regular season, when the players are sleepwalking (relatively speaking) through games, it can change the momentum sometimes. But in the playoffs the guys are at fever pitch anyway. Give Thornton credit for trying something out of character to inspire his team.
One of my criticisms of the Sharks the last few years is that they aren't as emotional and fiery as they should be. McClellan preaches steadiness and not getting up too high or too low - but I'm not convinced that that is the approach to use.
The Sharks have been built to be big and fast. They are good at battling for puck possession and good at getting pucks to the net. Anaheim was better at defensive positioning, goaltending, avoiding turnovers, and the subtle scoring skills that allowed them to take advantage of their fewer opportunities.
I still do not understand the hockey-related benefits
of stupid fights and stupid penalities, that somehow
"pick up the team"
Thornton would be of much more help to the Sharks
if he did not disappear for long strehes of shifts.
Great statistics during the regular season, but
an underachiever in the playoffs (Barry Bonds used
to have that rap too, but changed later in his
career---I hope Joe does too)
gary