Source: Sharks to sign Joe Thornton to one-year deal

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UPDATE (5:57pm PDT on Sunday): The Sharks announced Sunday evening that they have re-signed Joe Thornton to a one-year deal. According to the Top Shelf Hockey agency, the deal is worth $8 million.

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SAN JOSE – The greatest player to ever lace up the skates for the San Jose Sharks organization, Joe Thornton will remain with the team on a one-year contract, NBC Sports California has learned.

TSN's Bob McKenzie reports that Thornton will earn "closer to $6.5 million than $6 million" in 2017-18 when the deal is finalized.

There was widespread interest around the league in Thornton, an unrestricted free agent, but in the end he chose to return to the organzation with which he has spent the past 11-and-a-half seasons of his career. 

In 914 games with the Sharks, Thornton has 215 goals and a franchise-record 722 assists for 937 points. Since he was traded to the Sharks on Dec. 1, 2005, only Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby have more points, and the Sharks’ winning percentage of .637 since the trade is the best mark in the NHL.
 
In 19 seasons in the NHL with the Sharks and Bruins, Thornton has 1,391 points, placing him 23rd all-time in NHL history. He is 13th all-time in league history with 1,007 assists.
 
In 2017-18, Thornton, who turns 38 on Sunday, posted seven goals and 43 assists for 50 points in 79 games.  He suffered torn ligaments in his left knee in a game in Vancouver on April 2, forcing him to miss the final three regular season games and first two games of the Sharks’ first round series loss to Edmonton. He returned in Game 3, somehow playing through a torn MCL and ACL, and underwent surgery on April 24.

Thornton, a six-time NHL All-Star, won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player in 2006. He has represented Canada in the Olympics twice, winning gold in 2010, and was a member of Canada’s triumphant World Cup of Hockey teams in 2004 and 2016. He was named as the Sharks player of the year in 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2015-16.

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