Sharks to retire Thornton’s No. 19 in 2024-25

The San Jose Sharks will retire Joe Thornton’s number at some point next season, the team announced Wednesday.

Thornton, who wore No. 19, will become just the second player in Sharks history to have his number retired. Patrick Marleau watched his No. 12 go into the rafters at SAP Center in February.

A date for the ceremony has not been determined, the team said.

“It has been an honor and a privilege to play in the National Hockey League for 24 seasons,” Thornton said in a statement released by the team. “But when I came to San Jose, it felt like I was truly home. I fell in love with the area and the people, and I had the best years of my career wearing the Sharks crest.”

Thornton spent 15 seasons of his 24-year career playing for the Sharks. His career started with the Boston Bruins after they selected him with the first pick of the 1997 NHL draft. He played eight years with the Bruins before spending the next decade-plus with the Sharks, where he was one of the faces of a franchise that won four division championships and a Presidents’ Trophy and made its lone Stanley Cup Final appearance in 2015-16.

Thornton, who won both the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy in 2005-06, is the Sharks’ all-time leader in assists and power-play points. He is second in points and fourth in goals.

His final season with the Sharks came in 2019-20 with Thornton spending the last two years of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2020-21 and the Florida Panthers in 2021-22. Thornton announced his retirement from the NHL in October.

“Jumbo was the best playmaker of his generation and I feel lucky to have gotten to play with and against him,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “On the ice, his size, strength and IQ made him impossible to defend but off the ice, he was the most caring and generous teammate I have ever had. He’s a special player and person and is very deserving of this honor.”