TORONTO — Joe Thornton always did things his way.

Larger than life on the ice and away from the rink, the big forward with a radiating personality, elite vision, soft hands and a sparkling smile has been unapologetically unique since stepping into the NHL spotlight at age 18.

Now, the man affectionately known as “Jumbo Joe” is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Thornton was inducted Monday alongside fellow 2025 class members Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker in the player category.

Jack Parker and Danièle Sauvageau were enshrined as builders.

Selected first at the 1997 draft by the Boston Bruins, Thornton’s trajectory took off after a trade to the San Jose Sharks. He spent 14 seasons in California, winning the scoring title and Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2005-06, and was the third player to lead the NHL in assists three straight seasons.

“As long as I can remember, my year consisted of going from road hockey right to the backyard rink,” Thornton said of his childhood during a tear-filled speech. “There was only one season for me — it was hockey season.”

Thornton topped San Jose in scoring eight times, including five straight seasons, and helped the Sharks make the 2016 Stanley Cup final.

The 46-year-old, who played 24 NHL seasons and won Olympic gold with Canada in 2010, put up 1,539 points in 1,714 regular-season games in a career that ended with pit stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. He finished 12th in scoring, seventh in assists and sixth in games played.

“Winning the gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 was truly electric,” Thornton said. “I remember leaving the arena and I looked to my left, and I saw a naked woman on the back of a motorcycle waving a Canadian flag.

“I looked to my pregnant wife, and I said, ‘I am so proud to be Canadian.'”

Chara, 48, was drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996 and traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 before signing with the Boston Bruins.

The 6-foot-9 blueliner played 14 seasons in Beantown — all as captain — from 2006 through 2020. Boston won the Cup in 2011 and made the final two other times.

The second European captain to hoist hockey’s holy grail, Chara competed at three Olympics and seven world championships. He captured the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2009, and finished his career with the Washington Capitals before returning to the Islanders.

“Growing up in small town in Slovakia — Trencin — you don’t dream about nights like this,” Chara said. “You dream about a patch of ice that doesn’t melt before we finish practice. You dream about finding a stick that’s not broken or skates that can still fit for a couple of years.”

Keith played 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, winning the Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The 42-year-old won Olympic gold for Canada in 2010 before topping the podium again in 2014, twice claimed the Norris Trophy and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2015. Keith played one campaign with the Edmonton Oilers before retiring in 2022.

“You can’t chase a dream alone,” he said. “And you can never lift the Cup or wear a gold medal on your own. You lift it with everybody that ever lifted you.”

Botterill played for Canada at four Olympics, winning three gold medals and a silver. She was part of five championship performances and three second-place finishes at the worlds, including taking MVP honors in 2001.

“My parents said they always knew that the sport of hockey was something special,” the 46-year-old broadcaster said. “Every time I was on the ice playing, they said they could see my smile through the cage. I carried that very same smile throughout my entire career.”

Decker won gold at the 2018 Olympics with the U.S. and owns two silver medals. The 34-year-old forward from Dousman, Wisconsin, also won the worlds six times, along with a couple of second-place finishes.

“Hockey has given me so much,” Decker said. “It’s given me lifelong friendships, unforgettable memories, and now this incredible honor.”

Sauvageau, 63, took part in six Olympics either behind the bench or in management for Canada, including the country’s 2002 run to gold as coach. The Montreal-born trailblazer — the hall’s first female builder — is currently general manager of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Victoire in her hometown.

“I dreamt of a life that did not exist,” she said. “And I have lived a life that I could not imagine.”

Parker, 80, led Boston University’s men’s program from 1973 through 2013, winning three national championships. He was also named NCAA coach of the year three times.

Mogilny, who skipped the week of celebrations, defected from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1989. He set career highs with 76 goals and 127 points with the 1992-1993 Buffalo Sabres — the most by a Soviet/Russian player.

The 56-year-old hoisted the Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000 in a career that included stints with the Leafs and Vancouver Canucks, finishing with 1,032 points in 990 regular-season games.

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude,” Mogilny said in a recorded message. “Not just for this honor, but for the incredible journey that brought me here.”

NEW YORK — Nashville Predators star Ryan O’Reilly said he regrets a frustration-fueled postgame rant last week in which he blamed himself for the team’s struggles.

“I think it came off as, ‘Gosh, you sound like a crybaby,'” he told ESPN on Monday.

After the Predators lost to the Philadelphia Flyers last Thursday, O’Reilly offered a brutal assessment of his own play, saying Nashville won’t have success “if I’m playing pathetic like that” as a No. 1 center. “[I] turn the puck over everywhere. Can’t make a six-foot pass to save my life,” O’Reilly said in a video clip that went viral. “It’s stupid. I’ve had one good year in my career. I don’t have an answer, that’s for sure.”

O’Reilly said that he “should have just bit my tongue” after the game. “Obviously, you don’t want things to get out there and it doesn’t look good on anyone on the team. I think I sound a bit like a baby where I should have politely shut up and be better and then that’s it,” he said.

The 34-year-old center has 6 goals and 6 assists in 17 games this season. His 12 points are second on the team in scoring. This is O’Reilly’s third season with the Predators. He won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

The Predators are 5-8-4 heading into their game at the New York Rangers on Monday night. They were 5-9-3 in their first 17 games last season before eventually finishing 7th in the Central Division, 28 points outside of the last Western Conference playoff spot.

O’Reilly didn’t like that his rant last week brought added attention to a Nashville team that’s once again off to a slow start. “Obviously that [frustration] gets out there and it doesn’t look good on anyone on the team. You don’t want to draw attention to anything like that for our team,” he said.

However, the Predators center was optimistic things are better for Nashville than they were last season at this time.

“I think we’re much better defensively. Bounces aren’t going our way, but it’s a long season. We’re not giving up by any means and we’re going to keep fighting to find it,” he said. “Being a No. 1 center on this team, I think I do have to be better. It’s simple as that. I just maybe could have worded it a little bit better [last week].”

Buffalo Sabres center Jiri Kulich will miss “significant time” with a blood clot, coach Lindy Ruff said Monday.

The 21-year-old, who is entering his second full season, was anchoring the Sabres’ top line, but Kulich has missed his team’s past three games. His most recent appearance came Nov. 1 against the Washington Capitals when he had only 11:19 of ice time.

Kulich has scored three goals and has five points in 12 games while averaging 16:21 in ice time this season.

“It’s related to a blood clot that was found,” Ruff told reporters after practice. “I’m not going to go any further into detail, but pretty serious.”

Ruff said that he does expect Kulich to play again this season while noting that a timeline “depends on how things go here in the next three or four weeks.”

Losing Kulich has implications for both the Sabres and Czechia’s men’s national team with the Winter Olympics set to start Feb. 11 in Milan-Cortina.

The Sabres were already without forwards Zach Benson, Justin Danforth, Josh Norris and Jason Zucker this season. On Nov. 7, they announced that captain and No. 1 defenseman Rasmus Dahlin was taking a leave of absence to join his fiancée in Sweden while she continues to recover from a heart transplant. There was no timetable for Dahlin’s return.

Ruff said after practice Monday that Benson is making progress while he recovers from a lower-body injury but is not ready to practice. Zucker, who has had a flu-like illness, will not join the Sabres for their three-game trip starting Wednesday against the Utah Mammoth.

Kulich’s absence means the Sabres could continue to use Ryan McLeod as their first-line center with Noah Ostlund, Tyson Kozak and Peyton Krebs filling out the rest of the lineup down the middle.

Then there’s the impact it has on Czechia’s Olympic roster.

Having proven veteran centers such as Pavel Zacha of the Boston Bruins and Tomas Hertl of the Vegas Golden Knights likely means that Kulich would have been used as a top-six left winger on the second line alongside Hertl and Colorado Avalanche winger Martin Necas.

If Kulich does miss the Olympics, it would prompt Czechia’s selection staff to find a replacement forward for a national team that is already expected to have several players from outside the NHL on its roster.

The 2024-25 campaign saw Kulich, a first-round pick in 2022 by the Sabres, score 15 goals and 24 points in 65 games. He tied for seventh in goals on a Sabres team that finished seventh in the eight-team Atlantic Division.

Entering Monday, the Sabres (5-6-4) were last in the Atlantic Division and were tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the fewest points in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres, who haven’t reached the playoffs since 2011, are four points clear of the Calgary Flames for the fewest in the NHL this season.