Thornton’s No. 19 raised to rafters in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Joe Thornton spent a career setting up his teammates with the perfect passes that helped them score goals.
His jersey retirement ceremony Saturday was an opportunity for his former San Jose teammates to dish out the compliments for his play, leadership and friendship in tributes that repeatedly forced him to wipe away tears on an emotional afternoon.
“The best thing hockey ever gave me — friends for life,” Thornton said during a lengthy speech that included thanks to his former teammates, coaches, executives and family members that helped him throughout his career.
Thornton walked out to the ceremony nattily dressed in a black suit and top hat. He walked through the current members of the Sharks — wearing fake beards in his honor — before coming through the famed Shark head to thunderous applause.
Dozens of his former teammates were on hand and gave tributes on a lengthy video to the player simply known as “Jumbo.”
“It feels good to be back,” Thornton said.
With his pinpoint passing, infectious joy and signature beard, Thornton became the face of the Sharks franchise and was honored with his No. 19 jersey being raised to the rafters.
Thornton joins longtime teammate Patrick Marleau as the only players to have their jerseys retired by the Sharks. It’s fitting that they are side by side as the entered the NHL as the top two picks in the 1997 draft and spent 13 seasons together in San Jose.
“Thank you for making hockey fun, even in the hardest moments,” Marleau said in his tribute. “I’m very thankful and honored that your banner is going to be up next to mine.”
Thornton entered the NHL as the No. 1 overall pick by Boston but had his greatest success in 15 seasons with San Jose following a trade to the Sharks on Nov. 30, 2005.
Thornton ranks first in Sharks history with 804 assists, second with 1,055 points, third with 1,104 games played and fourth with 251 goals. He helped transform the Sharks from a middling franchise to a perennial contender.
“San Jose is his city and the Sharks are his team,” former teammate Joe Pavelski said in his first public appearance at the Shark Tank since retiring last season in Dallas.
Thornton played 1,714 regular-season games over his career, recording 1,109 assists and 430 goals. He was a four-time All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist for Canada in 2010 and won the Hart Trophy as MVP and Art Ross Trophy as scoring leader in 2005-06 after getting traded early that season from Boston to San Jose.
Thornton ranks seventh alltime in assists, 14th in points with 1,539 and sixth in games played.
About the only thing Thornton didn’t accomplish was winning a Stanley Cup, losing in his only trip to the final round in 2016 with the Sharks against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
But with his pristine playmaking schools and iconic beard, Thornton became the face of the Sharks franchise after being acquired from Boston on Nov. 30, 2005.
San Jose had only intermittent success before his arrival but made the playoffs all but two seasons during Thornton’s time with the Sharks with the best regular-season record in the NHL in that span.
He helped the team win the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best record in 2008-09, make back-to-back conference finals appearances in 2010 and ’11, the Stanley Cup final in 2016 and another trip to the Western Conference final in 2019.
“Thank you, Sharks fans,” Thornton said to end his speech, “and like I said when I retired, ‘I’ll see you at the rink. Peace and love. Go Sharks.'”
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
East Carolina is set to promote interim coach Blake Harrell to be the school’s next coach, sources told ESPN on Monday.
Harrell is 4-0 since taking over on Oct. 20, and East Carolina is 7-4 overall on the season.
ECU’s board still needs to meet to formally approve a contract for Harrell, sources told ESPN. That meeting is expected to be called in the upcoming days and a decision is expected to be formalized this week, sources said.
East Carolina brass have been impressed with the “contagious energy” that Harrell has brought to the job, as there’s a belief at ECU that the job should be one of the best in the AAC in its current iteration. ECU has a 50,000-seat stadium and a passionate fan base, and the coaching search was centered around someone that could maximize the job.
Harrell has rallied the team with a hands-on style, as he’s scaled back practices to keep players fresh and put a focus on maximizing their experience since taking over.
The players have responded with wins over Temple, Florida Atlantic, at Tulsa and at North Texas.
ECU fell behind 21-0 to UNT on Saturday and stormed back for an emphatic 40-28 win. In the aftermath of that emotional victory, the players amplified their rallying cry to keep Harrell as the head coach.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Katin Houser, who has thrown 13 touchdown passes in Harrell’s four games as interim coach, posted “Wewantharrell” on social media to express his support for Harrell to get the full-time job. Others who went public with their support included veteran tailback Rahjai Harris and senior tackle Parker Moorer.
Harrell, 46, was promoted to interim from his job as East Carolina’s defensive coordinator. He’s got deep rooting in the Carolinas, as he graduated Western Carolina and has an MBA from Lenoir-Rhyne. He coached in high school in North Carolina and began his full-time college coaching career with jobs at Lenoir-Rhyne and The Citadel.
Harrell also had a stint outside the Carolinas at Kennesaw State as the defensive coordinator in 2019, where he had a top-five FCS defense.
Harrell is set to take over for Mike Houston, who was fired in his sixth season after going 27-38. ECU hasn’t won a league title since Skip Holtz led them to a Conference USA crown in 2009,
Harrell’s expected promotion marks the first of the six American Athletic Conference jobs to fill this year. The remaining open jobs are Tulsa, FAU, Rice, Charlotte and Temple.
ECU plays Navy on Saturday to close out the regular season. A win would mark just the second time since 2014 that ECU has won eight games.
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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
Left-handed starter Yusei Kikuchi is in agreement with the Los Angeles Angels on a three-year, $63 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN on Monday.
Kikuchi, 33, had a great second half to his season last year after being traded from the Toronto Blue Jays to the Houston Astros, compiling a 2.70 ERA in 10 starts.
Overall, he had a 4.05 ERA in 2024, making 32 starts split between the two teams. He made 32 starts in 2023 as well while appearing in 32 games in 2022 and 29 games in 2021. That durability undoubtedly helped secure his current deal with the Angels.
The six-year veteran will be joining his fourth team after breaking into the big leagues with the Seattle Mariners in 2019. His best season came in 2023 when he went 11-6 with a 3.86 ERA for the Blue Jays, helping them make the postseason. His contributions to the Astros last season also helped them reach the postseason, something his new team hasn’t done since 2014.
Kikuchi’s signing adds to a busy offseason for the Angels who already inked another starter, Kyle Hendricks, to a free agent deal. The team also added catcher Travis d’Arnaud via free agency and traded for outfielder Jorge Soler. Los Angeles has been by far the most aggressive team in MLB so far this winter.
MLB Network was the first to report Kikuchi’s signing.
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