Joe Thornton is known for many things throughout his hockey career. He's known for having a grizzly beard that would make Grizzly Adams blush. He's also known for scoring 430 goals and 1,109 assists during his 24-year career.
However, he's also known for another thing: being a Hall of Famer. The San Jose Sharks legend was elected to the 2025 Hall of Fame class, joining Alexander Mogilny and Zdeno Chara, among others.
Therefore, congratulations to the legendary forward for being recognized for his illustrious hockey career. It's not easy playing 24 years in the NHL, especially when the wear and tear eats away at your body. But you did something a mortal man couldn't: play for two decades while scoring a ton of points.
While all that sounds nice, there is a slight smudge on the new Hall of Famer's career. Thornton is also known for being the victim of the Vegas Golden Knights' success. He has only scored a goal and recorded three assists in 10 games against Vegas in his illustrious career. On top of that, he has a plus/minus rating of -8 against the Golden Knights.
In comparison, Joe Pavelski has had a more successful career against the boys in gold. He scored six goals and five assists in 17 games. He also had a plus/minus of +4, proving to be the ultimate pain in the patoosh for Vegas.
Golden Knights fans have bragging rights over San Jose Sharks fans regarding Joe Thornton
Let's face it. Golden Knights fans aren't too keen on the San Jose Sharks. Memories of 2019 linger on like a rude driver on the road or a cranky in-law (by the way, that wasn't a major). However, fans can take solace in knowing they took care of the Sharks' latest Hall of Fame inductee. On top of that, he was eliminated by those same Golden Knights in 2018.
It's enough to make a bellhop's head explode. One goal and three assists in 10 games? That's pretty darn good. It's enough to get you going on a bad day.
That's what makes this even better for Las Vegas. They can lay claim to being the one team that Joe Thornton simply couldn't figure out, en route to making the Hall of Fame. Some might call it "some revenge" for 2019. But hey, a Stanley Cup in 2023 already did that.