The Toronto Maple Leafs added veteran Joe Thornton on a one-year $700K contract last week.
Joe Thornton joined the Toronto Maple Leafs because he “needs to win a Stanley Cup” just like Ray Bourque did with the Colorado Avalanche in 2000. When you’re a veteran athlete who hasn’t won a championship yet, the stress to win eats you up inside. It’s even worse when you’re bound for the Hall-of-Fame.
Every sport has the list of “Greatest to Never Win,” which is one list you don’t want to be on. Although this list is justified, in hockey it’s almost impossible for one forward or defenseman to will a team to victory, despite how great they are. Only a goaltender can win a series by themselves and sometimes that isn’t good enough to get a title (ex. 2002-03 Season: Jean-Sebastien Giguere wins Conn Smythe Trophy for losing team).
However, every day people argue that one player is better than another based on Stanley Cup rings. Is Jonathan Toews better than Joe Thornton because he has three rings and ‘Jumbo’ has zero? Absolutely not. But I’m sure there’s a number of people out there saying that Toews is.
Winning a championship is all about timing. You need to be at the right place at the right time, paired with a goaltender that gets hot for two months. The one time Thornton made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, his team ran into one of the hottest goalies on the planet in Matt Murray who had a 2.00 GAA and .930 save percentage in the playoffs (stats via: hockeydb.com)
That doesn’t mean that ‘Jumbo’ isn’t clutch or can’t get his team over the edge. It’s just incredibly hard to win a Stanley Cup and a team needs everything to go right in order for it to happen, especially stuck in the Western Conference.
Toronto Maple Leafs Could Be 2000-01 Colorado Avalanche
As we approach the 20th anniversary of Ray Bourque winning his first and only Stanley Cup, I can’t help but see a similar narrative with Joe Thornton.
Although the players joined their teams a little differently (Bourque was traded at the 1999-2000 NHL Trade Deadline and Thornton signed), both teams have a ton of similarities.
After playing with the Boston Bruins for 20 years, the only thing that alluded Bourque was a Stanley Cup ring. He made the Finals twice in his career, but had yet to win and that’s all he wanted to do. Linked as the greatest defenseman to never win a championship, a struggling Boston team wasn’t going to win anytime soon, so he was granted his wish and shipped to Colorado.
Despite not winning the Stanley Cup in the limited games he played with the Avalanche in the 1999-2000 season, Bourque returned for one more kick at the can in the 2000-2001 season and finally got his due. That Avalanche team has so many similarities to this current Leafs team.
- Ray Bourque (Leafs Version: Joe Thornton)
- An aging veteran who was the best player at their position in their prime. Winning a Stanley Cup is the only thing left for them to accomplish and they will do anything to make it a reality.
- Joe Sakic (Leafs Version: Combination of Auston Matthews and John Tavares)
- Sakic brings the leadership that Tavares has as the captain of the Leafs with the fire-power that Matthews possesses. Nobody had a better wrist-shot than Sakic in his prime, just like Matthews does today.
- Alex Tanguay (Leafs Version: Nick Robertson)
- The second-year pro had a breakout season and phenomenal playoff run for the Avalanche. With so much hype around Robertson, he could be that young unknown to help Toronto get over the edge.
- Peter Forsberg (Leafs Version: Mitch Marner)
- With an unbelievable play-making ability, both players can score but it’s their creativeness that makes them special.
- Milan Heijduk (Leafs Version: William Nylander)
- Both are European right-wingers who can score 30-goals in a season. Not only are they similar players, but Heijduk was 24-years-old during the 2000-01 season (same age as Nylander).
- Rob Blake (Leafs Version: Jake Muzzin)
- Both players previously played with the LA Kings, are 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, can supply offense/bone-crushing hits and were born only 45 minutes away from each other in Southwestern Ontario. Doesn’t get much more similar than that.
- Patrick Roy (Leafs Version: Freddie Andersen)
- Okay, this is a stretch, but during the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup win, Roy only posted a 2.21 GAA and .913 save percentage. If Andersen can replicate those stats, the Toronto Maple Leafs have a good chance at winning a championship.
It’s funny to see the comparisons, but obviously the biggest one is Thornton and Bourque. The desire to win from a future Hall-of-Famer adds so much to the room, especially when they’re so respected. Thornton is one of the most respected players in the NHL and he’ll make sure the youngsters dig a little deeper next playoffs to give ‘Jumbo’ a chance at a Stanley Cup.
When a player asks to come to your team and believes in the core, that means a lot. So hopefully the core-four and rest of the group does everything in their power to win Thornton that cup, just like the Avalanche did with Bourque.
Not only that, but it would be a magical moment to see Tavares pass the Cup to Thornton after winning it, just like Sakic did with Bourque. I’m tearing up just thinking about that right now, and hope it happens more than anything in the world.