Joe Thornton traded to the San Jose Sharks

"The Boston Bruins, who have lost 9 of their last 10 games, pushed the panic button last night and traded their captain and best player, Joe Thornton, to the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Brad Stuart and forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau." - New York Times. Read Thornton's comments there. Apparently he was out for dinner with his folks when he got the word.

Was it panic? Was it a money saving feature? Or did they trade away a player who was underperforming? Opinions vary on whether Joe was just too young for the role being thrust on him in Boston.

Joe Thornton was the number one pick in 1997. He has 9 goals and 24 assists this year. Stuart, 26, the third overall pick in 1997, has 2 goals and 10 assists this season. Sturm, 27, has 6 goals and 10 assists; and Primeau, 29, has 5 goals and 3 assists.

O'Connel released the following statement:
"We felt we needed to shake up the team and sometimes you have to make some difficult decisions to better the team," O'Connell said. "We feel we received three players who can help us immediately. Brad Stuart is a top-four defenseman who is strong at both ends of the ice. (Marco) Sturm is a proven scorer, a good two-way forward who is a terrific skater and (Wayne) Primeau is a solid, two-way player who has good size at the center position."

Tags: Bruins