Thornton in good company in career twilight
Joe Thornton is climbing the ranks.
With a pair of assists in a 3-2 victory Wednesday over the Los Angeles Kings, the lumbering San Jose Sharks center notched the 1,370th point of his historic career.
With the helpers, Thornton surpassed Johnny Bucyk for 24th place among the NHL's all-time scoring leaders.
And Thornton isn't finished just yet.
Thornton, who will surely find a spot in the Hall of Fame once his career reaches its end, already passed three other Hall of Famers earlier this season: Mats Sundin at 1,349 points, Guy Lafleur at 1,353, and Brendan Shanahan a point higher, at 1,354.
Just how high could he climb? At 1,370 career points, the 37-year-old is within striking distance of some of the game's greatest.
With 29 points on the year, Thornton is on pace for 52. In other words, another 23 points, but with a bit of puck luck, the native of St. Thomas, Ontario could leapfrog another four names before April rolls around:
| Rank | Player | GP | Goals | Assists | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Jari Kurri | 1251 | 601 | 797 | 1398 |
| 21 | Luc Robitaille | 1431 | 668 | 726 | 1394 |
| 22 | Brett Hull | 1269 | 741 | 650 | 1391 |
| 23 | Mike Modano | 1499 | 561 | 813 | 1374 |
| 24 | Joe Thornton | 1412 | 380 | 990 | 1370 |
Thornton's game has seen little, if any, slowdown, as he's averaged 74 points over the past three seasons leading up to 2016-17.
The pending unrestricted free agent is believed to be seeking a three-year extension and, should he post similar totals to past years, that would take his career numbers above 1,600 points.
At 1,590 points, Phil Esposito occupies the last spot in the Top 10, but by the time it's all said and done, that slot could be owned by Jumbo Joe.