Joe Thornton gets fed to the Sharks - 11:30 p.m. update

NEWS RELEASES

BOSTON BRUINS

SAN JOSE SHARKS

******************** Bruins acquire Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau for Joe Thornton

11/30/2005 - The Boston Bruins have acquired defenseman Brad Stuart, left wing Marco Sturm and center Wayne Primeau from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Joe Thornton, it was announced today by Bruins General Manager Mike O'Connell.

Stuart, Sturm and Primeau are expected to be in the Boston lineup on Thursday when the Bruins host the Ottawa Senators at TD Banknorth Garden in a 7 p.m. game.

"We felt we needed to shake up the team and sometimes you have to make some difficult decisions to better the team," said O'Connell. "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. Sturm is a proven scorer, a good two-way forward who is a terrific skater and Primeau is a solid, two-way player who has good size at the center position."

Sturm, 27, was second in the Sharks scoring race this season with six goals and ten assists for 16 points in 23 games. He is in his eighth NHL season since he was drafted by San Jose as their first pick, 21st overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. The 6'0", 195-pound native of Dingolfing, Germany has scored 20+ goals in three of his NHL seasons, including his best offensive NHL year in 2002-03 with 28 goals and 20 assists for 48 points. His career NHL totals to date are 128 goals and 145 assists for 273 points with 242 penalty minutes in 553 career Sharks games.

Stuart, 26, led all Sharks defensemen and was fourth overall on the team in scoring with two goals and ten assists for 12 points in 23 games while averaging 23:15 of ice time per game. He is in his sixth NHL season since the Sharks took him as their first pick, third overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. The 6'2", 220-pound native of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta finished second in voting for the Calder Trophy as the league's rookie of the year following his rookie season in 1999-2000 when he had a career-high ten goals with 26 assists for 36 points. He enjoyed his best season offensively in 2003-04 when he recorded career-highs in assists and points with 9-30=39 totals in 77 games. His career NHL totals to date are 36 goals and 117 assists for 153 points with 221 penalty minutes in 377 career Sharks games.

Primeau, 29, had five goals and three assists for eight points in 21 games with the Sharks at the time of this trade. He is in his 11th NHL season and Boston becomes his fifth NHL team. The 6'4", 230-pound native of Scarborough, Ontario was drafted by Buffalo as their first pick, 17th overall, in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft and played five-plus seasons in the Sabres organization before going to Tampa Bay in a multi-player trade in March, 2000. He played two seasons with the Lightning before he was traded to Pittsburgh for Matthew Barnaby in February, 2001 and played two-plus seasons with the Penguins. He was acquired by San Jose for Matt Bradley on March 11, 2003 and enjoyed his best offensive NHL season in a Sharks uniform in 2003-04 when he established career season-highs in all offensive categories with nine goals and 20 assists for 29 points in 72 games. His career NHL totals to date are 47 goals and 89 assists for 136 points with 563 penalty minutes in 520 career NHL games. ********************* Sharks acquire Joe Thornton November 30, 2005 - Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson pulled off maybe the biggest trade in Sharks history Wednesday night when he acquired perennial All-Star center Joe Thornton from the Boston Bruins.

The transaction came with a price as San Jose moved wingers Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau, along with defenseman Brad Stuart.

However when all is said and done, the best player landed in the Bay Area.

Thornton, the first overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, selected just before his current teammate Patrick Marleau, has played in the past three NHL All-Star games and was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 2003.

"He is a leader who scores points and makes other players around him better," said Wilson. "To get a player of this caliber, you have to give up something to get something. You would make this trade last month, this month or next year. It follows our philosophy of making our team better for this year and next year."

A power forward at six-foot-four and 223 pounds, the burly center possesses unbelievable skill as he posted a 101 point season in 2002-03.

During the current season, Thornton leads Boston with 33 points on nine goals and 24 assists in 23 contests.

The 33 points would be a team high for San Jose.

Thornton will also provide strength for Team Teal in the faceoff circle as he is successful 52.2 percent of the time and his even plus/minus rating was one of the best on the struggling Bruins.

The Thornton name is familiar to Sharks fans via Joe's cousin Scott who has spent his best years in San Jose.

Boston is scheduled to play at home on Thursday, so the newest Thornton will likely join his new team in Buffalo for a Friday night debut.

Thornton is making in excess of $6 million a year, but is signed for four seasons.

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