"San Jose is his city and the Sharks are his team," former teammate Joe Pavelski said in his first public appearance at the Shark Tank since retiring last season in Dallas. Thornton played 1,714 regular-season games over his career, recording 1,109 assists ...

Celebrini is probably a little way off before he starts to wear a letter for the Sharks, but it seems to be a safe bet that he’ll be the team’s captain one day. When that happens, he’ll have to start to take charge of the room, holding guys accountable while also making sure the team’s culture is where it needs to be – just like Thornton did.

Joe Thornton spent a career setting up his teammates with the perfect passes that helped them score goals. His jersey retirement ceremony Saturday was an opportunity for his former San Jose teammates to dish out the compliments for his play,