from Dan Robson of Sportsnet,

The part that’s hard to let go of, though—the thing that hurts much more than the loss of a letter—is his team’s chronic disappointment in the playoffs. The constant feeling that the team is good enough to get there but just can’t find its way. “It doesn’t matter if it’s five years ago or this year,” Thornton says and sighs. “They all sting the same.” Those who have seen how the losses wear on Thornton aren’t fooled by the smiling front he tends to put on. Chris Bailey, a police officer in London, Ont., played novice hockey with Thornton in St. Thomas and the pair have been close friends since. He’s never seen Thornton go easy on the idea of winning. “Everything he does is game seven to him,” says Bailey. “Whether we’re playing golf, cards or rock, paper, scissors—he wants to win. That’s the only time he shows his emotion.”

As the trade deadline nears, Thornton’s name is bound to hit the headlines again. There are several teams that would happily add him to their roster in exchange for some fresh talent to bolster a Sharks core built around young stars Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture. The speculation that Thornton would agree to waive his no-trade clause is just too juicy to ignore. But he insists it won’t happen: “I don’t know how many years I can play, but I want to retire as a Shark,” he says. Thornton still believes that this team—his team—is his best chance at breaking a playoff curse that’s followed him through nearly two decades and finally getting to raise the Cup. But anything less, and it’s one more season of scapegoating Joe.

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