from Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province,

- Early in the 2005-06 season, the Boston Bruins stunned the hockey world when they traded Joe Thornton to San Jose for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau. On the surface, the deal made no sense. Thornton was then a 26-year-old centre who’d averaged over 80 points a season over the three previous seasons in the middle of the dead-puck era. The three players the Bruins received in return were all second-liners.

In search of illumination, I asked a Bruins insider why they’d make that deal.

“Because Joe’s not a leader and he’ll never be a leader,” said the insider.

Thought about that last week when the feud between Sharks GM Doug Wilson and Thornton became public. Thornton has put up big numbers in San Jose but the Sharks have never made it out of the West with him as the team’s leader.

The Bruins, you may be aware, won the Stanley Cup five years after the trade.

- Spot quiz. What do Zach Sill, T.J. Brennan, Andrew MacWilliam, Joakim Lindstrom and Brandon Kozun have in common?

Class? Anyone? Anyone?

No, they are not five people who’ve never been in my kitchen. They all played for the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. It’s sad, really.

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