Sharks' Joe Thornton: Sluggish to start new year

Thornton has just one point in six games since the calendar flipped to 2017.

Jumbo Joe's decrease in productivity isn't limited to the new year, as his 26 points in 43 games are way off last season's eye-popping 82-point effort. It's not tremendously surprising considering his age (37), as well as the fact that he had a shortened offseason thanks to a deep playoff run that ended a couple wins short of Lord Stanley's prize in June, but that doesn't lessen the blow for owners that selected him early in drafts last fall. That said, it's interesting to note that he's actually averaged more ice time than last year (18:37 vs. 18:22 in 2015-16), but over a minute less on the power play (3:35 vs. 4:38), which has reduced his scoring opportunities.