Joe Thornton, now of the Toronto Maple Leafs, will miss four weeks with a rib fracture, according to head coach Sheldon Keefe. The injury occurred during Wednesday night's loss to the Oilers after he took an awkward hit along the boards.
The 41-year-old veteran, who signed with the Canadian franchise in October, skated immediately towards the Toronto bench after taking the hit from Josh Archibald.
#Leafs' Joe Thornton headed to the dressing room after this hit from Josh Archibald pic.twitter.com/VyanFFGChU
— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) January 21, 2021
Immediately after the game, Keefe told reporters that the forward would certainly "miss some time" as a result of the injury, indicating that this wasn't just a day-to-day kind of thing.
Thornton had spent nearly 15 seasons with the San Jose Sharks, and missed out on the postseason last year in what looked to be his final season in the NHL. After briefly joining HC Davos of the Swiss National League, where he played hockey during lockout years of his career, he came back to North America after signing a one-year deal with Toronto.
Playing just five games in this very young season, Thornton has shown that age is but a number with one goal and one assist during his time playing on the Maple Leafs' top line with Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews.
