SAN JOSE — Joe Thornton will be sidelined for “several weeks”, possibly longer, with a right-knee injured suffered Tuesday night.
Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said Thornton will undergo an MRI Wednesday to assess the extent of the injury to his right medial collateral ligament . At this point, it’s unclear whether Thornton will require surgery to repair the damage to his right knee.
“It looks like it’s MCL related,” general manager Doug Wilson said. “It looks like he’s going to be out for several weeks, anyhow. Our policy is if it’s more than two weeks, we let you know.
In other words, Thornton could be out for much longer than “several weeks”, possibly months, depending on what the MRI reveals.
The Sharks alternate captain suffered the injury after Mikkel Boedker tumbled onto his right knee in the last minute of the third period Tuesday night, causing him to buckle. Boedker fell after getting tangled up with Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba in the neutral zone.
Thornton suffered a major injury to his other knee on April 2, 2017, requiring offseason surgery to repair damage to his MCL and anterior cruciate ligaments. After playing in four playoff games with tears in his left knee last spring, Thornton returned to the ice in training camp less than five months after undergoing surgery.
The 38-year-old forward has suited up for all 47 of the Sharks games this season, ranking second on the team in scoring (36 points) and goals (13). After struggling early in the season, Thornton started to round back into form around Thanksgiving. He’d collected 26 points in his last 28 games before leaving the ice Tuesday.
“It’s tough,” alternate captain Logan Couture said. “Especially, a guy that’s worked so hard to come back from a serious injury. It’s just an innocent play where guys got tangled up. You knew something was wrong when you saw his face on the ice. That guy doesn’t leave a hockey game unless something’s very hurt.
“You feel for him. He’s a guy that loves to play hockey.”
The injury is coming at a particularly inopportune time for the Sharks, who’ve propelled themselves into second place in the Pacific Division, holding a three-point lead over the Calgary Flames, by going 5-1-1 since the five-day players’ bye.
Although the Sharks produced a 3-1 record while playing four games without Couture (concussion) in December, absorbing the loss of Thornton presents a completely different challenge, especially when he could be out of the lineup for an extended stretch of games.
Thornton continues to center the Sharks top line and serve as the centerpiece of the team’s fifth-ranked power play (22.9 percent). The Sharks are 17-1-3 this season in games where Thornton finds the scoresheet.
“The optimism is with our younger guys, the way they’ve played,” Couture said. “That helps cushion the blow a little bit, but you can’t replace Joe Thornton. You just can’t do it.”
More coming.