San Jose Sharks: When will Joe Thornton finally re-sign?

The San Jose Sharks have made it clear that they’d like Joe Thornton back and Thornton has expressed a desire to return to San Jose. So what’s the hold-up?

The San Jose Sharks have done an excellent job this offseason of working with their limited cap space to keep their main core of players together. But one piece of that core who still remains unsigned is longtime team leader Joe Thornton.

It seems like a foregone conclusion at this point that Thornton will ultimately re-sign with the team he has called home for well over a decade now. Thornton has expressed that he’d like to return and it’s pretty clear that the Sharks expect him to.

Yet he remains unsigned as we near the end of July.

However, Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer seems pretty convinced that Thornton will be back in teal by the start of the 2019-20 season. He had the following to say when speaking to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger.

"“My understanding is that Joe Thornton is going to play. I saw him two days after our season ended in the gym working out. I think he’s on record as saying he’s going to play and still has gas left in the tank. For me, I’m moving forward as if he’s going to be in our lineup in September.”"

So it’s obvious that the team is planning for him to be on the roster once the fall rolls around. But could the hold-up be on Thornton’s side?

Thornton had previously stated back in May that he would only return to play for the Sharks in the following season. And since the 40-year-old has already made his intentions to play this season clear, one would think that a deal with the Sharks should have already been done by now.

Perhaps the delay could be related to San Jose’s still prevalent cap bind.

Per CapFriendly, the Sharks have just over $4.6 million left in cap space meaning that Thornton will certainly have to take a pay cut from the $5 million salary that he made last season.

He will likely be open to doing so, but the delay probably has to do with the exact figure that will be agreed upon.

San Jose might be keeping their options open on the off-chance that they decide to make a move or two before the start of the season. While the roster appears to be mostly set, you could never count out a potential trade in the weeks before the season kicks off.

We saw this exact scenario take place last season when the Sharks traded for star defenseman Erik Karlsson just weeks before the start of the 2018-19 season. Now, don’t expect any star-studded moves like that one, but a low-profile deal is certainly not out of the question.

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Moreover, the exact specifics of Thornton’s deal will likely include some of the complex, clause-filled cap manipulation that general manager Doug Wilson has become known for. One idea that has been thrown out there has been performance incentives.

By most standards, Thornton had a pretty solid season last year for a 40-year-old veteran playing primarily on the third line. The former Boston Bruin totaled 51 points in 73 games ranking eighth on the team in scoring.

Performance-based incentives would give the Sharks wiggle room and could make both parties happy in the long run. The only downside would be that if Thornton were to meet his goals, the Sharks could be on the hook for a bonus overage in the following season limiting their cap flexibility once again.

So what does all of this mean? When will we see Thornton re-sign his deal to confirm his return to San Jose?

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Unfortunately, we don’t have a concrete answer at this point. But don’t be surprised to see the Sharks drag the process out even longer as it’s not as if Thornton needs to get reacquainted with his teammates in training camp.

If the Sharks realize the potential opportunity to make a move, they’ll likely continue to hold off on re-signing Thornton. But if they decide that the roster is — for all intents and purposes — finalized, then they could re-up him on the spot.

The good news is that it should only be a matter of time before we see Thornton back in teal.