Joe Thornton has been an elite player for quite some time and while his point totals may be dropping as father time catches up to him, his possession play has continued to increase. That has allowed him to minimalize the drop in points.
Thornton is still a very productive primary point player and that has a lot to do with just how smart of a player he is. As his body slows down, his mind refuses to tag along and he’s able to slow each shift down to his speed and dominate the play.
Here’s a look at how Thornton’s career has gone since 2008 in HERO charts from ownthepuck.blogspot.com.
Joe Thornton winning the battle with father time. pic.twitter.com/D6wpKjWJU2
— Tim Chiasson (@chiassontb) August 11, 2015Really, you would think that a player would be doing to the opposite of what Thornton’s been doing from chart to chart as they age.
Don’t worry, though, Patrick Marleau sets the universe right again with his HERO progression.
Father Time hasn’t been quite as nice to Marleau as it has been to Joe Thornton. Everything about him has been in decline and this is likely the last season before it has a significant impact on the team. While Marleau still put up 57 points in 82 games, he had a pretty poor season outside of that statistic.
Known as a goal scorer, Marleau went through painful, extended stretches, where he failed to hit the back of the net and only finished with 19 goals on the season – his lowest in a full NHL campaign since 2007-2008.
Here’s Marleau’s progression.
Marleau losing the battle with father time. pic.twitter.com/JlfhqVZIdr
— Tim Chiasson (@chiassontb) August 11, 2015The Sharks need Joe Thornton to continue to drink from the fountain of youth, and they need him to start sharing nips with his buddy Patty.
San Jose doesn’t need Marleau to rebound for much more than the 57 points he scored last year. What they need him to do is get his general play to trend back in a better direction. That will make people around him better and compensate for his loss of production over time.
If Marleau starts the season with Couture again they should be monitored closely. If they can’t find ways to make the general possession side of things work, then a reunion with Joe Thornton might be in order for them to salvage what’s left of Marleau’s offensive talents without hurting the team.
Thanks for reading.