For anyone saying Joe Thornton is too old to keep up with the younger guys in Toronto, Maple Leafs head Coach Sheldon Keefe believes you're going to be surprised.
"One of the things that has really surprised me in this camp is watching Joe. We've done a ton of skating the first few days ... and Joe is in the middle of the pack. He's not at the bottom," Keefe told the Toronto Sun's Steve Simmons. "He's beating guys he's 20 years older than. People that don't watch him that much know that he plays a slow game.
"He's not as slow (as) you'd think."
The Leafs surprised many people when it was announced that Thornton, now 41, would be playing on a line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who are both around half his age. Keefe told Simmons he doesn't expect Thornton to keep up with those two for an entire game or for the whole season, but he believes Thornton still adds value.
"He's going to do his thing below the hash marks, and I've been up-front with him. We're going to give him a chance to see if this can work, acknowledging the fact those guys will play significant minutes and he won't be able to play that many," Keefe said. "We're going to manage his offensive and defensive starts. You're still going to see Zach (Hyman) on that line. We're not just throwing Joe out there figuring he'll play 20-22 minutes. This is what we want to give him a chance to do early on."
Thornton is noted as one of the greatest playmakers to ever skate in the NHL. He has recorded 1089 assists in 1636 games throughout his career.
Source: Toronto Sun
