Joe Thornton is, without a doubt, one of the 100 best players to ever lace ‘em up in the National Hockey League. His exclusion from the NHL 100 on Friday night doesn’t diminish his greatness; it only further perpetuates what we already know: the league is incompetent.
It’s easy to be angry about Thornton’s exclusion, and I was at first, I found myself experiencing a different emotion as the all stars were announced on Sunday afternoon: sadness. Jeff Carter’s toothless grin went from ear to ear as he skated down the line of some of the greatest NHL players of all time.