Sharks Captain Honored with Special Gift

Teammates get Joe Thornton special gift for 1,000th game.

Sharks captain Joe Thornton makes $7 million per year, so when his teammates had to get him a gift for his 1,000th game played, they had to put some thought into it.

What they came up with was more than 10,000 years old.

Sharks assistant captains Patrick Marleau, Ryane Clowe and Dan Boyle presented Thornton with an authentic woolly mammoth tusk during a ceremony at HP Pavilion Thursday night. They say they chose it because Thornton is a big history buff.

The Sharks captain was honored before the game against the Penguins for his 1,000th game played in the NHL.

Thursday night's game was actually his 1,006th, but Thornton was on the road in New Jersey for his 1,000th so this was the first time the team could honor him at home.

Thornton has split his games between the Sharks and Boston. In 1,006 games, he has 1,010 points.

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