TORONTO — Joe Thornton always did things his way.

Larger than life on the ice and away from the rink, the big forward with a radiating personality, elite vision, soft hands and a sparkling smile has been unapologetically unique ever since stepping into the NHL spotlight at age 18.

Now the man affectionately known as “Jumbo Joe” is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Thornton was inducted alongside fellow 2025 class members Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith, Alexander Mogilny, Jennifer Botterill and Brianna Decker in the player category.

Jack Parker and Danièle Sauvageau were enshrined as builders.

Selected first overall at the 1997 draft by the Boston Bruins, Thornton’s trajectory really took off after a trade to the San Jose Sharks. He spent 14 seasons in California, winning the scoring title and Hart Trophy as league MVP in 2005-06, and was just the third player all-time to lead the NHL in assists three straight seasons.

“As long as I can remember, my year consisted of going from road hockey right to the backyard rink,” Thornton said of his childhood in a tear-filled speech. “There was only one season for me — it was hockey season.”

Thornton topped San Jose in scoring eight times, including five straight seasons, and helped the Sharks make the 2016 Stanley Cup final.

The 46-year-old, who played 24 NHL seasons and won Olympic gold with Canada in 2010, put up 1,539 points in 1,714 regular-season games in a career that ended with pit stops with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. He finished 12th all-time in scoring, seventh in assists and sixth in games played.

“Winning the gold medal in Vancouver in 2010 was truly electric,” Thornton said. “I remember leaving the arena and I looked to my left, and I saw a naked woman on the back of a motorcycle waving a Canadian flag.

“I looked to my pregnant wife, and I said, ‘I am so proud to be Canadian.’”

Chara, 48, was drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996 and traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2001 before signing with the Boston Bruins.

The six-foot-nine blueliner played 14 seasons in Beantown — all as captain — from 2006 through 2020. Boston won the Cup in 2011 and made the final two other times.

The second European captain to hoist hockey’s holy grail, Chara competed at three Olympics and seven world championships. He captured the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2009, and finished his career with the Washington Capitals before returning to the Islanders.

“Growing up in small town in Slovakia — Trencin — you don’t dream about nights like this,” Chara said. “You dream about a patch of ice that doesn’t melt before we finish practice. You dream about finding a stick that’s not broken or skates that can still fit for a couple of years.”

Keith played 16 seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, winning the Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015. The 42-year-old won Olympic gold for Canada in 2010 before topping the podium again in 2014, twice claimed the Norris Trophy and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2015. Keith played one campaign with the Edmonton Oilers before retiring in 2022.

“You can’t chase a dream alone,” he said. “And you can never lift the Cup or wear a gold medal on your own. You lift it with everybody that ever lifted you.”

Botterill played for Canada at four Olympics, winning three gold medals and a silver. She was part of five championship performances and three second-place finishes at the worlds, including taking MVP honors in 2001.

“My parents said they always knew that the sport of hockey was something special,” said the 46-year-old broadcaster. “Every time I was on the ice playing, they said they could see my smile through the cage. I carried that very same smile throughout my entire career.”

Decker won gold at the 2018 Olympics with the U.S. and owns two silver medals. The 34-year-old forward from Dousman, Wisconsin, also won the worlds six times along with a couple second-place finishes.

“Hockey has given me so much,” Decker said. “It’s given me lifelong friendships, unforgettable memories, and now this incredible honor.”

The 63-year-old Sauvageau has taken part in six Olympics either behind the bench or in management for Canada, including the country’s 2002 run to gold as head coach. The Montreal-born trailblazer — the hall’s first woman builder — currently is general manager of the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Victoire in her hometown.

“I dreamt of a life that did not exist,” she said. “And I have lived a life that I could not imagine.”

Parker, 80, led Boston University’s men’s program from 1973 through 2013, winning three national championships. He was also named NCAA coach of the year three times.

Mogilny, who skipped the week of celebrations, defected from the Soviet Union to the United States in 1989. He set career-highs with 76 goals and 127 points with the 1992-1993 Buffalo Sabres — the most ever by a Soviet/Russian player.

The 56-year-old hoisted the Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2000 in a career that included stints with the Leafs and Vancouver Canucks, finishing with 1,032 points in 990 regular-season games.

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude,” Mogilny said in a recorded message. “Not just for this honor, but for the incredible journey that brought me here.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres forward Jiri Kulich is out indefinitely because of a blood clot, coach Lindy Ruff announced following practice on Monday.

Ruff didn’t provide any further details except to say it’s “pretty serious,” and that the second-year player will miss “significant time.” The coach said the team will have a better idea on Kulich’s status within three to four weeks.

Kulich had already missed three games with what the Sabres described as an illness.

The 21-year-old has three goals and five points in 12 games for Buffalo this season, and coming off a rookie campaign in which he had 15 goals and 24 points in 62 outings. He’s from the Czech Republic and was selected by Buffalo in the first round of the 2022 draft.

The Sabres are 1-2-4 in their past seven and travel to play at Utah on Wednesday.

Mel Bridgman, the rugged former NHL forward who was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975 and was the Ottawa Senators’ first general manager, has died. He was 70.

The NHL Alumni Association announced the death Saturday. It didn't give a cause of death.

“A prototypical power forward who exemplified Flyers style-hockey," the Flyers said on social media.

A strong checker and dependable scorer and fighter, Bridgman first starred in junior for the Victoria Cougars in the Western Canada Hockey League. In 1974-75 in his last season for the Cougars, he had 66 goals, 91 assists and 175 penalty minutes in 66 regular-season games.

He went straight to Philadelphia - coming off its second straight title - as a rookie and had 23 regular-season goals and six more in a postseason run that ended with a loss to Montreal in the Stanley Cup final.

Bridgman was Philadelphia's captain during its record 35-game unbeaten run in 1979-80 in another season that ended with a loss in the Cup final, this time to the New York Islanders, and also wore the “C” for New Jersey. He was traded from Philadelphia to Calgary early in the 1981-82 season and went on to have career highs with 33 goals and 54 assists.

Known for his thick mustache, Bridgman also played for Detroit and Vancouver, finishing his 14-year NHL career with 252 goals, 449 assists and 1,625 penalty minutes in 977 regular-season games. In 125 playoff games, he had 28 goals and 39 assists.

After earning an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Bridgman took over the expansion Senators in 1991 at age 36. He was general manager through their inaugural season of 1992-93 and later worked as a player agent.

“The Ottawa Senators organization sends its deepest sympathies to Mel’s loved ones at this difficult time,” the Senators said on social media.

RALEIGH, N.C. — The injury-ravaged Carolina Hurricanes found new sources of offense from two rookie defensemen, and the pair made team history in the process.

Charles Alexis Legault and Joel Nystrom picked up their first NHL points in Saturday night’s 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Their performance marked the first time in the Hurricanes’ team history that two defensemen posted their first points in the same game. And, it was the fourth time in Carolina history — since the relocation from Hartford — that any two players recorded their first points in a game.

Legault had an assist and an empty-net goal, and Nystrom assisted on a goal early in the third period as Carolina extended its winning streak to three games.

“We don’t judge their game based on that,” Hurricanes coach Rod’Brind’Amour said. “But those are nice little bonuses for them. Both guys have been solid. We ask a lot of them.”

Legault scored by sending the puck nearly the length of the ice into the unattended net with 1:28 remaining in the game. But, his first point came when he assisted on Eric Robinson’s goal 29 seconds into the third period.

“You dream of scoring one since you’ve been a kid, so being able to get one tonight is a great feeling,” Legault said.

Nystrom’s assist came on Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s score 29 seconds into the third that extended Carolina’s lead to 3-1.

“Today I got my first point and I’m real happy for that,” Nystrom said. “… (Kotkaniemi) he did a really good shot. I have to thank him, too.”

In franchise history combining Hartford and Carolina, Mark Howe and Charles Luksa were the last defensive pair to get their first career points in the same game, in October 1979.

Legault and Nystrom have been living together since their somewhat unexpected additions to the NHL team this fall.

“We spent a lot of time together the last couple of weeks,” Nystrom said.

Carolina played without defenseman Jalen Chatfield for the first time this season. He left Thursday night’s game with an upper-body injury after a blow to the head from Minnesota’s Tyler Pitlick, who was assessed a match penalty.

The Hurricanes have been without defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Shayne Gostisbehere for more than a week. That twosome, plus Chatfield, all played in 70 or more games last season.

The Hurricanes also recalled defenseman Gavin Bayreuther from Chicago of the AHL earlier Saturday, but he was a healthy scratch.

PITTSBURGH — Sidney Crosby has been doing this for longer than Ben Kindel has been alive. Alex Ovechkin has, too, for that matter.

So yeah, it was maybe a little surreal for the Pittsburgh Penguins rookie forward, all of 18, to be on the ice Thursday night alongside the two players who have defined their franchises and in many ways the NHL for two decades and counting.

The calendar says it’s 2025. Yet watching the 39-year-old Crosby score two goals to boost his season total to an NHL-leading 11 and have the 40-year-old Ovechkin collect two assists to fuel a second-period Washington rally in what eventually became a 5-3 Penguins victory, it was hard to tell.

“Kind of like the old Sid and Ovi rivalry there,” Kindel said after picking up the first two assists of his still very young career. “It was great to see and unreal to watch.”

That Crosby and Ovechkin found a way to summon a little something special during their 99th all-time meeting (playoffs included) is hardly surprising. The two future Hall of Famers have long had a habit of bringing out the best in each other.

What is surprising, however, is that for the first time in what seems like a long time — by the Penguins’ standards at least — the game felt like it carried actual stakes.

New faces, new energy

The team considered a long shot to reach the playoffs when the season began — only woeful Chicago and San Jose faced slimmer odds of hoisting the Stanley Cup than Pittsburgh — finds itself tied with New Jersey for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division a month in.

Yes, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. And yes, the injuries are starting to pile up, from veteran forward Rickard Rakell to 6-foot-6 “power” forward Justin Brazeau, from goaltender Tristan Jarry to center Filip Hallander, who the team announced Friday is out at least three months because of a blood clot in his leg.

Still, the Penguins have been one of the NHL’s most pleasant early surprises.

A massive influx of fresh faces and fresh blood has brought an energy that was lacking as the team’s run of three championships in nine years became an increasingly distant memory.

The arrival of first-year coach Dan Muse and his high-energy approach has provided a jolt. So has the emergence of teenagers Kindel and 19-year-old defenseman Harrison Brunicke, who has shown promise during an extended look before he likely returns to his junior team for a little more seasoning.

“They always give us juice,” said Penguins forward Bryan Rust, who at 33 is the fourth-longest tenured player on the team behind Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. “Obviously, they’re so excited to come in the rink and they’re having fun. They always got a smile on their face and they are also really, really good players. So I think that combination can really help a few of us older guys that have a little bit more fun, too.”

The organizational overhaul general manager Kyle Dubas began in earnest when he traded away popular two-time Stanley Cup winner Jake Guentzel at the deadline in the spring of 2024 is starting to bear fruit.

Pittsburgh’s prospect pool is far deeper than when Dubas arrived in 2023, and one of them seems to have bypassed the “pool” entirely.

Kindel, taken with the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, made the club coming out of training camp and has five goals and two assists in 13 games. On Thursday night, he found himself on the first line with Rust and Crosby and earned a promotion to the top power play unit, where he held his own in a group featuring a a handful of players bound for the Hall of Fame.

“You can see he’s comfortable out there,” Muse said.

There’s a lot of that going around. The Penguins have the league’s second-ranked power play unit and have been buoyed by Jarry’s apparent return to form after the two-time All-Star was demoted to the minors. While Jarry is out for at least three weeks with a lower-body injury, his absence will give the club a chance to see how close 21-year-old phenom Sergei Murashov is to being NHL-ready on a full-time basis.

While Kyle has pathologically avoided putting any sort of timetable on when the rebuild (a term he has never used) is complete, he did say at the start of training camp in September that he believes the Penguins can return to contender status while Crosby remains on the roster.

A good team?

There’s a chance it might happen with Malkin, 39 and in the final year of his current contract with no sign of an extension on the horizon, still around, too.

The Russian star is tied for third in the NHL in points with 20, including 17 assists. His pretty cross-ice feed to Rust that Rust converted into the go-ahead goal midway through the third period against Washington helped Pittsburgh avoid a second straight late collapse.

On Monday night in Toronto, the Penguins dominated play for 40 minutes only to crumble in the final period as the Maple Leafs ripped off four straight goals to pull out a 4-3 win.

When Washington’s Tom Wilson beat Arturs Silovs from his knees to tie it at 3 late in the second period on Thursday, it seemed the feel-good vibes the Penguins have been generating throughout the past month were on the verge of disappearing.

“It would have been really easy for this group to cave,” Muse said. “It would have been really easy for this group to play back on their heels, play worried.”

They didn’t. They fended off a couple of Washington power plays, then pounced when Rust redirected Malkin’s tape-to-tape pass and didn’t let up the rest of the way.

Sure, it’s still just early November. Yet for a team that looked lifeless for long stretches over the last couple of years of former head coach Mike Sullivan’s otherwise highly successful tenure as the roster churned and the play of its stars (Crosby aside) sagged, it’s a start.

“We’re finding ways to win games in a lot of different ways,” Rust said, later adding, “I think being able to win in all sorts of ways, I think, is a sign of a good team.”

Or at the very least, an interesting one.

NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Schaefer added another milestone to his fast start with the New York Islanders on Sunday.

Schaefer had two goals in a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Schaefer, who turned 18 on Sept. 5, became the youngest defenseman in NHL history with a multigoal game, moving in front of Hall of Famer Bobby Orr (18 years, 248 days on Nov. 23, 1966).

Schaefer, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL draft, has five goals and five assists in his first 12 games with New York.

“It has been fun to watch. He’s great skater. He’s super poised,’’ Islanders teammate Simon Holmstrom said. “He was able to score two big goals for us tonight.”

Schaefer scored a power-play goal when he converted a booming shot 5:53 into the first period. He tied it at 2 with 1:07 left in the third, and Holmstrom tapped a loose puck past goaltender Elvis Merzlikins for the winning score with 38 seconds remaining.

“Oh wow, it’s fun hockey to play and fun hockey to watch,’’ Schaefer said after the victory. “A couple of big goals in the last minute.”

Schaefer once again heard his name chanted by the home crowd at UBS Arena. It was a similar scene when he scored his first NHL goal during the Islanders’ home opener on Oct. 11.

“That was a big shift. That’s what happens when you put pucks on net,” Schaefer said of his tying goal as Islanders captain Anders Lee screened Merzlikins. “A big grind out of the guys.”

Schaefer became the third-youngest player in the NHL’s expansion era, since the 1967-68 season, to record two goals in a game. Only Jordan Staal (18 years, 41 days on Oct. 21, 2006) and Pierre Turgeon (18 years, 54 days on Oct. 21, 1987) accomplished the feat at a younger age.

Schaefer played junior hockey last season for the Erie Otters. Now he is manning the point on New York’s power play, regularly logging major minutes and contributing well beyond the scoresheet.

He is quick to deflect praise, crediting Lee with successfully impeding the view of Merzlikins.

“Teammates, I just have to rely on them,’’ Schaefer said. “I don’t think that’s going in if Leezy is not there screening the goalie. I don’t think he really saw much.”

KLADNO, Czech Republic — At age 53, Jaromir Jagr began his 38th professional season by playing on the fourth line for his hometown Kladno Knights in a 3-1 victory over Vitkovice on Friday night in the Czech league.

The former NHL great logged 10:08 minutes ice time and joined the power play unit in a season debut that had been delayed because of a muscle problem.

It was Kladno’s 15th game of the season. Jagr was 53 years, 244 days old.

Jagr made his debut for Kladno at age 16 and returned to the club in 2018 when the Calgary Flames released him. Jagr remains second on the NHL’s all-time points list, only trailing Wayne Gretzky.

Jagr, whose 766 NHL goals rank him No. 4 all-time on that list, played 11 seasons in Pittsburgh, winning the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 1991 and 1992.

Jagr didn’t talk to media after his season’s debut Friday.

“He makes his presence felt in the locker room,” forward Jakub Konecny said. “We have a lot of fun with him.”

Until early this year, Jagr served in dual roles as Kladno player and owner, splitting his time between chasing sponsors and dealing with administrative duties and ice time.

Jagr acquired full ownership in 2017 and sold a majority stake in Kladno last January to boost the team financially.

Then, he said he would be happy to complete the season by trying to lead Kladno to the playoffs for the first time.

They didn’t reach the playoffs. So, he’s got another chance this season.

Goaltender Carter Hart has agreed to sign with the Vegas Golden Knights, becoming the first of the five 2018 Canada world junior hockey players to land an NHL contract since they were acquitted of sexual assault in a high-profile case.

Vegas announced an agreement with undisclosed terms for Hart on Thursday, the second day after the window opened for the players to sign.

Hart and the others are not eligible to play in games until Dec. 1 as part of the league’s reinstatement process for him, Michael McLeod, Dillon Dube, Cal Foote and Alex Formenton.

“The Golden Knights are aligned with the process and assessment the NHL and NHLPA made in their decision,” the team said in a statement. “We remain committed to the core values that have defined our organization from its inception and expect that our players will continue to meet these standards moving forward.”

McLeod, who was also found not guilty of an additional charge of being a party to the offense, signed a three-year contract in the Russia-based KHL. Formenton is playing in Switzerland, though it is unclear if he has an out clause to return to the NHL, which he has not played in since 2022 with Ottawa.

“Each team is going to have to make its own decision," Commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday after the NHL's Board of Governors meeting in New York. “They know the rules. And it’s up to them to decide whether or not, subject to those rules, they want to move forward.”

Hart is resuming his career at the age of 27 with the Golden Knights after spending his first six seasons playing for Philadelphia. The Flyers last month ruled out bringing back Hart, whose camp communicated to general manager Daniel Briere that a fresh start was a better option.

The players were charged in 2024 in connection with an incident in London, Ontario, in 2018. The judge overseeing the trial said the prosecution could not meet the onus of proof to convict them and that complainant’s allegations lacked the credibility needed to justify the charges.

The league conducted its own investigation beginning in the spring of 2022 when the allegations came to light. When announcing the reinstatement timeline in September, the NHL called the events that transpired “deeply troubling and unacceptable” and that while they were not found to be criminal, said the players’ conduct did not meet the standard of moral integrity.

The NHLPA at the time said the players cooperated with every investigation and considers the matter closed.

NEW YORK — Expansion was not discussed at the NHL's Board of Governors meeting on Wednesday, Commissioner Gary Bettman said afterward.

The league has been at 32 teams since Seattle entered for the 2021-22 season. There are groups who have aspirations of franchises in Atlanta and Houston, among other places.

“There is, and continues to be, interest from lots of places,” Bettman said. "But none of it has reached the level that we need to focus on at this point.”

Asked if the door could be opened on the expansion front at the next board meeting in December in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Bettman said that's not for the NHL to decide.

“If somebody knocks on the door, we’ll peek around to see who’s knocking and then decide what to do with it,” Bettman said.

Among other topics, Bettman expressed concern about the construction timeline of the main hockey arena in Milan for the upcoming Olympics and said it's up to the International Olympic Committee.

“We are constrained in what we can and can’t do, request and demand and if it reached a certain point, we’ll have to deal with it,” Bettman said. “But I’m not speculating, and we’ve been constantly assured by the IOC and the (International Ice Hockey Federation) that it will be OK."

The salary cap is seeing record increases this year and over the following two as revenues are skyrocketing. Bettman flatly denied buzz that had been going around about the cap being more than $104 million next season.

“There’s no change,” Bettman. “I know there’s a rumor going around that we’re in discussions about the cap. That’s absolutely, categorically untrue. There have been no discussions. It is what we’ve already agreed to.”

Bettman opened his chat with reporters by saying there was no news to report.

“Basically, it’s a nuts and bolts meeting,” Bettman said. “Nothing too dramatic.”

Governors - a mix of owners, team presidents, general managers and other executives - got updates on the state of the league, hockey operations and officiating and efforts to grow the game internationally.

Bettman said he had nothing to share on the sale process involving the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As planning continues for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said he expects 18 cities in North America and 10 in Europe to bid to host part of the event.

Asked about his future running the NHL, the 73-year-old Bettman said: “I’m here, and I’m not planning on going anywhere for a while. And I don’t know what a while is.”

CHICAGO — Jeff Blashill’s first three games with the Chicago Blackhawks were one-goal losses decided in the third period or overtime.

His fourth one was a long-awaited victory.

Blashill directed Chicago to a 3-1 win over Utah on Monday night for his first victory since he was hired by the Blackhawks in May.

“It was really disappointing over the first three games that we had moments of good hockey and put ourselves in position to win and didn’t,” Blashill said. “So to get the win is nice. For me personally, it’s, you know, it’s a good feeling. You want to get that first one out of the way, and hopefully there’s many more to come.”

Blashill, 51, is beginning his second stint as a head coach in the NHL after he went 204-261-72 in seven seasons with Detroit. He was an assistant with Tampa Bay for the previous three years.

The Michigan native is hoping to lead the Blackhawks out of a painful rebuilding project that had the team in last place in the Central Division in each of the previous three years.

This season just started, but there have been some encouraging signs.

“I like him as a coach and a person,” goaltender Spencer Knight said. “I really appreciate his eye for details, for building a style that is sustainable over time to win not just one hockey game in October, but to build a system that can win continuously over the course of a season and then hopefully into the postseason. That’s what really matters.”

The Blackhawks were tied at 2 after two periods in each of their first three games. They lost 4-3 in overtime at Boston on Thursday night. They dropped their home opener on Saturday on Kaiden Guhle’s goal with 15.7 seconds left, lifting Montreal to a 3-2 win.

Blashill’s team had a 1-0 lead over Utah before JJ Peterka scored for the Mammoth 1:02 into the third period. But Andre Burakovsky scored a power-play goal for Chicago at 8:55, and Ilya Mikheyev helped close it out with an empty-netter in the final seconds for his second goal of the night.

“We’ve been in this situation four times now where you know they’re one-goal games late,” Blashill said. “That’s a good thing. But you have to find ways to win. You can’t just be close in those games. You have to continue to find ways to win, which we did tonight.”

Like Knight, the 30-year-old Burakovsky also praised Blashill’s attention to details, and he said it played a role in the victory over the Mammoth.

“I think today, even though we maybe didn’t have so much puck the whole time, I think our details on the defensive side were really good,” he said. “And that’s something we’ve been working on. So good job by him to help us get through there.”