San Jose Sharks legend Joe Thornton might not have been a Shark at all.

Ex-Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke says he pushed hard to acquire Thornton when the Boston Bruins made him available in 2005.

"We were in hard on Joe Thornton when Boston traded him and we made what we thought was a really outstanding offer the morning he got dealt," Burke told SN650's "Starting Lineup" on Thursday.

Burke added, "We didn't know that they had already committed to the trade with San Jose. But we stepped up in Anaheim and made what I considered to be a huge offer, and a better offer than Boston got."

Thornton, who was originally selected first overall by the Bruins in 1997, was traded midseason in 2005-06 in a surprising blockbuster deal. The Sharks sent forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenseman Brad Stuart to Boston in exchange for the then-26-year-old Thornton.

Despite the Bruins' sizeable return, Burke believes his offer was superior and said that Boston didn't shop Thornton enough. While Burke didn't disclose the exact details, he said he protected five players on the Ducks and the rest were on the table.

"We had a pretty good team in Anaheim, guys. It was a pretty good team," Burke said. "So if you're only protecting five, that sixth player is pretty darn good. ... We were talking a meaningful player, a first-round pick, and a couple of kids. And they made the deal with San Jose instead. I was really choked about that."

The trade paid immediate dividends for the Sharks. Thornton took home the Hart and Art Ross Trophies the same season he was traded, putting up 29 goals and 125 points in 81 games. Burke and the Ducks won the Stanley Cup the following season.

Thornton, now 40, has amassed 1,055 points in 1,104 games with San Jose.

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Vegas Golden Knights puck-stopper Robin Lehner is pessimistic about the NHL's chances of resuming play this season.

"No, I don't think it is possible to shut down and then run again when you have 100,000 cases of the coronavirus. Safety goes first," Lehner told Swedish outlet Expressen on Thursday, as translated by The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

"You can't turn 180 degrees and start playing again," he continued. "I see a zero percent chance that you can save this season. Now I hope that next season can start as usual in October."

As of Thursday, the United States - which is home to 24 of the league's 31 teams - had more known cases of the coronavirus than any other nation in the world.

If the NHL skips the remainder of the regular season and goes straight to the playoffs - an option that several players are open to - Lehner would get a chance to strap on the pads again. Vegas sat first in the Pacific Division when the NHL suspended its season on March 12.

The league has reportedly explored late-summer options for a possible return, asking teams about arena availabilities in August. However, the NHL doesn't want a late resumption to interfere with the 2020-21 campaign.

Lehner spent most of this season with the Chicago Blackhawks before he was dealt to the Golden Knights at the trade deadline. In total, he went 19-10-5 with a 2.89 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage, five shutouts, and 12.67 goals saved above average. The 28-year-old is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency in the coming offseason.

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New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban is teaming up with the NHL to deliver some lighter content during the league's hiatus.

Subban announced Thursday that he'll be hosting a trivia game show featuring players, celebrities, and fans, according to NHL.com's Mike Morreale.

"I'm sure it could be some fun stuff and it's also great to create some content that brings some joy to people, gives people some things to laugh about because there's a lot of things to frown about," Subban said.

"I'm happy that the league is making an initiative to put smiles on people's faces and give fans some content to look forward to and have some fun with. Hopefully, this game show can do that, and I'm looking forward to it."

This isn't the first time Subban has been the face of an NHL show. In 2019, the defender hosted "P.K. Subban's All-Star Special" during All-Star Weekend.

While announcing the game show on Thursday, Subban also took a moment to commend those that are working in health care during the coronavirus pandemic.

"You've got to give crazy props to the doctors and nurses and all the people that have put in crazy hours, that have those masks on, that are doing work all day. … I couldn't imagine having one of those on for a 14-, 15-, 16-hour shift," he said.

"Shout out to all those people that are putting in the time and continuing to make us healthy and safe. It's just tough. It's just a tough time. It's crazy."

The NHL is hoping to launch the trivia game show in the next two weeks.

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Records are made to be broken, but some are in no danger of ever being matched.

Wayne Gretzky holds the lion's share of NHL scoring benchmarks, having held more than 60 of them even after retirement. Those include the 50 goals he racked up in 39 games back in 1981-82, his 51-game point streak in 1983-84, and his 2,857 career points, which remain more than 900 points clear of Jaromir Jagr's second-place output.

Considering so many of the NHL's records belong to Gretzky and most of them are presumably safe for eternity, here are a handful of incredible accomplishments by others that should be similarly out of reach.

Henri Richard's hefty Stanley Cup haul

The late "Pocket Rocket" won a whopping 11 championships in 20 seasons and was a member of the dominant Montreal Canadiens teams of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. While a bunch of his former teammates rank right behind him in terms of titles won, the Hall of Famer played at an elite level for much of his tenure and was a key player on those squads.

Of all the non-Gretzky records, this one stands out as the least likely to be matched thanks to a significant amount of parity in the modern NHL and the fact the league's now comprised of 31 (and soon 32) teams.

A modern-day dynasty is fortunate to win the Cup two or three times, and barring the unlikely scenario of a player managing to suit up for three or four of them, no one's going to equal Richard's stellar championship standard.

Selanne's insane rookie goal production

Teemu Selanne amassed an astounding 76 goals in his first NHL campaign, memorably tossing his glove skyward and using his stick as an imaginary gun to shoot it out of the air on the night he surpassed Mike Bossy's previous mark of 53 in March 1993.

Since then, nobody's come close. Alex Ovechkin got within one of Bossy when the Washington Capitals star entered the league back in 2005-06, but no one's scored more than Ovi as a first-year player since, and even he fell 24 markers shy of Selanne.

Considering how difficult it is to score on a consistent basis as a rookie, and also how some of the game's best players have finished well short in the quarter century to follow Teemu's remarkable feat, this one's not likely to be touched anytime soon.

Glen Hall's bonkers consecutive games record

When we think of ironman streaks in hockey, they're often confined to forwards and defensemen as goaltenders haven't been expected to play every game for a long time. However, while starting netminders used to suit up more frequently than they do now, Glenn Hall holds one of the most impressive records in NHL history and he won't be relinquishing it.

The former member of the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues authored a mind-blowing run of 502 consecutive regular-season games - all of which he started and completed - from October 1955 until November 1962. More incredibly, he played 551 straight contests including the playoffs.

In the modern game, many teams use a 1A-1B tandem approach with their goalies, and some even split the playing time 50-50. Six different goaltenders played at least 70 games in 2009-10, but only 10 have done so in nine full campaigns since then, further underscoring both how impressive Hall's streak continues to be and how unlikely it is that it'll ever be matched.

Brodeur's unreal number of shutouts

Speaking of goaltenders, Martin Brodeur's shutout total is safe for similar reasons. The New Jersey Devils legend posted an absurd 125 clean sheets in his career, besting Terry Sawchuk's previous mark by 22.

Despite the fact the shootout era has increased the number of wins (and losses) across the board thanks to the elimination of ties, shutouts still aren't all that common.

Some of the most successful and longest-tenured active goalies (Henrik Lundqvist, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Pekka Rinne) are each only about halfway to Brodeur's benchmark, and they're presumably at the tail end of their careers. Jonathan Quick and Tuukka Rask have recorded 52 and 50, respectively, so barring a far-fetched shift back to the way things used to be (coupled with a Hall of Fame-caliber goalie playing for an historically dominant defensive club), this record's not going to be approached.

Tiger Williams' lengthy time in the sin bin

Somehow, Dave "Tiger" Williams racked up an NHL-record 3,971 minutes - or more than 66 hours - of penalties during his career from 1974-88.

Williams' benchmark is unattainable primarily because fighting has decreased over the years, and the game has evolved into one that prioritizes speed and skill over physicality. It's a trend that's rendered many fighters and grinders alike obsolete.

The player from this century who's closest to Williams is former Ottawa Senators tough guy Chris Neil, who retired in 2017 trailing "Tiger" by more than 1,400 penalty minutes. The only active player in the NHL's top 60 all time is Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, who sits more than 2,000 minutes behind Williams.

Given these trends, it's evident this record is in no danger of being broken.

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Let no one say Connor McDavid is dogging it during the NHL's hiatus.

The Edmonton Oilers superstar shared a video Thursday in which he showed off an unconventional workout routine, doing bodyweight squats with his rather large pup named Lenny.

Lenny made an appearance alongside his best friend last week (albeit in a less active role) when McDavid offered well wishes to fans amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The dynamic forward always comes to camp in shape, but if he keeps using Lenny for body squats, he's going to be downright gigantic by the time hockey comes back.

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The Montreal Canadiens will get to host an NHL draft one way or another.

Steve Mayer, the league's chief content officer, seemingly said as much to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun on Thursday.

"We went to Montreal and they were awesome," Mayer said. "Nowadays, everyone understands that this is the way of the world (with the coronavirus)."

The Canadiens will likely get a traditional draft in 2021 or 2022, the executive added, as those events haven't been awarded to another franchise yet. However, he cautioned that it depends on the logistics of holding an event in Montreal at that time.

The NHL postponed several events, including the draft and the awards show, Wednesday. The league was paused March 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayer - who's the "all-around NHL events guru," according to LeBrun - outlined three draft options the league is exploring. Firstly, despite its unlikelihood, Mayer said there could still be a full draft event in Montreal later this year if the season can resume early enough.

Secondly, the league could hold a scaled-down event featuring fewer team personnel and prospects. Thirdly, Mayer revealed that a virtual draft is being considered.

"We're looking at that as well," he said. "(It) is probably ... one of the more likely (scenarios) at this point, given where we are in the world. We'd have cameras set up in every war room, bring in as many prospects as we can, (and) have a team representative (from each club)."

Mayer cautioned that the NHL hasn't decided on any of the potential plans and will continue to look into them.

Montreal was originally scheduled to host the 2020 NHL Draft on June 26-27.

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