Key dates prior to the start of the season: After Joe Thornton voiced his unhappiness with his contract in Boston in 2005, many teams reportedly sent offers to the Bruins.
On November 30, 2005, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks in a blockbuster four-player deal which sent forwards Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau and defenseman Brad Stuart to Boston.
Thornton was the team's leading scorer at the time by a substantial margin and many felt Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell had traded away one of the few players who was truly showing an exemplary effort.
On January 10, 2006, Thornton returned to Boston as a member of the Sharks, but was ejected for checking Bruins' defenseman Hal Gill from behind at 5:13 of the first period.
[1] The Bruins ended up finishing with the third-worst record in the Eastern Conference, but the story of the season for the team was the emergence of goaltender Tim Thomas.
Injuries to incumbent starter Andrew Raycroft and backup Hannu Toivonen pushed Thomas into the starting role, one that he did not relinquish until after the 2011–12 season.