Sharks general manager Doug Wilson pulled the curtain back Thursday night on the thinking behind the team's decision last August to take the captaincy away from veteran center Joe Thornton.
The topic was raised in a question-answer session with about 350 season-ticket holders before the Sharks faced the Nashville Predators, and Wilson prefaced his remarks by saying he is a huge Thornton fan.
"He cares about the game so much. The reason we took the 'C' off him ... Joe carries the weight of the team on his shoulders, and he's got such a big heart that when stress comes on him, he lashes out at people," Wilson said, "and it kind of impacts them.
"The pressure and stress, I felt, was getting to Joe," the general manager said. "And I sat him down and said we need other players to step up and share this. He got it. He didn't like it, but he got it and he understood it."