BREAKING: Joe Thornton being connected to Western Conference contender

Thornton is one of the best passers in NHL history and is one of the best players to ever lace up the skates, but the 43 year old is still chasing that one prize that every hockey player dreams of, the Stanley Cup.

After not getting re-signed by the Florida Panthers where he spent last season, Thornton has been an available Unrestricted Free Agent since July 13th. If this was 5 years ago, Thornton would have been signed at the moment of free agency opening, but unfortunately for this veteran, he doesn't bring the point production he once did, and the game has quickly become too fast for Jumbo Joe.

Thornton wants to win that Stanley Cup, so he isn't going to accept any deals to play on a non-cup contending team, so he is most likely looking for a one-year deal somewhere around league minimum.

One of the teams that has been most active this season has been the Calgary Flames. After losing Johnny Gaudreau and being forced to trade away Matthew Tkachuk, the Flames managed to bring in Jonathan Huberdeau, Mackenzie Weegar and Nazem Kadri.

It looks like now the Calgary Flames could be looking to add this former 100 point scorer to their ranks.

Thornton could bring a load of experience and leadership to the Flames who are looking to build on last season and get back to a deep run in the stanley cup playoffs.