DeBoer disappointed for Thornton: 'He belongs playing for a Stanley Cup'

Peter DeBoer is taking some of the blame for the fact that Joe Thornton won't win his first championship this spring.

"He's the face, he's the heartbeat of the organization," the San Jose Sharks head coach told the assembled media, including Sportsnet, following a season-ending 5-1 defeat to the St. Louis Blues in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night.

"Like all the players in that room, as coaches, we're disappointed for not helping him get there because he gives you everything he's got and (he) should be there," DeBoer added. "It's hard not to feel responsibility as one of the people around him for not helping him get where he belongs. He belongs playing for a Stanley Cup and that's the disappointing part."

Thornton said postgame that he hasn't thought about his future.

The 39-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent who's spent parts of 14 of his 21 seasons with the Sharks.