BOSTON (CBS) — While he may have been a fourth-line forward/enforcer on paper, Shawn Thornton made a much bigger impact over his seven years with the Boston Bruins.

Thornton, a fan favorite and leader in the locker room, returned to Boston for the first time as a member of the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. While he didn’t score the game-winning goal like he wanted to, Thornton received a standing ovation from the Boston crowd and the Bruins played a video tribute during a break in action in the first period.

“I loved it,” Thornton told 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher & Rich Wednesday morning. “I got a standing ovation in a visiting rink. It’s not too many times that happens.”

Thornton played a career-high 16:03 minutes in the game (a 2-1 overtime win by Boston) and registered five hits. He was known for dropping the gloves during his days in the Spoked B, but said there wasn’t really an opportunity to dance with one of his former teammates, and he never felt he had to do so.

“One time me and Quader [Adam McQuaid] got tied up in front after he laid a hit on somebody and I put a hit on [David] Warsofsky. There was a little pushing match, but like you said, I’m not used to playing 16 minutes,” he joked. “I can’t be getting (the gloves) off if I’m playing that much.”

The Bruins and Thornton parted ways in the offseason, and the winger reached a two-year deal with Florida the day free agency opened. So it didn’t take long for him to find a new home on the ice, but when it comes to his home off of it, Boston is where he and his family feel they belong.

“Who knows what is going to happen in two years; maybe the Panthers want to bring me on in the offices? But we kept our place (in Boston), we’re coming back this summer and that’s home for us,” he said. “I can’t see anything changing, but you know how some things happen.”

Thornton wouldn’t mind working in a team’s front office, but said he wouldn’t want to go through the rigors of the minor league again, this time as a coach. Thornton spent nine years in the minors before getting his chance in the NHL in 2002.

“I spent nine years down there, 600 or 700 games. The coaching, maybe not as much my thing unless it was an assistant job in the NHL,” he said. “Moving around in some of those towns, and the lack of job security of coaching, doesn’t sound as appealing as upper management and player development, stuff like that.

“Obviously the media is still at the top of my list. I really enjoy that stuff. I even enjoy coming on with you guys, believe it or not,” he joked. “I’m going where the money is. Wherever that is. Whoever wants to pay me, I’m in.”

Thornton also talks about the state of the Bruins, Claude Julien’s contract extension, the empty seats in Florida, and his young-looking father:

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