A lot to catch up on... but I'll take it slow, don't want to overload one post.
First and foremost the single biggest bit of news this offseason is Tim Thomas deciding to take a year sabatical from hockey for "Family, Friends, and Faith". Now, I've been asked many times what I think (probably because I didn't blog about it...my b).
Only time will tell if his leave of absense is actually because of family, friends, and faith. If it is, which is obviously possible, then the human in me is okay with it. If he's unhappy with Boston or unhappy with his contract, then that'll be a whole different rant for a different post. Let's remember Thomas hasn't had the easiest career path. Let's recap:
University of Vermont
Birmingham Bulls (ECHL) 1997-1998
Houston Aeros (IHL) 1997-1998
Finland 1997-1998
Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) 1998-1999
Finland 1999-2000
Detroit Vipers (IHL) 1999-2000
Sweden 2000-2002
Providence Bruins 2002-2004
Sweden 2004-2005 (lockout)
Boston Bruins 2005-present
That's a hell of a lot of moving around in a 4-5 year span. Now I'm not naive, I'm sure MANY MANY aspiring athletes in all sports go through similar moves to try and make it to the bigs, but that still doesn't make it easier on his family and friends.
But that's the human in me. The insane diehard B's fan in me is fairly pissed. His cap hit is $5mil. That's a large cap hit for someone that is playing let alone someone that's not. If suspending a player eliminated their cap hit, and if the B's put Marc Savard on long term injury reserve, which would eliminate his cap hit, that's $9mil of available cap room. Let me repeat...
$9 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF CAP ROOM
That would allow the Bruins to be contenders for Parise or Suter. *droooooool*
Is there a potential for cap relief? Yes. Currently there is a floor, which is the opposite of a cap. Teams have to spend a certain amount of money on their payroll each year. I'm assuming the new CBA is going to have this as well. If there is a team that is under the floor, what better way to get there without actually paying any money than by trading for Thomas (who's no trade clause expires July 1st...even though reports are he waived had it already). The team receives the $5mil cap hit, but the owner doesn't pay an additional dime. Two teams that are linked to this is the Colorado Avalanche and the Quebec Nor... I mean New York Islanders.
To be honest, Thomas should be thanking Tuukka. Everyone would be a hell of a lot more pissed at him if Rask wasn't on the verge of being the starter. And Tuukka should be thanking Thomas, it's pretty clear now that he's the number one goalie!
A Boston Bruins blog by Dome
Showing posts with label Thomas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thomas. Show all posts
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Bruins Take Game 1!!!
Bruins 1 - Capitals 0 (OT) --- Boston leads series 1-0
PHEW....
A few shots of Jameson and a few homebrews later, I have survived the first postseason game of 2012. This team kills me! Of course they would play a 0-0 game (Claude's favorite) and go to OT in the FIRST game of the postseason. They need to have a general surgeon warning before these games, detrimental to my health I tell ya...
The message to the Bruins was very clear: shoot, shoot, shoot. I understand why, the young Holtby was playing in his first playoff game and they wanted to test him early. I just wish after the first period, they went back to trying to create more quality opportunities. You have to give Holtby a TON of credit. While I didn't think the quality of shots was necessarily there, he stepped up to the plate. If it wasn't for the freak at the other end of the ice (known as Tim Thomas around these parts), he would've gotten a shutout in his first NHL playoff game.
Speaking of Thomas, if he plays like that night in and night out, the Bruins have a chance to make a deep run. No, he didn't get tested a lot, but I thought the shots the Capitals did take were quality shots for the most part. We're one game in and we may have the save of the series. When I saw the puck being moved to Ovechkin, stick cocked back about to unleash a laser of a one-timer, and almost half of the net wide open, I swear my coffee table started trembling because it knew a punch and or a kick was coming. Instead Thomas decided to put his yoga skills to good use and flash a right skate save. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
The best match up of the night goes to Seidenberg versus Ovechkin...hands down. Unlike Cindy Crosby, Ovechkin is a baller. Like him or not, he's tough as nails and loves throwing the big hits (game high 7 last night). Luckily for him, the Bruins also love playing physical. The German and the Russian were going at all night. The great part is that none of it was cheap, it was all within the rules of the game. The best hit came early on in the game when Seidenberg lined Ovechkin up, but Ovechkin was able to brace himself and even give it back to the Bruin defenseman. Beautiful hockey...
I thought all the lines except Bergie's line was struggling to find rhythm. The top especially seemed to be out of sync. I want to see Looch get in front of the net a little more. He's one of the bigger forwards in the league and if he parks is toosh in front of Holtby, I'm sure the first line will put some pucks in the net. GET TO THE DIRTY AREAS, LOOCH!!
Another disappointing aspect of the B's game was their power play. I will say it looks better than last year, but we all know that isn't saying much. I think a JV high school teams power play looks better than the B's last year. At least this year, they are generating chances, keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and use it as a momentum gainer. Last year, I would've preferred if the refs DIDN'T call a penalty since usually the opposing team would use it to gain momentum back. So, although better, they need to start scoring.
My "Dennis Wideman" award goes to Joe Corvo. It's upsetting that one of my favorite players, McQuaid, is out and my least favorite player, Corvo, takes his spot. He's not tough, he can't play defense, and most frustrating of all he shoots the puck into a Capitals defender EVERY TIME. Mike Green laid down on the ice many seconds before Corvo even thought about shooting. Instead of lifting the puck over Green, which I'm assuming every NHLer can do, he shoots right into him. I'm not sure what's wrong with McQuaid, but I NEED him to come back ASAP. COME ON, DUDE!!!
Alright peeps, I'll be at game 2 (thanks, Johnny!). 3:00pm on Saturday. I'll be sure to go bonkers for everyone. I was 6-0 in the playoffs last year, let's hope I can keep the streak alive!!!
PHEW....
A few shots of Jameson and a few homebrews later, I have survived the first postseason game of 2012. This team kills me! Of course they would play a 0-0 game (Claude's favorite) and go to OT in the FIRST game of the postseason. They need to have a general surgeon warning before these games, detrimental to my health I tell ya...
The message to the Bruins was very clear: shoot, shoot, shoot. I understand why, the young Holtby was playing in his first playoff game and they wanted to test him early. I just wish after the first period, they went back to trying to create more quality opportunities. You have to give Holtby a TON of credit. While I didn't think the quality of shots was necessarily there, he stepped up to the plate. If it wasn't for the freak at the other end of the ice (known as Tim Thomas around these parts), he would've gotten a shutout in his first NHL playoff game.
Speaking of Thomas, if he plays like that night in and night out, the Bruins have a chance to make a deep run. No, he didn't get tested a lot, but I thought the shots the Capitals did take were quality shots for the most part. We're one game in and we may have the save of the series. When I saw the puck being moved to Ovechkin, stick cocked back about to unleash a laser of a one-timer, and almost half of the net wide open, I swear my coffee table started trembling because it knew a punch and or a kick was coming. Instead Thomas decided to put his yoga skills to good use and flash a right skate save. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
The best match up of the night goes to Seidenberg versus Ovechkin...hands down. Unlike Cindy Crosby, Ovechkin is a baller. Like him or not, he's tough as nails and loves throwing the big hits (game high 7 last night). Luckily for him, the Bruins also love playing physical. The German and the Russian were going at all night. The great part is that none of it was cheap, it was all within the rules of the game. The best hit came early on in the game when Seidenberg lined Ovechkin up, but Ovechkin was able to brace himself and even give it back to the Bruin defenseman. Beautiful hockey...
I thought all the lines except Bergie's line was struggling to find rhythm. The top especially seemed to be out of sync. I want to see Looch get in front of the net a little more. He's one of the bigger forwards in the league and if he parks is toosh in front of Holtby, I'm sure the first line will put some pucks in the net. GET TO THE DIRTY AREAS, LOOCH!!
Another disappointing aspect of the B's game was their power play. I will say it looks better than last year, but we all know that isn't saying much. I think a JV high school teams power play looks better than the B's last year. At least this year, they are generating chances, keeping the puck in the offensive zone, and use it as a momentum gainer. Last year, I would've preferred if the refs DIDN'T call a penalty since usually the opposing team would use it to gain momentum back. So, although better, they need to start scoring.
My "Dennis Wideman" award goes to Joe Corvo. It's upsetting that one of my favorite players, McQuaid, is out and my least favorite player, Corvo, takes his spot. He's not tough, he can't play defense, and most frustrating of all he shoots the puck into a Capitals defender EVERY TIME. Mike Green laid down on the ice many seconds before Corvo even thought about shooting. Instead of lifting the puck over Green, which I'm assuming every NHLer can do, he shoots right into him. I'm not sure what's wrong with McQuaid, but I NEED him to come back ASAP. COME ON, DUDE!!!
Alright peeps, I'll be at game 2 (thanks, Johnny!). 3:00pm on Saturday. I'll be sure to go bonkers for everyone. I was 6-0 in the playoffs last year, let's hope I can keep the streak alive!!!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Turco in for Tuukka
As every knows, Tuukka was injured during the Islanders game with a lower abdomen/groin injury and will miss at the least the rest of the regular season. This sucks for multiple reasons:
1. Tuukka is arguably the best goaltender that is not a starting goaltender (you can throw Schneider and Bernier in that mix too). Even though Timmy will be the goaltender for the playoffs, Timmy's a bit old and the plan was most likely to lean heavily on Rask the last month and a half of the season to give Thomas some rest.
2. This injury occurred after the trade deadline. The options are significantly limited on trying to find a replacement.
3. The number one goalie in Providence, Anton Khudobin, is injured with a bum wrist. Plan D anyone?
When this happened I jokingly asked my roommate if he thought Chiarelli would kick the tires on Turco. I know at the start of the year he was hoping to sign with a team, but when that didn't happen he went over to Europe. My joke became a reality with the B's signing the 36 year old goaltender. If this was 10 years ago, hot digity dog I'd be excited.
Because the options are limited at this time of year and with the injury to Khudobin, I understand this signing and it realistically seems like the best option. Since he signed after the trade deadline he's not eligible to play for the playoffs, which isn't a big deal barring Rask is healthy by then.
All we need him to do is play in 6 or so games to let Thomas rest. If Turco somehow channels his younger self and catches fire (which I'm not banking on) we can give him more games. We just need him not to completely blow. We NEED a fresh Thomas for the playoffs.
Let's hope this works out!
1. Tuukka is arguably the best goaltender that is not a starting goaltender (you can throw Schneider and Bernier in that mix too). Even though Timmy will be the goaltender for the playoffs, Timmy's a bit old and the plan was most likely to lean heavily on Rask the last month and a half of the season to give Thomas some rest.
2. This injury occurred after the trade deadline. The options are significantly limited on trying to find a replacement.
3. The number one goalie in Providence, Anton Khudobin, is injured with a bum wrist. Plan D anyone?
When this happened I jokingly asked my roommate if he thought Chiarelli would kick the tires on Turco. I know at the start of the year he was hoping to sign with a team, but when that didn't happen he went over to Europe. My joke became a reality with the B's signing the 36 year old goaltender. If this was 10 years ago, hot digity dog I'd be excited.
Because the options are limited at this time of year and with the injury to Khudobin, I understand this signing and it realistically seems like the best option. Since he signed after the trade deadline he's not eligible to play for the playoffs, which isn't a big deal barring Rask is healthy by then.
All we need him to do is play in 6 or so games to let Thomas rest. If Turco somehow channels his younger self and catches fire (which I'm not banking on) we can give him more games. We just need him not to completely blow. We NEED a fresh Thomas for the playoffs.
Let's hope this works out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)