Could Tim Thomas be traded by Boston Bruins? –NHL Special
What would be extremely surprising is if Vancouver Canucks trade Roberto Luongo for Boston Bruins’ Tim Thomas, but getting back to reality. Tim Thomas is rumoured to have played his last game as a Bruin and could be on the verge of being traded during Boston’s
longer than usual offseason.
It was excruciating for a lot of people to see a team like Washington Capitals knock out the defending champions, Boston Bruins, in Game 7 of the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoff Quarterfinals, but it was real and
it did happen.
Now that the Bruins will have more than enough time off to think over what went wrong and what could they change after being eliminated with nearly the same line-up as they had after winning the Stanley Cup, Tim Thomas could be on the list of those players
Boston wants to ship out.
"We had some guys that came back and were the same player they were the year before. We had some players that really struggled," Boston head coach, Claude Julien, said. "Basically, we played two seasons in less than two years. It's not an easy task, and
at the same time, there's so much going on, there's reasons for guys being better and a little less than others."
For starters, Tim Thomas is entering the last year on his four season long contract worth a whopping $20 million, which would make him an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2013. Boston could save the final $3 million they owe to him and pick up another
hot goalie, possibly younger to fill in the spot.
There was no doubt in the fact that Boston was impressed by rookie Washington Capitals’ goalie, Braden Holtby, who was called up from the minor league and has so far gotten Alex Ovechkin and company past to the semi-finals.
Seeing how such a young player can make that difference, Boston would be able to get two more guys like that for half the price and could maybe even focus on improving the offensive line-up as well.
Let’s face it. Tim Thomas is 38-years-old now and was in his prime a little late as he single handed guided Boston Bruins to their first Stanley Cup in over 40 years after a Game 7 victory over Vancouver Canucks, but now, it is all done and over with. Pumping
Thomas every single year just will not cut it anymore and will only result in a disappointed team, a disappointed fan base and an especially disappointed Tim Thomas.
Fact is, Boston will most likely not trade Tim Thomas this year but if they do not see any potential in the goalie the next season and are ousted in the same way, next year will definitely need to be a transition for the veteran.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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