National Hockey League (NHL) Players with most responsibility in the Eastern Conference –Part 1
It was an insightful time as we discussed players in the National Hockey League (NHL) Western Conference who were in the hot seat and had the most responsibility with the coming of the new 2011-2012 regular season.
The Eastern side has a whole different story of its own and by looking at the current situation the Western rivals are facing, is very interesting.
Having won the Stanley Cup this time, Boston Bruins finally brought the cup back to where it belongs, in the East Coast. With celebrating and all that fun, it puts an immense amount of pressure on the divisional teams to maintain that standard.
In this next discussion, we will discuss players from the Eastern side, who like their opponents in the West will be under observation next season in order to lead their teams to greatness.
Tim Thomas (Goalie, Boston Bruins)
Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo (Goalie, Vancouver Canucks), made the last Stanley Cup Finals especially exciting since it became a battle between the leagues greatest goalies, instead of the usual shooter battles and such rivalry.
Being picked up as the 217th overall draft pick during round-nine of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft, Thomas did not land a permanent spot with Boston until recently 2006. Before then, the veteran was used mostly as a recall from their minor league affiliates,
an attribute which has really changed the mindsets of people who imagine how Stanley Cup winners usually are.
Before it was a common stereotype that when you think about a player holding up the hockey world’s most coveted championship, it was usually a player like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Teemu Selanne and such, but not a bearded, blue-collar,
middle class player like Tim Thomas.
Winning 35 of 57 games played, along with boasting a .938 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average throughout the previous season, Thomas really showed that hard work and dedication can work miracles and established a more common ground for fans and
viewers everywhere.
Although his success was unprecedented in NHL history, Thomas will certainly be in hot water next season if he cannot upkeep the standard he has created against his name. It might even lead people to regard his past achievements as a fluke and just pure
good luck.
It will be interesting to see what Thomas does next season, whether he will be able to lead the team back into the postseason or suffer a fate which many have faced before him.
To be continued in Part 2....
(The views expressed by the writer are his own and do not reflect the editorial policy of www.bettor.com)
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