Stanley Cup winners Boston Bruins looking forward to the next season, coming out stronger –NHL Updates
Boston Bruins was thinking about many things before the beginning of the previous 2010-2011 season, like how it could trade some of its players for better options and maybe secure a better chance at winning the Stanley Cup after 39 years.
Now that Bruins has won the championship it is pondering upon how to retain and keep the players it currently has because they truly are the Stanley Cup champions.
At one time the Bruins’ management was regretting giving its goalie, Tim Thomas, such a long contract, a $20 million for 4 years, and was considering trading his rights.
"He kept stressing he didn't want to leave. And I said, 'I know, let's just look at this very briefly'", Boston’s general manager, Peter Chiarelli, said while talking about Tim Thomas. "I know there are a lot of stories that flowed from it, but I can't stress
enough the fact that Tim never wanted to leave. And I wouldn't be doing my job if I at least didn't look at some things. And I did".
Thomas has now been named the most valuable goalie in the league in light of his performance throughout the 2011 NHL Playoffs.
Thomas not only won the Conn Smythe Trophy for his MVP performance in the postseason but is also very likely to win the Vezina Trophy for which he is a front runner.
"You talk to other teams", Chiarelli said when Thomas was under consideration. "And at the end of the day, you make the decision, yay or nay. And here it was nay. And it was an easy nay".
Keeping Thomas in the line-up has certainly given Bruins the advantage it needed throughout the regular season and postseason as well since in the final seven-game series, it was fight to the end between two of the top goalies in the league.
Statistically, there was no better person to tackle the skills of Roberto Luongo, Vancouver Canucks’ goalie, other than the veteran, Tim Thomas.
Boston Bruins is losing Mark Recchi, who is retiring and had announced his decision prior to winning the Stanley Cup and kept it as a condition to end his career.
Boston has a great team and keeping it that way will be the task at hand for the top management.
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