Hockey journalists hate the Boston Bruins Part 1

I Just had to listen to "The Expert" press tell me how stupid the Thornton trade was again. The Bruins won Thursday night against Ottawa the cup favourites and just beat the defending Stanley cup champions, but it doesn't matter because Joe Thornton plays somewhere else.

I am amazed that regardless of the score the Bruins get one highlight and the opponent gets every single goal shown. Case in point, Bruins win 7-6 over the Penguins, every channel TSN, Headline sports and sportsnet showed 1 Boston goal. This was a game the Bruins were losing 6-4 in the 3rd period, stormed back to tie and won in overtime. I saw every single Crosby shot and assist, but only 1 Boston goal. In a 7-6 come from behind overtime victory. 6 Penguin goals (they have Lemieux and Crosby don't you know) 1 Boston goal. Just saying, this was the worst example, but it is typical.

Back to the Joe Thornton trade, one month later. I loved Joe Thornton, but as I explain in part 2, he just did not want to play for the Bruins, and a $6 million half assed guy is bad in every way. So let's see how bad the trade has actually been for the Bruins. Before the trade the Bruins were 8-13-5, to simplify with the new rules they were 8 and 18. That's right, with walk on water Thornton they lost 18 of their first 26 games. Something clearly wasn't working. Again as described in part 2, they should have done other things first, but as it is all water under the bridge now, they did something, they didn't just ride it out.

Since the Thornton trade the press would have you believe that the Bruins are worse. In the month leading up to the trade the Bruins were 1 for 12. Since the trade they are 8-6-1, or to be clearer 8-7, or even clearer they are a .500 hockey club (.530 to be exact) without their irreplaceable $6 million leader. They were a .307 hockey club with Thornton. Maybe it's just me, but I think that the trade may be doing something for the Bruins.

I was super pissed about what the Bruins got in return for Thornton, but after 14 games I have to say I am pleasantly surprised.

Wayne Primeau made me madder than any part of this deal, but he is filling his role nicely. He is a quality checker who has 2 goals, 2 assist and 12 PIM since the deal and he is averaging 14 minutes a game.

Brad Stuart was the one positive that any analyst could see in the deal and he is playing fairly well. He has 3 goals 6 assists for 9 points in his first 13 games. He has 14 PIM and is averaging a very nice 24 minutes a game.

Marco Strum was also mentioned as a nice addition and he has 7 goals and 5 assists since joining the team. He has 5 PIM and is getting 17 minutes of ice time a night.

With these three players the Bruins saved $1 million over Thornton's contract and have gotten three aggressive guys who are contributing big minutes in ice time and are scoring. Before the trade Thornton's numbers were pretty good 9 goals, 24 assists in 23 games, but and it's a big but, he only had 6 penalty minutes. If this guy wins the Lady Byng trophy this year, which he could, I think he should be VERY embarrassed. A guy his size, who was the Captain of an original six franchise not contributing physically, speaks volumes as to the effort and heart he was putting into his game.

The problem/knock on the Bruins has always been that they relied too heavily on one guy/line. Shut down their key line and they are easy to beat. Witness the Canadiens in the playoffs and Thornton’s 0 points in 7 games. So what they have achieved here with this trade is clearly a more balanced attack. Thornton's career has smelled a lot like that of Alexi Yashin. Great regular season numbers, but come playoff time the guy is a shadow of himself and the Bruins playoff performance is evidence of that. They won their division twice with Thornton, but never won a playoff round.

Since the trade, Thornton's numbers have maintained their pace, 6 goals and 19 assists, but those penalty minutes are still girlish to say the least. He has 11 minutes in 13 games with San Jose, an improvement right, but 9 of those minutes came in the same game. In other words, Thornton had 3 stupid penalties in one game and a minor penalty in another. Another telling stat is a 6 game stretch where Thornton managed just 4 points, all assists, and his team went 1-5 stretch. That is the Thornton that San Jose should be afraid of. The guy who gets his points, but they are meaningless to all but his statistics.

As for the three new Bruins collectively they have 12 goals and 13 assists for 25 points since the trade. Thornton has 25 points since the trade. Now I am no expert, but it appears that the Bruins have simply spread out their scoring and added a defenseman who logs huge minutes and can contribute offensively. Now if they can make the playoffs, a good run and they are right back into it, and everyone who shit on this trade may have to eat their words.

Maybe for the time being we can all stop saying how great the future Lady Byng Trophy winner is and do a little more analysis of the trade and its impact. The Bruins are playing better and they have matched Thornton's production point for point. A month after my first rant everything I said is still true, and the new faces are proving themselves. Was it a terrible trade? Not a great trade that's for sure, but let's give it a chance.