Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Tim Thomas Reality Check

Let me lead this off by saying Toucher & Rich are morons. And John Wallach goes beyond moron because he talks like he's the expert on the show (this is equivalent to being the best hockey player on the Guatemalan national team). I tuned in this morning because I had heard they had been talking Tim Thomas trades and wanted to see what they were basing it on. The answer is nothing. I'm sorry I tuned in. Never have I heard more misinformation in so short a span.

Some guy from TheHockeyNews.com thinks they can get a forward, a defenseman, and a veteran goaltender in return for Tim Thomas? Are you effing kidding me? Sounds like some pinhead who just got himself a new job and wanted to feel important in his first ever radio appearance by spewing drivel to incite a few days of chatter. Also, of all the hockey sites out there, where does TheHockeyNews.com rank in the list? And, tell me how this supposed deal would ever fit under the cap and name me the players?

I do give Toucher & Rich credit for this: They did know that some emailer saying they should trade Thomas and Ryder for Patrick Kane was an idiot. Congratulations fellas, you're up to the 5th percentile in hockey knowledge.

Without further ado - here are some things to piss on the fire T&R are trying to create on their radio show...

Chicago will not trade for Tim Thomas - Here is why:
Chicago is in severe cap trouble for next year. If Tim Thomas is on their team, they cannot buy him out without still taking the FULL cap hit for him (35+ Year-old player contract). AND, they cannot send him to the minors to avoid the cap hit which they can do with Huet (Thomas has a no-movement clause). It's simple, the Tim Thomas contract would be a noose around Chicago's management's necks for THREE years after this year.


The Bruins will not trade Tim Thomas to Washington - Here is why:
What will Washington give the Bruins in return? They don't have any assets on the blueline that would interest the Bruins. I don't think the Bruins are interested in Mike Knuble. The Capitals aren't going to trade Ovechkin, Backstrom, or Semin. That leaves lesser players like Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann as potential acquisitions. I don't think this is enough for the Bruins to trade for. Also, I believe Washington will go to the playoffs with Varlamov as their goaltender. The only thing that Peter would go for would be Thomas for Semin (with some picks potentially involved), but I just don't think Washington wants to give up Semin for the difference between Thomas and Theodore/Varlamov.

The only Tim Thomas trade that makes logical sense to me would be with Philadelphia - Here is why:
The Ray Emery experiment has not worked out for them and he is now hurt again. Michael Leighton was a castoff from one of the worst teams in the league this year. Philadelphia is looking for stability in goal and has assets they would be willing to trade to get it...and these assets would also interest the Bruins. The one asset that jumps off the page is Jeff Carter - supposedly there are some locker room issues involving him this year and he has underperformed, but he is clearly an elite talent. This would also work for the cap since they have identical $5M cap hits. This makes sense. The crap that T&R were spewing on the radio makes no sense at all.

Now, before anything can be done, Timmy has to waive his no-trade. I have a feeling Timmy would be reluctant to waive his NTC to go to Philly. Could the Bruins be playing Tuukka right now in an attempt to get Thomas to waive his no-trade? I don't think they would do that to him, but there has to be some desperation on management's side of things so maybe they would. I like Tuukka, but he hasn't exactly been a late-'90's version of Dominik Hasek here lately either. That tying goal to Hamrlik against the Habs at home should not have gone in and yesterday's Myers goal was weak too (both of which beat him to the glove side, where Derek Roy's goal also beat him yesterday). John Wallach thinks Tuukka is the next Marty Brodeur, but I'm not ready to crown him just yet. But if you can get Jeff Carter in return for Tim Thomas, you do it.

The trouble is, if you're Peter Chiarelli, how do you convince Timmy to let you do it?

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