Should the Bruins trade Thomas?

Yet again we have seen the emergence of a young goaltender take the starting position of the veteran. Over the past few seasons we have seen it happen in Montreal and Anaheim, and now we are seeing it happen in Detroit and Boston. Tim Thomas had to wait until he was 35 years old to get an NHL contract that made him relevant... and as we are starting to see yet again this season, there is a reason it has taken him this long. There have been many contracts that many GM's around the league are wishing they could have back, and soon enough Tim Thomas may be another. Thomas will be costing the Bruins a 5 million dollar cap hit for the next three years (when he will turn 38) and will be a burden for a team that has only 12 players under contract next season. So the debate begins... do the Bruins trade Thomas at the Deadline? Well one can look no further than 300 miles up Interstate 89 to Montreal for a recent example of a similar problem. Two seasons ago when Montreal was giving significant time to their own goaltending prodigy Carey Price, former GM Bob Gainey felt that Cristobal Huet was expendable. For those who cannot remember how that experiment turned out, Price is now losing time to fellow young goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Price suddenly became a fan-favorite in Montreal and all was well until the Canadiens found themselves suddenly in game 7 against a team who had won 23 of the past 28 meetings since Game 4 of the 2004 playoff series between the teams. Price shutout the B's in Game 7 and then proceeded to meltdown in the second round against Philadelphia and has suddenly become the scapegoat in Montreal. The bottom line is with young goaltenders, veteran mentors are essential and I do not believe there could be any better mentor for young goalies than Tim Thomas. The Bruins, unless overwhelmed by a deal from possibly Chicago at the deadline, should hang on to Thomas. And if they were to get rid of him, a good veteran mentor could be Martin Biron from the Islanders who is available. A dream scenario would be for the Bruins to move Thomas at the draft, if they can find any team willing to take a gamble on him living up to his contract... Just think about this... how much are you willing to bet the worst offensive team in the league with a rookie goaltender can get past a Washington or Pittsburgh in the first round? I'd like to see the line on that one

Reason to Hope? Or Not...

I have been reading articles, watching local sports anchors, and even hearing fellow Bruins fans talk about how the past two wins which snapped that awful 10 game losing streak are a sign that the Bruins are ready to come on strong. However, take a closer look at these past two victories... The first came against a team that epitomizes "Jekyll and Hyde", the hated Canadiens. The other win came against the suddenly lifeless Sabres. Now do not get me wrong here, two road victories against divisional opponents ahead of you in the standings is always something to be happy about, but don't go and think that the problem is solved. This team has been outstanding defensively all season, led by the emergence of top goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask, and steady (not Vezina-caliber) play of Tim Thomas. Yet it is the same old story with this team... they cannot score. Keep in mind that the Bruins are still 30th (dead last) in the NHL in goals scored, 96 goals behind league-leading Washington. Although they have strung together a couple wins in a row thanks to the stellar play of Rask, some more offense needs to come to this team if they want any hope of a cinderella playoff run.