Joe Thornton Trade

In a previous post where I delineated the problems facing the Boston Bruins I wrote:

Thornton has done okay numbers wise, but he needs to step it up in a big way. He needs to finish some checks and set the tone.

Finally, in looking at all these problems and trying to find the common denominator, Mike O'Connell has to take a good measure of blame here. He's the one who put the team together and planned to go into the season with a minimum of two rookie d-men slated for the opening night roster. I've said it before, in the new salary-cap era, good management gives teams a decided edge. Does that idea fill your heart with hope Bruins fans?

Well, the Bruins decided that enough is enough when it comes to Joe and they shipped him off to San Jose for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau. While I was ready for Joe to be traded and not terribly surprised that he was, I was disappointed with what they got in return. Now, I can't honestly say I'm terribly familiar with these three players as I don't have the Center Ice package and thus don't see teams out West very much. Still, none of these names will blow you away. Other rumored trades sounded much better, like Thornton to Florida (along with Raycroft) for Luongo, Bouwmeester, and Horton or Jokinen. That would have been much more palatable.

The Bruins have tried to address their issues, but I still think Sullivan has to take some blame for Joe's performance. Joe was at his best under Keenan who called him out and rode his butt hard. Mike did nothing but massage Joe in the media. O'Connell decided to go into the season with two rookies on defense. Now, when the defense is shaky, he trades Joe Thornton, and at best, gets back questionable value. Now, I'm sure O'C knows these players better than I do, but how much confidence do I have in MOC at this point? Not much. I hope I'm wrong.

Finally, I think this will light a fire under Joe's butt. Good news for San Jose.