Thornton trade

[jonf]

If you haven't heard, the Bruins have traded Joe Thornton to San Jose, in exchange for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau, and Brad Stuart. Boston saves 1.6 million in cap room.

What do you think?

Personally, I think Boston has gotten a much better deal than people seem to be giving them credit for. Granted, they have lost one of the better talents in the league, but they have also picked up three players who will play, and perform, game in and game out. Obviously San Jose will benefit greatly from the addition of Thornton, as any team would. Really interesting trade in my mind.

[dbleber]

I'm speachless on this one.................I mean WOW!

[wopstergolf]

I just can't really make sense of it...Joe Thornton is their marquee player, and he is producing again this season, 33 points i think.

There are a lot of other players on the Bruins that I would get rid of before him.

[Colby]

I just can't really make sense of it...Joe Thornton is their marquee player, and he is producing again this season, 33 points i think.

There are a lot of other players on the Bruins that I would get rid of before him.

I think there was a lot more to it than just the points. There's been some tension between Thornton and the organization since the playoffs where he was playing hurt, and even though he's been producing this year, he's seemed uninterested at times. Like the other night when Chara had him shut down, Thornton played with almost no emotion.

[Big Johnny69]

I agree with Colby on this one. Other than saving some cash under the cap there has to be more to this. You don't go out and trade your marquee player without a least a few rumours swirling around beforehand. I follow hockey pretty closely and heard nothing about the possibility of a Thornton trade. I knew there was some issues but not to that extent. Other than Primeau (just a throw in, in my opinion), the Bruins got two good players. Sturm is a quality two way player and if Stuart gives them some much needed help on the back end.

It will be interesting to see how Joe does in the more open Western Conference. His size served him well in the closer checking Eastern Conference. At least he has some goal scorers to feed in San Jose (Cheechoo and some other young guns).

[Golfbum]

I could care less what was happening with Joe in Boston. All I care about now is that Joe is skating for my team Doesn't get any better than for for me, my team picks up one the top power forwards and he just happens to be from my hometown. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. I bet the local sporting goods stores start stocking some SHARKS gear now!

[sensfan63]

I would think that people should have learned from pre-judging trades...we ALL remember the Hossa/de Vries for Heatley trade, right? To be fair, it was probably a 50-50 split on this board concerning that trade, but as I recall there was some VERY vehement opposition to Hossa leaving Ottawa. Seems to have worked out OK for us so far.

So let's just wait and see. I think it was a pretty fair trade. Thornton's stats speak for themselves. Sturm is a pretty damn good player, he should fit in well in Boston. And Stuart is better than he's given credit for. Add Primeau, who is the consummate grinder who can score a few goals, and you've got yourself a trade!

Now if Ottawa could find themselves a legit 2nd-line center, we'd be in business...oops, we're 19-3...oh well, never hurts to upgrade...

[davevandyk]

Nope, I am sorry but this is a horrible trade for Boston. I don't care if Stuart and Szturm light it up, this is the face of Boston!! This is not the equivalent of trading Hossa, Ottawa has many other players in case Heatley stunk it up. This is like Calgary trading Iginla!!!

For years Boston brass has been blaming Thorton for everything, no matter how he performs!

This is easily the biggest trade in many years, i really can't think of a trade bigger. Your team is in last place in the division, so you trade your captain, leading scorer and team leader! Its not like Joey is 35 and on his way down, he is one of the best players in the league, and will be for some time.

He is gonna be HUGE for San Jose along side Marleau!

[Shivas Irons]

Could the Bruins not have gotten a better deal by "shopping" Thornton around instead of doing a surprise deal with the Sharks?
Seems like both teams are just trying to address some problems, but to trade Thornton leaves a pretty big hole down the middle for the Bruins. Seems like someone had an axe to grind.

[spackler]

This is like Calgary trading Iginla!!!

Not even close, you have no idea what Iggy means to Calgary unless you've lived there. I'd say a better comparison would be when Ottawa traded Yashin. Although it wasn't as bad in Boston for Thornton, it wasn't good.

As for the trade itself, everything you see about Stuart is that maybe one day he'll be a top 2 defenceman and Sturm is a good two way forward. That's it. The city and the franchise may have soured on Thornton, but they got nowhere close to equal value in Stuart and Sturm. I don't think there was an auction because I don't think they wanted to trade him within the eastern conference. If they'd publicized their desire to trade him, eastern teams might've proposed the best package and, through leaks in the papers, used public opinion to pin Bruins management as to where they could send him.

[jonf]

quick update. I know it doesn't mean anything, but sturm has done what few others have done this year...he got the bruings on the board against the sens a mere minute and 17 seconds into the game.

[davevandyk]

[quote=spackler]Not even close, you have no idea what Iggy means to Calgary unless you've lived there. [quote]

I am not talking what Iggy means to the city, simply what he means to the team. Thornton is the face of the team, just as Iggy. Both teams give me the question "Who would be captain if they did leave??" I have no idea who it would be in Calgary, as i don't in Boston. What i mean is that Thornton is the undisputed leader on the team, as is Iggy

[spackler]

I am not talking what Iggy means to the city, simply what he means to the team. Thornton is the face of the team, just as Iggy. Both teams give me the question "Who would be captain if they did leave??" I have no idea who it would be in Calgary, as i don't in Boston. What i mean is that Thornton is the undisputed leader on the team, as is Iggy

Yeah, I'm probably being a bit pedantic, just the Iggy comparison surprised me a bit. I've never been in a town where one athlete is idolized like Iggy is in Calgary.

Thornton has been on the outs with both management and the fans for a while now. It was really cemented in the Habs series in the last playoffs. He played hurt, and I don't think it was entirely his fault, but it was a make or break series for him because of previous playoff failures. His contract negotiation was testy, and I'm not really that surprised he was traded. I'm surprised by the speed with which he was traded, and the little return he got.

[Golfbum]

Yeah, I'm probably being a bit pedantic, just the Iggy comparison surprised me a bit. I've never been in a town where one athlete is idolized like Iggy is in Calgary.

Thornton has been on the outs with both management and the fans for a while now. It was really cemented in the Habs series in the last playoffs. He played hurt, and I don't think it was entirely his fault, but it was a make or break series for him because of previous playoff failures. His contract negotiation was testy, and I'm not really that surprised he was traded. I'm surprised by the speed with which he was traded, and the little return he got.

He sure did play hurt, he had cracked ribs. Every game they froze him up, wrapped him up and he went and tried his best. As Grapes said "You don't know how much pain he was in playing with cracked ribs. Every breath you take brings you to your knees" But that was not good enough for Boston Management. I really hope that my Sharks come out of this deal smelling like a Rose and McConnell gets a whole lot of egg on his face. I know I am a lot happier now

[mberube]

I recall Koivu playing hurt in that series too. When the habs got eliminated by the Lightning a huge article in the Montreal paper stated he was badly hurt in the second game in the first round. They came back and won that series and made history. The Boston press trashed Thornton when informed of this.

I think it was a good move for Boston. They get three good players, save over 1 million and Bergeron becomes first or second center again. This kid is amazing. He was racking up points when Zhamnov was on the injury list. He was dropped to third and forth line since Zhamnov came back. They were winning when the kid was on power-plays and on the top two lines.

[davevandyk]

I think Bertuzzi put it best when he said that this trade makes you realize that nobody is safe from being traded, of course unless they have a no trade clause.

Boston needed to shake things up and they shook it up about as much as they could, i hope the deal bites them in the butt, to be honest.

I think Joe is one of the top 10 players in the league and deserves a better management group around him. I mean the guy just signed a 3-year deal to stay when he could've went anywhere, and they repay him by trading him???

[mberube]

He probably asked to be trader for all we know. He had so much pressure in Boston. He will now probably play his best hockey for the Sharks with minimal pressure.

Mike

[Golfbum]

He probably asked to be trader for all we know. He had so much pressure in Boston. He will now probably play his best hockey for the Sharks with minimal pressure.

Mike

I doubt he asked to be traded. He just bought a $2.75 mil condo in Boston. He said he was "Blindsided" by the news of the trade. Those do not sound like he asked to be traded. I can pretty well quarantee that did not happen.
Boston management has always been known as CHEAP. They talk a big story about how they want a winning team and yet they do not get the cast to do so. I am sure Murray is not exactly happy about this trade, he signed as a free agent knowing Joe would be there. No sir, Boston got rid of a Super Star in this deal and a lot of Bruins Fans will not forget it. I however LOVE THIS DEAL, Now that Joe is in Black & Teal 2 points for him last night, I hope they take the Leafs down tonight.

[sensfan63]

Seems to me that the Bruins have seen some real benefits from the Thornton trade, anybody have any comments about it?
BTW, Tim Thomas was unreal last night!

[Golfbum]

I think both the Sharks and the Bruins have benefitted from this trade, I tend to think the Sharks more so than the Bruins. Then again I am biased on that opinion
In the long run, I honestly feel the Sharks still got the better end of the deal. A premier player like Joe doesn't come along every year.
Joe has racked up more points in San Jose than all three of the former Sharks have in Boston.

[sensfan63]

I think both the Sharks and the Bruins have benefitted from this trade, I tend to think the Sharks more so than the Bruins. Then again I am biased on that opinion
In the long run, I honestly feel the Sharks still got the better end of the deal. A premier player like Joe doesn't come along every year.
Joe has racked up more points in San Jose than all three of the former Sharks have in Boston.

No, Thornton hasn't. I've never looked up stats like this before, but the numbers look like this:

Thornton 35 points in 25 games
Sturm 24 points in 26 games (and +10)
Stuart 15 points in 25 games
Primeau 9 points in 25 games

You can see my posts when the trade was made, and I'm sticking to my guns. Boston is playing better for sure. The trade has made them a better TEAM.

[jonf]

I had been thinking of resurrecting this thread a few days ago when I checked out the stats. Thornton is playing great, but based on the numbers that the new guys are putting up in Boston, nobody can say they got a raw deal. Great trade for both sides, really.

[Golfbum]

No, Thornton hasn't. I've never looked up stats like this before, but the numbers look like this:

Thornton 35 points in 25 games
Sturm 24 points in 26 games (and +10)
Stuart 15 points in 25 games
Primeau 9 points in 25 games

You can see my posts when the trade was made, and I'm sticking to my guns. Boston is playing better for sure. The trade has made them a better TEAM.

I stand corrected. Last time I saw a comparison between Thornton's points and the 3 that went to Boston Joe was ahead of them.

But I would still rather have Joe than the other 3 You forgot to mention that Joe is +12.

[viper]

Seems to me that the Bruins have seen some real benefits from the Thornton trade, anybody have any comments about it?
BTW, Tim Thomas was unreal last night!

That the key... Thomas has carried Boston... As much as the trade has been good for Boston, never underestimate the value of goaltending...