The only thing Boston hockey fans hated more than the lockout was the ongoing saga of steady netminder Tim Thomas.
During the offseason, Thomas, via Facebook, sent out a message saying that he would be taking a year off from hockey to focus on his faith and friends, which really meant he would most likely be building a fallout shelter near his Colorado home after a few of his outlandish political acts -- remember when all but one Bruin went to the White House to meet President Obama?
Given the stellar performance his then-backup Tuukka Rask (6-1-1, 1.97 GAA) so far this season, there was no need to hold on to Thomas or his $5 million cap hit. There were numerous rumors throughout The Hub suggesting that Thomas would have been moved by the trade deadline at the latest. New York Islanders GM Garth Snow had this to say about his views on what Thomas will provide for the Isles.
"We have acquired an asset for our organization. This acquisition allows us flexibility with our roster moving forward."
If the definition of "flexibility" here is to have nearly $10 million dollars paid to backup goalies, then yeah, you guys are all set.
The quid pro quo for Thomas is a conditional second round pick that Boston can use in either the 2014 or 2015 draft. For the B's, its time for Rask and Anton Khudobin to continue to shine like they have been thus far. For Thomas, just more of the same -- sitting underground eating pork rinds and reading old TIME magazines.
it was the only move to make, we were just waitin since the summer for that 2nd team to come along... great great move
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