Thursday, December 01, 2005
Thoughts on Thornton Trade
Losers of nine out of their last ten games, the Boston Bruins have traded captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart.
At first glance, this trade seems extremely lopsided in favor of the Sharks. Not only do they acquire a star player in Thornton, but they did so without having to give up another star player in return.
Boston fans probably aren't too happy with the trade, however, while the Bruins didn't get fair value for Thornton, they didn't do too badly either.
More on the trade from Heather Creegan, Sharkspage and Kukla's Corner. For you poolies, Hockey Analysis has some post-trade advice.
At first glance, this trade seems extremely lopsided in favor of the Sharks. Not only do they acquire a star player in Thornton, but they did so without having to give up another star player in return.
''He is a leader who scores points and makes other players around him better,'' Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement. ''To get a player of this calibre, you have to give up something to get something. You would make this trade last month, this month or next year. It follows our philosophy of making our team better for this year and next year.''Except the Sharks only gave up complimentary players for Thornton. Sturm, Primeau and Stuart are solid players, but certainly not on Thornton's level. They could have included Patrick Marleau or Evgeni Nabokov in the trade and no one would have batted an eyelash. Instead, the Sharks now boast a lineup featuring Thornton, Marleau, Nabokov and most of the team that finished second in the Western Conference during the 2003/2004 season. The Sharks have struggled for the first part of this season, but no doubt Thornton's acquisition will provide a much-needed boost.
Boston fans probably aren't too happy with the trade, however, while the Bruins didn't get fair value for Thornton, they didn't do too badly either.
"We felt we needed to shake up the team and sometimes you have to make some difficult decisions to better the team," said O'Connell. "We feel we received three players who can help us immediately. Brad Stuart is a top-four defenseman who is strong at both ends of the ice. Sturm is a proven scorer, a good two-way forward who is a terrific skater and Primeau is a solid, two-way player who has good size at the center position.”Sturm is a three-time 20-goal scorer and provides some scoring depth along with Glen Murray and Sergei Samsonov. The Bruins also have youngsters Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes ready to step into bigger roles. On defense, Stuart joins a group that already includes up-and-comers Nick Boynton and David Tanabe and veterans Hal Gill and Brian Leetch.
More on the trade from Heather Creegan, Sharkspage and Kukla's Corner. For you poolies, Hockey Analysis has some post-trade advice.
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