Well apparently it pays to be a night owl. Just went to take a gander at the box score for the B's 2-1 win over the Senators on espn.com, and lo and behold, I found an eye-catching headline regarding the Black and Gold.
Here's the scoop as of 1:20am:
Vezina-candidate Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins have agreed to a contract extension, team sources told ESPN's John Buccigross Thursday.
The Flint, Mich., native is having a breakout campaign as Boston's starting netminder. Entering play Thursday night, Thomas was 32-11-7 for the East-leading Bruins. Thomas currently leads the league in both GAA and save percentage at 2.13 and 93.1 percent, respectively and made his first NHL All-Star appearance in February.
Boston is expected to announce the deal Saturday.
Thomas was drafted 217th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft after his freshman year at the University of Vermont. Prior to the 1997-98 season the netminder opted to play in Europe. Thomas bounced between Europe, the American Hockey League, the International Hockey League and the NHL until joining the Bruins full-time in 2005-06.
Thomas became the full-time starter last year after an early-season injury sidelined presumed starting goalie Manny Fernandez. The former Catamount finished the year 28-19-6 with a GAA of 2.44 and save percentage of 92.1.
Thomas was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Terms of the deal were unavailable.
I, for one, find it a bit bizarre that of all the members of the local and national media, John Buccigross winds up being the one to pluck this information from the tight-lipped, "mum's the word" Bruins. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of Buccigross and respect his passion for the game, especially on a network that voluntarily ignores it's existence. I suppose I just figured someone on a more local level, close to the team, would be the one to pry such juicy info from the B's before any of the folks at ESPN.
Either way, assuming this report is valid, this is very exciting news. The maneuvering the Bruins will have to do to this summer to keep Thomas, David Krejci, and Phil Kessel with the organization (and more importantly under the cap) have been oft-discussed for many months now. So come Saturday, we'll have a much clearer view of what to expect.
What We Know
Even if the extension is only for a single season (and I'm going to assume it's for either two or three), the Bruins have assured themselves of having a Vezina-caliber goaltender on the roster next season. In all likelihood Thomas will be around for the next few years while Tuukka Rask will serve as his backup and eventual successor. Is there any guy more competitive in the league between the pipes that you'd like to see rub off a bit on Rask than the fiery Thomas?
With TT signing an extension, not only will the Bruins not have to concern themselves with losing their starting netminder to a divisional or conference rival, they'll also save themselves from getting in an overpriced bidding war that could wind up costing them one of their young stud forwards. Consider this: how much higher would Thomas' price tag be if the Bruins held off on signing him, only to see him lead the team deep into the playoffs and win the Vezina in June to boot?
What We Don't Know
As I previously mentioned, one can only assume the extension will be a multi-year one at a fair price for both sides. But how much of a hometown discount is Thomas going to give the Bruins, the team that finally gave him a legitimate chance for a spot in the National Hockey League? We all know that by not testing the market Thomas may be passing on his one last chance to bank some serious cash from a desperate GM in seek of a starting goaltender. Thomas will be turning 35 in a few weeks, and undoubtedly will be looking for a nice raise from his $1.1 million dollar/year deal that was set to run out on the first of July this summer.
So with Thomas locked up, are the Bruins in danger of not being able to match a potential offer sheet to one of the K's? What happens if a GM decides to put the B's in a situation similar to the one Buffalo was in with Thomas Vanek and offers one of the young stars a salary north of $6 mil (or in Vanek's case, $7+ mil)? Will Boston have enough wiggle room to shed enough salary to keep the two of them in town for years to come? Are they confident their 21-year-old 30 goal scorer and 22-year-old point-per-game pivot will elude or possibly balk at such an absurd sum of money? July 1st could be dicey.
I'll be at practice tomorrow at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington (set to start at 11:30am). As soon as I have more info (should anything more be revealed) I will certainly let you all know ASAP.
***************
A Quick Recap
After a slow start against a very physical, up-tempo Senators squad, the B's rallied from a 1-0 deficit to win a tightly contested 2-1 hockey game. The victory, the B's 50th on the season, all but guaranteed that Boston will finish as the top dog in the Eastern Conference.
The win crossed off the Devils from the list of contenders for the #1 seed leaving only the Capitals as competition. Any combination of 2 points gained by the Bruins or lost by the Capitals will seal the deal for the B's.
Boston outshot the Sens 14-11 in the first period but it was Ottawa that seemed to carry the play in the early going. Senators' captain and leading scorer Daniel Alfredsson struck first, sneaking one over the blocker of a screened Tim Thomas to give the Sens an early 1-0 lead.
Knowing the Sens entered the game with the best winning percentage when leading after one in the entire league, things didn't look so bright for the Bruins heading into the intermission trailing 1-0.
But less than three minutes into the middle frame, an absolute rocket from Milan Lucic turned the tide. The bruising LW blasted the puck from the top of the faceoff circle over Alex Auld's glove to knot things up at one apiece.
The score would stay that way until the 3:02 mark of the third period. PJ Axelsson made a great steal in Ottawa's zone and made a beauty of a backhanded pass, in a very Savard-esque fashion, over to the center he was emulating. Savvy fired one by Auld and gave the B's a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish.
After a Mark Recchi high sticking penalty, Auld was pulled for an extra skater and the Sens had a lengthy 6-on-4 opportunity to cash in. But Thomas was superb as always, making all the key stops on a night he finished with 31 saves on 32 shots.
Notes and Quotes
*
"Yeah. It’s a big truck. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do with it. I get just one parking spot, and that’s my second car and it’s a pretty big one so I’ve got to figure it out."
- David Krejci on his new truck, a gift given to him after winning the 7th Player Award.
Hey, isn't that who I predicted to win about a month or so ago? (pats self on back)
* Tale of the Tape cover boy Marc Savard had the GWG in the third period.
(dusts shoulders off)
*
"Yeah, that was great. I didn’t realize at the time who was the first one on there. A Swede got a chance to get in a couple punches on a Fin so it was good for me because he stood up for me and it was good for Axie [PJ Axelsson] because he got a couple free ones."
- Tim Thomas on PJ Axelsson coming to his defense after being interfered with by Jarkko Ruutu
*
"Oh did I? Ruutu? Was it? That’s right, that’s right. I don’t know, I just got mad cause he bumped into Timmy."
- Axelsson's sarcastic reply when asked about his take-down of Ruutu
*
"I’ve seen it first hand in their dressing room last year. I know what kind of character they have, and obviously they’ve added some pieces this year and had a better regular season. It’ll be a good test, but I think their definitely suited well, and it’ll be interesting to see how it unfolds for them."
- Alex Auld on the B's chances in the postseason
*
"They’ve got some great hockey players and they only have five games left before summer comes because they got eliminated obviously the other day. So they came here to give us a good challenge and we got the two points and move ahead. We want first overall and we’re still working for it."
- Marc Savard on the challenge presented by the Sens
* Steve Montador was a healthy scratch. Matt Hunwick jumped up to the 4th line from the blueline allowing Shane Hnidy to see some action and shake off the rust a bit.
* This is the eighth time in franchise history the B's have reached 50 wins. The last time they pulled it off was in 1992-1993 when they went 51-26-7.
*Thursday night's game was the 300th in Patrice Bergeron's career.
* Ryan Shannon's six game point streak was snapped but the young forward continued to impress me. On one shift, while near the far boards, Shannon turned on the jets and blew by Zdeno Chara after being about 20 feet in front of the B's defenseman seemingly just a nanosecond prior. It's not too often you see anyone elude the positionally sound captain, especially given his long reach.
FIVE KEYS REVISITED
1. Make sure they know where they are. The Bruins are a dominant team at home while the Sens are far less successful away from their own barn. Don't let them get comfortable and take free reign early on.
Result: FAIL! The Bruins may have outshot the Sens in the first, but definitely did not outplay them.
2. TT to continue to be a Sens killer. Thomas has been lights out in his career against Ottawa. If he can continue the trend the Bruins will be in great shape.
Result: PASS! 31 saves on 32 shots. 'Nuff said.
3. Don't let up with a lead. The Bruins took their foot off the pedal in the third period against Tampa Bay, and were it not for a clanged post, what was a 3-0 lead could've turned into a one goal game with ample time left for the Bolts to tie things up. The B's can't fall into bad habits and must stay aggressive throughout the game.
Result: PASS! The B's didn't get off as many shots as they should have in the third, but they kept the pressure up high enough to keep Ottawa from having territorial dominance after Boston jumped ahead early in the frame.
4. A smooth transition game. The B's have been getting better at moving the puck up to the forwards when breaking out, but there's still room for improvement. Let's see that tonight.
Result: FAIL! The B's were decent when it came to breaking out of their zone, but they still could be a lot sharper.
5. Keep getting traffic in front of the net. No one has to tell Mark Recchi this, clearly, but the rest of the B's need to follow suit and make it a struggle to see the puck for whomever starts between Alex Auld and Brian Elliott.
Result: PASS! The Bruins had someone parked in front of Auld's crease all night long.
So, as I mentioned earlier, I will be heading to practice at 11:30, and will hopefully have some good news/quotes to pass along later on today. Time to squeeze in a little sleep.
JC
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