The New England Patriots are in first place in the National Football League’s American Football Conference East division. The Boston Celtics are in first place in the National Basketball Association’s Eastern conference. Therefore, it is time for the Patriots to trade Tom Brady to the Detroit Lions for a their best player. In the meantime, isn’t it about time for the Celtics to trade Kevin Garnett and some draft picks to the Minnesota Timberwolves for their best player? No, I have not lost my mind and I have not heard anyone say they want to see Brady or Garnett leave the New England region. Some sports fans in Boston, however, (you should probably sit down for this) think it would be a good idea to trade Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas.
I know Bruins fans are thirsting for a Stanley Cup championship, since 2000, Boston sports fans have had the great fortune to cheer the Patriots to three Super Bowl victories, the Red Sox to two World Series championships, and the Celtics to an NBA title. Unfortunately, quite a few Bruins fanatics were not even born the last time the organization claimed the Cup in 1972. Personally, I was a youngster, who had only been playing organized hockey for a couple of years but I remember that ’72 victory over the New York Rangers and, of course, I will never forget Mother’s Day 1970 as that was the day Bobby Orr flew through the air after scoring in overtime against the St. Louis Blues in the old Boston Garden. Minutes later, Johnny Bucyk paraded the Stanley Cup around the ice. The B’s owned all of New England at that time and every kid wanted to be Bobby Orr or Phil Esposito. The funny thing is, I do not remember anyone suggesting the Bruins trade either of those superstars with the intent of improving the team and this brings me back to today’s radio program where people called in to propose various trades the Bruins should make so the team would be better positioned to win in the playoffs.
I must honestly say that it amazes me that there is a minority of people who think the Bruins will be an improved team without Tim Thomas and his all world play. Oh yes, one caller actually proposed trading Thomas because “…Thomas is playing over his head and won’t be able to win in the playoffs…” At the risk of sounding like a broken record (remember those?) Tim Thomas is one of the top two players in the National Hockey League this season. The only player, in my opinion, who could give the netminder any competition for the Most Valuable Player award is Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, who will probably have between 80-90 points by the all star break. It is probably a good thing I was not the host of the show or the poor caller would have been greeted with an exclamation such as, “Are you nut’s?!” But that is just me. I am sure the caller is a good man who, obviously, loves his hometown team. I just do not understand how some people want to alter a team that is winning and making a major move toward the top of the standings. I mean, isn’t this what you have been waiting for and now that they are doing it, you want to change things?
I am a firm believer in the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” As a coach, former player, and father to a former professional player, I can guarantee you, the players do not want to see any changes to the roster, or more importantly, to the dynamics of the dressing room. Professional athletes spend more time with their teammates than with their families and a team’s chemistry is very important to them. Losing one teammate can be a huge detriment to a team unless the team is not playing well and is mired in last place or near the bottom of the standings. In those cases, players usually expect, and want, changes to be made. Some even ask to be moved to another team but when a team has worked as hard as your Bruins have to become one of the top teams in the league, as a fan, you might just want to ride the wave and enjoy every minute. I can assure you, the players want to work even harder to achieve the goal of being the best team in the league.
It is fun to dream and speculate what would it be like to have some of the star players from around the NHL in a Boston uniform but thinking that you are improving your team by trading the best goaltender in the game or thinking a team will give up its best player for “…a few prospects…” is doing nothing but showing the world why you do not work in the NHL or any other professional sports league, for that matter. So, please, sit back and enjoy the ride. This Bruins club is beginning to do some pretty good things and, right now, this team is fine just the way it is.
Remember to go to http://vote.nhl.com/ and vote for Tim Thomas, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, and David Krejci, for the 2011 NHL All Star Game.
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Shawn Hutcheon can be followed on twitter by going to www.twitter.com/@shawnhutcheon. You can become his friend on facebook by going to www.facebook.com/shawnhutcheon.