Fan Fanatic Sports Staff
With the Eastern Conference all but sewn up, the Bruins have decided to lock up their goalie for the foreseeable future as well. The question is, did the Bruins overpay to keep soon-to-be free agent, Tim Thomas? Well, let’s look at the deal.
Reportedly Thomas, 34, will make $6 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11, $5 million in 2011-12, and $3 million in 2012-13. The Bruins were smart enough to have an escape plan. Because Thomas signed the deal before age 35 the Bruins have the right to be able to buy him out at any time, cut their dollar commitment by one-third, and be able to spread the payments over twice the remaining term of the deal. With that clause, the B’s could keep the young Finnish phenom Tuukka Rask and Thomas until Rask is ready for the job full time.
Now, is $6 million to much for a 35-year-old goaltender? I say no. Let’s look at his stats: currently Thomas is the league leader in both goals-against average (2.11) and save percentage (.932). Over the last two regular seasons, no NHL goaltender has posted a better save percentage than Thomas (.927) and only Martin Brodeur (2.21) and Evgeni Nabokov (2.22) have registered better goals against averages than Thomas’ (2.26). The one thing that does bother me about the deal is that this rewards Thomas for his regular-season accomplishments. His postseason stats are inconclusive because of the lack of experience. His one postseason, 7 games last year, Thomas had a .914 save percentage with a 2.65 goals-against average is not good enough to get the job done. Now Brodeur, 36, gets $5.2 million per year although he took a huge home-town discount. Nabokov, 33, makes $5.3 million per year which seems about right for the caliber goalie he is. But, they have something that Thomas doesn't, 18 years combined as starting netminders in the playoffs. With the lack of playoff knowledge, the Bruins must have a good feeling about Thomas for the upcoming postseason to pay him the big bucks before he comes through.
With the numbers Thomas is putting up this season, most likely he will win the Vezina Trophy for best goaltender in the regular season. But if Thomas can steal a series or two, and God help us hoist the Stanley Cup over his head, he’ll be worth every penny they’ll be paying him. If not, I say take advantage of the escape clause and let the Rask era begin in Beantown.
Look for the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs preview!
Sometimes you have to overpay to keep a talent, although Thomas needs to win the playoffs ... I can't believe he makes more than Brodeur (the best goalie in the NHL, although Luongo is nasty, too).
ReplyDeleteIf Thomas is impressive in the playoffs, then the money may not be an issue, but if he and the Bruins flop, what a bad signing.
I'm not a huge Thomas fan, but there's not many top flight goaltenders around ... and Thomas has proven to steal games in the regular season ... now it's time to do it in the playoffs.
Tim Thomas should never have been given that much money. I never believed he was a #1 goalie, but he's made me shut up the past two seasons. Still, Brodeur is the best goalie of all time, and Thomas should be getting paid half of what he makes. I still can't believe he makes half of the saves that he does. He's effective, but he's damn ugly doing it
ReplyDeleteManny Fernandez makes over 4 million this season. Six million for Thomas is a bargin compared to what Fernandez makes. Plus Fernandez will be coming off the books, and Rask will make well under a million next year as a backup. Its hard to see Thomas here for all 4 years. He will likely get bought out after year 2 of the deal and Rask will then start.
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