One would think I should be more excited about the signing of Andrew Raycroft...but I'm not! Let's face it as much as Raycroft wanted to hold out for more money, he had no leverage. I think he might have arbitration next year, if so then he could stand to get a good raise. That said we all knew he would be back. No team is as patient as the Bruins with hold-outs (not sure if that is a good thing or not).
So back to the title of this post, Tim Thomas. I have been following this guy since his first tour of duty with the B's in 2002. No matter where he is, he performs. Europe or North America he is usually one of the best in the league. For his carrer he has around a GAA of 2.50 and a save % of over .900. He did have a sub-par year in 1999 with the Detroit Vipers, IMHO this is what doomed him.
The problem with goalies is that there are lots of them and not enough spots for them all. So unless you shock some scouts or GM's when you are really young you may never make it into the NHL. This is why I fell 1999 killed him. He had a chance to impress people in a league (IHL) that was very good at the time. Really though, from looking at the teams stats for that year they really sucked ass. The top scorer had only 46 points, and who knows how bad his defence was.
The Bruins European scouts must have liked what they saw while he was playing with Karpa and gave him a chance. Both years at Providence he performed very well but never really got a chance in Boston's net because there were always people (Dafoe, Shields, Raycroft, Grahame)ahead of him. He was only slightly worse in stats than Raycroft and had better stats than Toivonen. For both though I believe age was the determining factor. Thomas is too old to make a number one (especially without NHL experience), and too good not to pay more money too while in Providence.
I was upset when they didn't re-sign him after the 2003-04 season. They might have made deeper into the playoffs last year if they had Thomas still. I am very happy he is back now because I think he has a good chance of becoming Raycroft's back-up in Boston. Toivonen is a great young goalie but it was make more sense to keep him in Providence for another year a seasoning as the number one goalie there. If he was in Boston he would mainly sit on the bench. That might be good for some goalies but he will most likely be Boston's future in net after Raycroft leaves for more money. That means he needs as many starts as he can handle, especially playoff starts.
Thomas is a perfect back-up. I think he knows he will bever be Boston's starter and is willing to do anything just to get a chance to play in the NHL.
Those are my thoughts anyone have any comments??
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2 comments:
Hey Tommy thanks for commenting! It feels nice to finally talk to someone here :)
OK, on your first point that's my fault. What I meant (but did not write it) was that I think if they had resigned Thomas for last year (note I said after the 2003-4 season) they (Providence) would have made it farther in the playoffs. I didn't mention it because the NHL was locked out. If he were with the B's I agree he would not have helped them go farther into any hypothetical playoff series.
I agree he is not better than Raycroft and I never said he was. I also agree (and said so) that I believe he would make an excellent back-up.
I certainly do NOT think that the Finnish, Swedish, or any other European league is better than the NHL. I do think they are atleast on par with the AHL. Some leagues may even have more talent than the AHL. I merly used the Karpa and Providence examples to show that he has been able to compete in any league he has been in.
You can certainly disagree on who the Bruins bring up :) I just think Thomas is a better choice right now over Toivonen. Stats have shown that Thomas is better. Do I think Toivonen is the future goalie for Boston, YES! I think they should bring up Toivonen for some spot starts as well.
If Raycroft prices himself out Toivonen may well be Boston's next number one goalie (although he would most likely be part of a tandem). I don't agree on the salary issue though. Thomas will never be paid more than Toivonen. He is only gettign $500,000 this year, isn't that close to a league minimum or something? You could only get cheaper if he had a two-way contract, but even then yo would have to send Thomas down to Prvidence to save any money.
Again, thanks for commenting and I hope you continue to read my blog.
Toivonen will get some playing time. Even if there are no injuries to either Thomas or Raycroft I am sure they won't let a whole year go by without giving him a taste of the big leagues.
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