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Thom Yorke · 06-18-2014, 01:29 AM

While starting a Shawn Thornton article by mentioning him with some of the Bruins greats (no matter what the connection he was going for was) is an odd choice, there wasn't anything there that wasn't true. Bruins fans respect talent above anything else, but they love the Thornton-type players more than almost any other fanbase. Saying he's a fan favourite in Boston (which I think McDonald was trying to get at anyways) isn't off-base.

The team is old school in every sense of the word. They still have that mentality of having the tough guys stand up for their players, and that's exactly what Thornton did with Orpik. He didn't like the hit on Eriksson so he did something about it. It was obviously wrong to do, but how is what he did not sticking up for a teammate? What other explanation is there? He did the same thing with Cooke after he hit Savard, and has done it a countless number of times before. Skill-wise he's actually one of the better enforcers out there, but he knows exactly what his role is on the team, and he's stuck to that his whole career in Boston. He was obviously the worst hockey player on the team, but still made himself a valuable member of the line-up, enough so that he stuck on one of the best teams in the league for 7 years and the same 4th line for 4 years (which is so incredibly rare in the salary cap NHL).

As for Thornton himself, I will miss him as a Bruins fan. He was by FAR the best player with the media, he was known for being very well liked in the locker room (and not in the cliche way that everyone says about everybody), he was a known face in the Boston community, and his charitable contributions are pretty staggering considering how much he gets paid relative to other athletes. The only Bruin I ever hear about doing more for charity is Bergeron, and he's made 5-10 times as much as Thornton has in any given year in Boston. Come to think of it, Thornton was a lot like Ference (although Ference doesn't have the negative connotation that goes along with Thornton). A lot of Bruins fans were devastated when Ference wasn't re-signed, and now most of the Edmonton fans I know hate him.

And Ninetales, I wouldn't expect you to pick up on any of that. This was for ESPN Boston (AKA fans of the team). You actually have to be a fan of the team to understand what a 4th liner brings to the table and why fans liked him. I couldn't tell you **** about Rob Klinkhammer's intangibles.

Also lol at Lundqvist going 0-3 in OTs. Quick just gets it done when it matters; same old story.

06-18-2014, 01:29 AM	#1974 (permalink)
Thom Yorke Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 1,848	While starting a Shawn Thornton article by mentioning him with some of the Bruins greats (no matter what the connection he was going for was) is an odd choice, there wasn't anything there that wasn't true. Bruins fans respect talent above anything else, but they love the Thornton-type players more than almost any other fanbase. Saying he's a fan favourite in Boston (which I think McDonald was trying to get at anyways) isn't off-base. The team is old school in every sense of the word. They still have that mentality of having the tough guys stand up for their players, and that's exactly what Thornton did with Orpik. He didn't like the hit on Eriksson so he did something about it. It was obviously wrong to do, but how is what he did not sticking up for a teammate? What other explanation is there? He did the same thing with Cooke after he hit Savard, and has done it a countless number of times before. Skill-wise he's actually one of the better enforcers out there, but he knows exactly what his role is on the team, and he's stuck to that his whole career in Boston. He was obviously the worst hockey player on the team, but still made himself a valuable member of the line-up, enough so that he stuck on one of the best teams in the league for 7 years and the same 4th line for 4 years (which is so incredibly rare in the salary cap NHL). As for Thornton himself, I will miss him as a Bruins fan. He was by FAR the best player with the media, he was known for being very well liked in the locker room (and not in the cliche way that everyone says about everybody), he was a known face in the Boston community, and his charitable contributions are pretty staggering considering how much he gets paid relative to other athletes. The only Bruin I ever hear about doing more for charity is Bergeron, and he's made 5-10 times as much as Thornton has in any given year in Boston. Come to think of it, Thornton was a lot like Ference (although Ference doesn't have the negative connotation that goes along with Thornton). A lot of Bruins fans were devastated when Ference wasn't re-signed, and now most of the Edmonton fans I know hate him. And Ninetales, I wouldn't expect you to pick up on any of that. This was for ESPN Boston (AKA fans of the team). You actually have to be a fan of the team to understand what a 4th liner brings to the table and why fans liked him. I couldn't tell you **** about Rob Klinkhammer's intangibles. Also lol at Lundqvist going 0-3 in OTs. Quick just gets it done when it matters; same old story. Last edited by Thom Yorke; 06-18-2014 at 01:35 AM.