Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninetales
Fair enough. For the record, Ive never been in doubt that he does charity work or is great in media scrums. I mean Thornton is kind of like the Bruins' Laraque, so i understand the endearment behind him, but i guess i do get crusty at how guys like Thornton are romanticized to no end. Like saying he was a huge part of their cup runs. Come on. And surely people will be defending him for the orpik debacle until long after he retires.
And now ive heard the Oilers are looking at trading for Boychuk apparently. I think you like him(?) and i think hes a decent 2nd pair guy, but he would probably cost more than hes worth (i heard guys like Nurse or Petry straight across)
Also for the record, i like talking hockey with you Thom. We disagree a lot but i think we both make good points on either end of the spectrum and it makes for good debates. If i sound like a douche its out of love dude.
|
For most Bruins fans and the Orpik incident, I think they would be in agreement about him wanting to stick up for Eriksson, but did not like or agree with the way he went about dong it.
Boychuk is the third best D-man on the Bruins. I think he's a great #3 guy, and is a capable #2 guy. He was usually Chara's right-hand man, but did very well anchoring his own pairings (both when Chara-Seidenberg teamed up in the playoffs, and when Seidenberg went down this year). Big shot, great physicality, and his defense has come along remarkably since he came into the league. He used to be one of those guys that was just about his big shot and throwing big hits, but he's toned his game down considerably and become very reliable defensively. He also has upped his game in the playoffs (I think he was the best Bruins defenseman in this year's playoffs).
He won't fetch a top prospect though. He's a UFA after this year. Also, it makes no sense for Boston to trade him (especially for prospects) as their window to win the Cup is right now, and Boychuk is too important a part of that. Playing Bartkowski in the top 4 turned out to be a disaster in the playoffs with no Seidenberg. It would be the same thing if Boychuk left to some degree.
It should also be noted that so many Bruins defensemen have success when they're in Boston. The only guys that looked out of place recently are those pure-offense, puck-moving types like Kaberle and Corvo. Ference was one of those guys that had a ton of success in Boston, and look how that's working out for Edmonton. Maybe Edmonton would be weary of another Bruins defenseman, who knows.
It seems like we disagree on everything lol. A good debate never hurt anyone though.