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Boston Bruins could benefit from keeping Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask, Tim Thomas, Johnny Boychuk, Patrice Bergeron

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, hidden right, is congratulated by teammates Tim Thomas (30), Johnny Boychuk (55) and Patrice Bergeron (37) after defeating the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in Game 6 to win their NHL hockey playoff series in Boston Monday, April 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

AP

When asked about waiving his no-trade clause, Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas said it was “too early” to make such a decision. While I think that the Boston Bruins would be wise to move the former Vezina Trophy winner at some point in the next couple years, it might actually be too early for them to move him anyway. Look, there’s no doubt that Thomas didn’t play as well as he did in his star-making 08-09 campaign but he wasn’t necessarily awful. Really, it was more about Tuukka Rask being amazing than anything else. Were there moments in which the unorthodox Thomas seemed to be “exposed”? Maybe so, but a 91.5 percent save percentage is still a bit above the league average. It’s not like he had a disastrous season.

One important thing to remember is that continued success isn’t guaranteed for Rask, either. Even beyond the struggles Thomas had following up a great year, don’t forget that rookie goalies can hit a wall in their sophomore season. Just look at the struggles of Steve Mason; he went from Calder Trophy sensation to a goalie who struggled on an epic level.

More reasons why the Bruins should be cautious about trading Thomas after the jump.

Overall, this scenario reminds me a lot of what Anaheim went through with Jonas Hiller and J.S. Giguere. The older Giguere had his past glories but was eventually usurped by the Swiss goalie Hiller during the 08-09 playoffs. After leading the Ducks to a scrappy second round 7-game defeat against Detroit, Hiller never looked back and claimed the No. 1 spot during this season. Eventually, the Ducks were able to move Giguere to Toronto and locked up the pending free agent Hiller to a franchise goalie contract.

With Rask in the final year of his first contract with Boston, the Bruins might be wise to allow Thomas and Rask to duke it out for the top spot. When you consider the fact that Michael Leighton, Antti Niemi and Jaroslav Halak were backups going into this season, it’s clear that having a good goalie duo is crucial to success in this league.

So, yes, if the Bruins can unload Thomas for a young sniper or salary cap relief, then maybe they should bite the bullet. Still, that’s a dubious assumption to make when the whole league knows that they want to get rid of him. Instead, why not keep Thomas around for at least part of next season in case Rask falters? If nothing else, he could increase his trade value if he regains his elite form.