The Beasts of the East

After what some consider an upset for the Penguins to take out the Flyers in six games, and an 80 second burst of pure skill and a hint of luck for the Hurricanes, the East is settled to 4 teams: Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington and Carolina. It's a dream come true for the people who live and breath the Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry, while the other series has certain people thinking hard about what could very well happen.

Boston Vs. Carolina

There's no denying the Hurricanes are essentially the dark horse of the East. Going into the post-season, not too many people were really talking about them and, in a way, that's underestimating them. The Devils were one of the favorites to get to the Conference Finals, but after seeing what damage the Hurricanes can do, regardless of the series going to 7 games, one must not count them out against the Bruins.

The Bruins are a team that have many young players with a ton of talent and grit to push them through; however, the Hurricanes are a team that completely works as a single unit. There is no major powerhouse player on the team, other than Eric Staal, and they feed off each other in pursuit of the win. The Bruins have tremendous goaltending, a firm defensive stance and explosive speed. It will depend on how well all of their lines perform in the series to see if they can get past the Hurricanes in less than 6 games, for there is no denying that Carolina is a far more superior team compared to the Montreal Canadiens.

This series will depend on the level of intensity from both sides and how they use their forechecking. Needless to say, a simple shot on net is not going to fool Tim Thomas - the Hurricanes will have to focus legitimate chances on goal to get a win, and it won't be easy. The Bruins, on the other hand, must keep Cam Ward deep in his net, refuse to allow him to challenge the shooters and maintain pressure on Eric Staal and Erik Cole. If they can shut down the top duo and keep the pressure on by constantly sending the puck into the offensive zone, they will be able to take this series in as many as 5 games, but don't be surprised if the Hurricanes steal one or two. This is a team that thrives on unity and a bit of luck.

Pittsburgh Vs. Washington

Despite Washington finishing 2nd in the Standings, a lot of people believe the Penguins are far and away the better team. The whole debate on who the better player is between Crosby and Ovechkin will be put on the line in this one, but people are overlooking one simple fact: it isn't about who is better, it's about who can elevate their game and lead their team to a berth in the Conference Finals.

There's no doubt both sides have a ton of firepower, but will they have the necessary defensive skills to hold each other off? Let's face it, these are "defense-first"-minded teams we're talking about here. In the regular season, the Penguins were a collective +23, and only a +5 on the road. The Capitals were a collective +18 and only a +2 on the road. To put that into perspective, the Bruins were a +60, while the Jackets were a +18. Needless to say, this will be an explosively offensive series that will likely be home-and-home wins.

This series will be dependent on superb goaltending. The defense have a knack for making unnecessary mistakes or showing signs of sheer laziness on the back-check. In order for either of these teams to get the big W they will need to be supported significantly between the pipes and that will surely mean more of Varlamov's outstanding performance thus far and absolutely no sign of Theodore on the ice. If the Caps for some reason decide to go with the veteran, it will be a costly mistake.

Unless one of Fleury and Varlamov completely shine and shut the door throughout, neither team will go away quietly. Expect a long one for this one and plenty of frustration.

Get ready for the Beasts of the East!

Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com

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Tim Thomas Signing

Note to Bruins Fans: Calm down.

Take a deep breath and go grab yourself some clam chowder. Everything is going to be OK.

It's mixed emotions today in Beantown. The Boston Bruins have reportedly signed Tim Thomas to a 4 year $20M deal that pays the goalie $6M/yr for the first two years, and then $5M and $3M respectively for the following two seasons. Some fans are overwhelmed with excitement about locking up one of the top goalies in the league. Other fans who have become accustomed to getting premier goaltending for Patrick Lalime money, are still in shock over the terms and duration of today's announcement.

Yup, it's a big one; $20M over 4 years. Although this was a bit a a shock to everybody, it is important to break the deal down before making judging it.


Timing
The Bruins took a big risk in signing Thomas before this year's playoff run. Thomas is due to turn 35 on April 15/09 however, and the current CBA states that players signed before their 35th birthday are able to be bought out, if needbe, without penalty to the team's cap. It looks like Chiarelli weighed out his options and wanted to keep the insurance of having a potential buyout down the road.

Money
Just because you were getting a stellar deal on something before, doesn't mean it isn't worth it when you have to pay proper price for it. Although he has never won a playoff series, a cap hit of $5M a year is not a bad deal for a guy who is favoured to win the Vezina and has been this solid for three years running. Bryzgalov got $4.25M from Phoenix; Huet got $5.62M from Chicago; Theodore got $4.5M from Washington. Let's keep things in perspective here folks.

Term
Four years. That's a long time, I agree. Big money/long term deals for goaltenders always make me nervous. It's a crazy position that is all about the mental game. Note that this is a front-weighted contract however, and I highly doubt that Thomas managed to negotiate a no trade clause. If a trade needed to be made, there would be takers for this guy. Even on the fourth and final year of his contract, a team with cap room could be real interested in having this guy for $3M in salary. Worst case scenario is that they work the buy-out option that we discussed earlier. ***UPDATE: SEE BELOW****

Tuukka Rask
I don't want this to be taken the wrong way. I think that Rask is due to be the future of the Boston organization and to date, he hasn't given any reason for us to think otherwise. I'm just not one of those people who sit around at night plaguing comment boards with ridiculous banter about how the current guy filling the roster spot is no good and how the young guy coming up is unproven savoir who will undoubtly lead the organization to the first Stanley Cup available. I have seen it too many times where we sit around touting how great some kid is only to never see those skills come to fruition in the NHL; OR, for us to see those skills come to fruition to a lesser degree, with another team's jersey on. Case in point: Matt Lashoff. Bruins fans have been talking about this guy for FOUR years now. Last I checked however, it looked like he was wearing a different color jersey???

As Brian Burke said ealier this week, the general public vastly underestimates the jump from the minor leagues to the NHL. Is it really a bad thing to ease in your potential franchise goalie? Have we not learned anything from the Carey Price debacle in Montreal? It never hurts to have a mentor for your young star goalie and to have him learn the ropes in the NHL without having to carry the burden of a team's playoff hopes on his shoulders.

It looks like the plan for next year is to have Rask and Thomas split the duties for the big club, with Thomas remaining the starter. It seemed to work out well this year, so why not keep the same formula? Rask's entry level contract, which holds a cap hit of $3.2M with bonuses, is due to expire at the end of next season. It will be interesting to see what kind of 2nd contract he gets based on his performance next year with the 25 to 30 games he should see. If he does indeed immediately become a superstar, then the Bruins will be stuck in the horrid situation of having two star goaltenders. From a cap perspective it wouldn't work, but as I've stated, I highly doubt that Thomas was able to negotiate a no trade clause.

Kessel and Krejci Signings
As I said in my earlier article here on CheckingFromBehind (Too Much Honey in the B-Hive), the Bruins have some hard decisions to make. They have groomed too much talent for one organization and the cap won't allow to keep it all. Does the Thomas signing change things? Well, not really. Although Boston fans were probably hoping that they would somehow keep reaping the benefits of an underpaid goalie, you can bet that Boston management were well aware that you eventually have to pay for it.

Somebody has to go, and there is a good chance it will be Kessel. He is a pure goal scorer with tons of speed and a deceptive shot, but management knows that not everybody can be kept. Kessel will draw significant interest on the market. Also who will probably be gone is Chuck Kobasew, who's $2.3M cap hit remains attractive. The Bruins will be looking to keep Krejci and the roster and you can also look for Lucic to get signed up this summer.

Conclusion
Maybe Rask is the real-deal-to-be, but Thomas is the real deal now. Having $8.2M in cap space dedicated to the goaltender position is rich, but the Bruins are being cautious in bringing up their star young goalie. In the mean time, they have a veteran all-star who is more than capable in carrying the reins. If Rask doesn't live up to the high expectations, then this signing is a no-brainer. If Rask does live up to expectations after next year, then I highly doubt that the Bruins will keep a $5M back-up around for long; trade and buyout options remain in play. Either way, the goaltending situation in Boston looks real solid for the next few years; is that a bad thing? Having great goaltending doesn't guarantee that you'll win a Stanley Cup, but having poor goaltending pretty much guarantees that you won't.

Peter Chiarelli has slowly gained my trust over the past two years and things are looking good in Beantown so sit back, enjoy your clam chowder, and let's watch the show.


Ryan D. MacIntyre
thejackass@hockeyjackass.com


***UPDATE****

Check that folks! It turns out the Thomas did indeed negotiate a no-movement clause. The Boston Globe have just announced the Bruins gave him the clause for the first three years of the deal. Wow, that definitely puts a different spin on this. I'm not sure what this means for Rask. It looks like the Bruins may have to eventually move him. If he comes out next season with a big year, it will be difficult for the Bruins to sign him, having already committed $5M a year to Thomas. It is easy to picture the two goalies splitting time next year, but I don't know how that would work after Rask's entry level contract expires. Should be an interesting summer in Boston.

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