Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo Endure Painful Separation

Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo were teammates for mere hours, but I don't think either will forget the experience. Thomas was traded to the Dallas Stars just before the NHL Trade Deadline on Wednesday. Thomas will backup Kari Lehtonen as the Stars push to make the playoffs. Dallas currently has the 8th best record in the West.

Thomas and Luongo were teammates for less than a day, although Luongo probably flew to southern Florida for the Panthers next game at home against Buffalo. Thomas was up in Boston playing in net for the Panthers, who lost 4-1 to the Bruins. I doubt the two were ever in the same room. However both goalies were able to make light of the situation, and poke fun at the other. Luongo's unverified Twitter account posted this on Tuesday:

And on another note me and Tiny Tim are gonna rip it up the rest of the year!!!!!!! #dreamteam
— Strombone (@strombone1) March 5, 2014

Tim Thomas, after Tuesday night's Bruins-Panthers game, was asked about being teammates with Luongo...

"It looked like [Florida GM Dale Tallon] went kicking some tires and found one that needed to be pumped."

Thomas also seemed to think that his time with the Panthers might be nearing an end, as he continued to say "I don’t know how things are going to work out assuming I stay in Florida, it will be interesting."

Once Thomas was traded, Luongo's Twitter reacted with this:

@TSNBobMcKenzie NOOOO!!!!!!!!
— Strombone (@strombone1) March 5, 2014

So no reality TV show in Sunrise. There will not be a second dream team in South Beach. No Twitter vs. Facebook debates. All of this makes perfect hockey sense, but it is disappointing that there will be no Bobby and Timmy Show.

Canadiens Acquire Bruins Killer Thomas Vanek

While the Boston Bruins didn't do much at the deadline, acquiring Andrej "Meh"-szaros, up in Montreal the Habs traded for Thomas Vanek. Vanek, when he was a member of the Buffalo Sabres, absolutely killed the Bruins.

In Vanek's career against the Bruins he's played 53 games, scoring 30 goals with 31 assists. He's +21. 14 of those 30 goals came on the power play. Which Montreal needed to improve, and the Bruins have had difficulty defending since Dennis Seidenberg's injury.

Vanek has a 20.0% career shooting percentage against the Bruins. Which is ridiculous. He scores every 5 shots he takes against the B's.

Vanek also has decent numbers against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Lightning. With the new divisional formatting of the NHL playoffs, the Habs will likely have to go through these teams. If the season ended today, the Canadiens would play Tampa Bay, then face the winner of a Toronto/Boston series.

I mentioned Montreal's power play. Typically the Habs bring a frightening power play to the table, but this year it's been a disappointment. They're 13th in the NHL with a 19.7% scoring rate with a man advantage. They're tied for 8th with 41 power play goals.

Vanek hasn't been great on the power play since leaving Buffalo. However, a few seasons ago he routinely scored 10+ power play goals a season, including 20 in 2008-09. If he can find that form in Montreal, it might be time for Bruins fans to have a Vanek-panic attack.

The B's have lost both their games against Montreal this season, and will play the Habs next Wednesday up at the Bell Centre and again on March 24th in Boston.

Photo Credit:
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Bruins Make "Meh" Trade for Andrej Meszaros

The Bruins needed to add a defenseman. If they failed to do so, their chances of winning a Stanley Cup would have been quite small. They traded a 3rd round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Andrej Meszaros. It's a very "meh" trade.

Meszaros is 28-years-old, 6' 2" tall and weighs 223 pounds. He's played with Zdeno Chara as a member of the Ottawa Senators, who originally drafted him late in the 1st round of the '04 draft. He's played in 38 games this season with 5 goals, 12 assists and a +1. He has 46 games of playoff experience in Ottawa and Philly.

My main concern is penalty killing. Since losing Dennis Seidenberg, the Bruins' penalty kill has statistically been one of the worst in the League.

Meszaros is averaging 0:51 of shorthanded ice time per game this season. Once again, meh.

I'm not thrilled about that. That's good that he plays on the penalty kill. And he improves the defense, adds depth, et cetera. He reportedly has played well with Zdeno Chara in the past. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is familiar with him, as he was part of Ottawa's front office when Meszaros was drafted. So maybe he'll improve as a member of the Bruins.

So the Bruins slightly improved their biggest weakness. Hopefully Meszaros does work well with Chara. Hopefully they click. Hopefully Chara can make Meszaros a better player.

All I know is the Bruins have a suspect penalty kill and special teams takes on added importance in the postseason. I don't think the penalty kill improved much, although it did improve somewhat. Time will tell.

Until we know, my reaction to this trade is just "meh."

Bruins Lose to Buffalo, Torey Krug Should Have Been on Team USA

The Bruins could have won this game. They should have. They didn't. Let's start with the reasons why they didn't, then move on to the reasons why they could have.

They lost because Chad Johnson is a backup goalie. They lost because of rusty players in their first game after a long break. Neither of those two reasons is cause for much concern. What is cause for concern is that the B's allowed yet another power play goal. Since losing Dennis Seidenberg, the penalty kill has gone from a strength to a slight liability.

There were two Buffalo goals in regulation that could have been prevented with stronger play from the defensemen. The Bruins need to acquire a defensive defenseman. They need a guy who can do the basics of the position and play the penalty kill.

On the bright side, there were plenty of reasons that the Bruins could/should/would have won this game. The power play was amazing. Chara scored a power play goal by camping out in front of the net. And his net-front presence helped Milan Lucic score another power play goal.

Torey Krug also played a big part on Lucic's goal. Krug used the space behind the net to set up a play. Chara and Jarome Iginla kept the Buffalo penalty killers occupied in front of the net. Lucic was wide open on the point and slammed it home.

Maybe Team USA could have used Krug. Not as part of the regular 6-man defensive pairs, but as a specialist on the power play. Krug's 2 power play assists in this game give him 18 PP points on the season. The Bruins have scored 37 power play goals as a team, Krug has been a factor in almost half of them. Among defensemen, he's 10th in power play points. Among American defensemen his 6 PP goals are the most, his 18 points are 5th most. Then again Team USA didn't select the top two US defensemen in power play points (Keith Yandle and Dustin Byfuglien), so what chance did Krug have?

Team USA had plenty of offense when they played Canada and Finland. Ugh.

It's going to be a long time before I get over the Olympics.

Anyway, the Bruins looked much more energized and in rhythm in the later stages of this game. They came back from a 2 goal deficit, took a lead, and Buffalo needed a lucky deflection off Johnny Boychuk's skate to set up their tying goal. This game is not an indicator of the beginning of a poor stretch of play.

The Bruins host the Capitals Saturday afternoon.

Photo Credit:
Gary Wiepart/Associated Press

Bruins Fill Their Roster With Wade Redden at Deadline

I could make a horrible, Boston Globe style pun about the Bruins reddening their blue-line. And I just did.

The Bruins traded for veteran defenseman Wade Redden. The B's sent a conditional 7th round pick to St. Louis in exchange for the 35 year old. The pick will upgrade to a 6th round pick if Redden plays a game in the playoffs. In essence, they acquired him for next to nothing.

I liked Redden back when he was with Ottawa. He was underrated back then. In 2003-04 he scored 17 goals. And in the season after the Lockout he was +35. Since then his production has fallen. When with the Rangers he played for their AHL affiliate. And he probably won't dress every game he's with the Bruins.

I think he has a chance, though. Especially with McQuaid hurt. So long as he plays smart, he'll find a spot on the roster. And he should be smart. He has over 1,000 games of NHL experience, plus 101 Stanley Cup playoff games.

I'm glad the Bruins didn't try to get that mythical "puck-moving-defenseman." They acquired an experienced guy who at the very least will be their 7th defenseman in case something horrible happens, and has the capability to provide 12 quality minutes of ice-time a night.

I Want the Maple Leafs to Get Luongo, So All My Least Favorite Players Are on One Team

It's Deadline Day in the NHL. And I want the Canucks to trade Roberto Luongo to the Toronto Maple Leafs. I hate Luongo. He's an overrated, whiny, douche. He's perfect for the Maple Leafs, who already have two of my least favorite players in the game.

Toronto already has Phil Kessel, who is more popular in Boston as a Maple Leaf than he ever was as a Bruin for three reasons: 1. He's the reason we have Tyler Seguin here, 2. ditto Dougie Hamilton, and 3. he's the reason HE is no longer here. He played his own way, wasn't tough, was an incomplete player, and he was greedy.

And playing for the Leafs' AHL affiliate is Mike Komisarek, former nemesis of Milan Lucic. This guy, when playing in Montreal, epitomized all that is wrong with Canadiens hockey. He would typically only get tough when guys like Lucic were safely restrained on the bench. And when Komisarek did actually grow a pair and throwdown, he'd get thrown down.

So if the Leafs acquire Luongo, it will make it easy and convenient for Bruins fans to find their most hated players all in one place. Then the Leafs can sign Matt Cooke and PK Subban to make the team's douchebaggery complete.