When a season is in danger of going down the drain, a team has only a few choices: Fire the coach, as has been speculated with regard to the status of Bruins coach Mike Sullivan, or it can -- in effect -- fire players.
Last night, the Bruins took the latter route, shipping captain Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks for 27-year-old left wing Marco Sturm, 29-year-old center Wayne Primeau, and the crown jewel of the deal -- 26-year-old defenseman Brad Stuart.
It marks the end of a chapter of Bruins hockey during which Boston believed that landing Thornton, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft, and left wing Sergei Samsonov (taken No. 8 overall that year) would mark the beginning of a long, successful run for the Original Six franchise.
Instead, the years have been only so-so because postseason victories -- which are the biggest measuring stick of a marquee player's value -- have been so few. The Bruins have won only one playoff series in the seven springs Thornton has been a member of the Bruins. Two of those, Boston didn't even make the playoffs. The 2005-06 campaign, its sense of urgency because of a year lost to a lockout already deeply abiding, was on the fast train to nowhere. General manager Mike O'Connell felt he had no choice but to pull the trigger on a blockbuster. After a smaller deal -- trading center Dave Scatchard to Phoenix for defenseman David Tanabe -- the front office placed veteran forward Shawn McEachern and enforcer Colton Orr on waivers Monday. While likely necessary, they were hardly the type of moves that were going to shake the Bruins out of their protracted slumber (one win in their last 10 games).
''It's definitely a shock," said Thornton, via a conference call last night set up by the Sharks. ''Obviously when you don't win games, things are going to happen. That's what happened here. It's disappointing. It's definitely tough but it's a new chapter in my life. Obviously, they believe in the coach and GM and I'm next in line so it's disappointing, but you've got to move on."
Thornton was out to dinner in Boston with his parents, who were visiting from St. Thomas, Ontario, and were hoping to catch tonight's game against the Senators when O'Connell called Thornton to tell him of the deal.
