Final thoughts on an unforgettable Final

June 16, 2011|By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

By Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Bruins have landed in Boston. Meanwhile, us scribblers are packing our bags and heading to the airport for our respective passages back home. Safe to say our flights won't be as merry as the one that touched down at Logan this morning.

Some loose pucks gathered as 2010-11 closes:

1. Not sure when the season started. Maybe the opening of training camp. Or the teambuilding outing to Vermont. Perhaps the trip to Northern Ireland and the Czech Republic. For me, 2010-11 kicked off at the New England Sports Center in Marlborough in late July. For one week, Tim Thomas was holding his summer camp at the rink. I went there on a Monday, hoping to talk to Thomas about his offseason hip surgery, a possible trade, etc. Thomas wasn't there. His old UVM teammate Pavel Navrat was. I asked Navrat if Thomas would be around. Navrat told me to come back on Thursday. That day, we covered that ground -- hip, trade, summer workouts. "I've got something to prove," Thomas said in conclusion. "To the organization?" I asked. "To the world," he answered. Guess Thomas was right.

2. It's easy to forget how close the Bruins were to losing in the first round. The Canadiens gave the Bruins a dogfight. Montreal didn't have as much talent. But they matched up almost perfectly against the Bruins. Hal Gill and P.K. Subban were the best defensive pairing the Bruins' top line played against all year. Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta scored timely goals. Carey Price was outstanding. One bounce the other way, the Habs would have advanced. The Bruins would have been done. It would have cost Claude Julien his job.

3. Hard to say about a team that was without Marc Savard for most of the season and Nathan Horton for half of the final because of concussions. But boy, were the Bruins fortunate with injuries. Montreal didn't have Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges. Philadelphia lost Chris Pronger early, Mike Richards was playing with a bad wrist, and about half of the Philly roster ended up in the operating room. Tampa was missing Pavel Kubina. Vancouver was without Mikael Samuelsson, then saw Dan Hamhuis get knocked out in Game 1. Also hurt: Mason Raymond, Ryan Kesler, Christian Ehrhoff, Alex Edler. Bruins had their share of bad luck in last few postseasons (Dennis Seidenberg, David Krejci, Andrew Ference, Savard, etc.). Good fortune and depth were in their favor this time.

4. Toronto's bounty for Tomas Kaberle: Joe Colborne, first-round pick in 2011, second-round pick in 2012. All worth a Cup. Bruins might be willing to throw in their jet too.

READER COMMENTS »

View reader comments » Comment on this story »