Robb_K wrote: Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:41 pm
BillP. wrote: Fri Oct 16, 2020 6:20 pm
I just realized when Thornton won his Hart Trophy, that he played that year with 2 teams. Kind of odd to win a MVP when you played the season with 2 teams.
That's got to be the only time that ever happened in NHL history! I don't remember it ever happening before.
It was indeed the only time it's happened. It was a brutal trade in terms of value (Thornton for Wayne Primeau, Marco Sturm and Brad Stuart...woof). None of those 3 were around when the Bruins won in 2011, but do they win the Cup in 2011 without the trade? The trade came in the middle of the first after the lockout, so teams had to adjust to a new style and perhaps more importantly, the salary cap. Boston made the decision to build around Patrice Bergeron instead of Thornton. You could probably build a great team around both of them, but if they'd kept Thornton, would they have been able to sign Chara in that offseason? With that team's identity, there's no way they win the Cup without Chara.
Terrible trade (how do you not even get a 1st round pick?!?!), but maybe one that took them in the right direction. That or maybe they just needed Kessel, Lucic and Seguin to arrive/develop.
Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't add, eat shit, Jumbo.