Thornton wants out?!?

Many sources out of Boston have said that captain Joe Thornton is upset with management and he wants out. The front runners are believed to be the Los Angeles and Florida Panthers… Florida would even be willing to let go of Jay Bouwmeester and Stephen Weiss.

http://nypost.com/sports/24428.htm

Quote:

July 4, 2004 — THE reverberations from the Bruins’ stunning first-round loss to Montreal in which Joe Thornton went scoreless over seven games while playing with a broken rib have echoed into the summer, with the Boston captain having asked management for a trade, Slap Shots has learned.

According to well-placed sources, Thornton, now a restricted free agent with a $5.5 million qualifier on the table, met with Mike O’Connell three weeks ago and told the GM he did not wish to return to Boston. We’re told that the 25-year-old centerman believes that management did not provide him with adequate cover for his ineffective work in the series that the Bruins somehow squandered after taking a 3-1 lead, and indeed hung him out to dry even though he played through substantial pain and physical limitations. An alternate source has told us that management, citing his 21:30 of average ice, seems not to believe that Thornton was so debilitated, at all, and instead used the injury as an excuse for a dreadful series.

“Joe is adamant about not wanting to go back,” one of our sources said this week. “There’s a very serious issue of [lack of] trust there.”

The Bruins, who won the Northeast Division while finishing fourth overall with 104 points, go into the summer as a shell of a club, having lost, among others, Glen Murray, Brian Rolston, Mike Knuble, Dan McGillis and Sean O’Donnell to unrestricted free agency while facing a Group II negotiation with Sergei Samsonov and a likely salary arbitration case with Sergei Gonchar that very well could wind up with a team walkaway.

In other words, the Bruins were in shambles even before Thornton – who recorded 77 points in 73 games following his 101-point, 2002-03 – told O’Connell that he wants out. It’s likely that the 6-4, 220-pound Thornton would command up to $7M (conservatively) in salary arbitration, and at least that much per in a long-term deal, new era or not. Given the skeleton crew that would surround the helicopter center (no wings) anyway, Boston ownership might decide it’s in the team’s best interests – never mind Thornton’s – to try to acquire three legitimate younger (and cheaper) players in a deal for one of the league’s elite, marquee talents.

We’re told that the Panthers, who have an abundance of young and cheap talent, are extremely interested in Thornton, who thrived in the one year he played for Mike Keenan in Boston. The newly hired Florida GM – “looking to make a splash,” we’ve been told – is believed willing to part with Jay Bouwmeister and Stephen Weiss as the foundation of a deal for Thornton. Should Keenan be able to snare Thornton – he’d also likely have to part with Nathan Horton to get the deal done – he’s expected to then zero in on dealing with Dallas for Billy Guerin, Thornton’s erstwhile linemate in Boston.

Just because Thornton has asked for a trade doesn’t mean he will be dealt, that much is obvious. But with No. 19 on the market, the hockey summer might actually provide some sizzle.

The Kings, seeking a first-line center and with payroll room given Zigmund Palffy’s bizarre decision to ignore the club’s three-year offer of around $6.5M per, don’t appear to have the pieces to send Boston’s way for Thornton. They have, however, signaled serious interest in free agent Petr Nedved, who was married yesterday in Prague to Veronica Verakova and whom the Oilers would like to retain. The Kings have also chatted with representatives for Craig Conroy, Pavol Demitra and Alexei Zhamnov.

The Rangers, who have interest in defenseman McGillis, have also checked in Conroy, Demitra and Brian Rolston. We’re told that Conroy, renowned for his character and leadership skills but coming up on his 33d birthday, is seeking a four-year deal at $4M per. No harm in asking … Which apparently is why Glen Murray is seeking five years at $30M … The Penguins have checked in on Alex Kovalev, who has an open invitation to return to Montreal.

There’s still much talk that the Devils are opening to dealing Scott Gomez – 70 points while tying for the league lead with 56 assists in just 16:00 of ice time per game – because of upcoming salary arbitration that could net the pivot up to four times more than the $1M he earned last year. But unless he’s going for a first-line center – a package including a defenseman and winger for Thornton? – we’ll believe it when we see it.

Matt Barnaby was apparently misled about the offers he’d receive as a free agent from Eastern clubs. Indeed, we’re told that Barnaby attempted to use the three-year, $5.2M offer he received and ultimately accepted from the Blackhawks, as leverage to elicit competing bids from both the Rangers and Islanders. The ploy failed. And so Barnaby goes to the wonderful organization in Chicago, where players at last season’s break-up day were told by VP Bob Pulford they’d be permitted to bring home only two sticks and would have to leave their equipment behind because of the likelihood of a lockout.


96 Responses to Thornton wants out?!?

  1. NYRules says:

    forgot lindros and kovalev

  2. dkball7 says:

    Lou never trades with Eastern contenders.

  3. dkball7 says:

    Martinez on 134th.

  4. bpanther83 says:

    Mogilny isn’t comming back next year…he has said he might retire.

  5. bpanther83 says:

    In no way would I EVER trade Sundin. Yes Thornton will be better longer, but Sundin is a True Blue. He wants, and I believe most real fans want him to retire here. Sundin is very under-rated. The only real goal scorer he has had to play with is mogilny…and rarely are they on the same line. Yet Sundin always puts up good numbers and always scores when u need him 2. Thorton has played with goal scorers his whole career, so comming to a team with none (mogilny saying he doesn’t wanna play in the nhl anymore) He won’t be what he was. Unless the leafs sign some goal scorers to take his place…Like Murray and/or Karyia…But I doubt its gonna happen.

  6. bpanther83 says:

    OK I like the leafs but this is dumb. Berg has NO value…the leafs would HAVE to trade Kaberla…and know what…I WOULD DO IT. Most people are still talking like mogilny is playing next year when he hasn’t said he will. He has said that he is thinking of retiring cause of his hip and he doesn’t like how hockey is played anymore. IF the leafs got Thorton they would need to sign at LEAST 2 goal scorers to play along Sundin and Thorton. LIke Karyia or Murray or Shanahan. But Im in doubt they will even get 1 of them…and to be honest Im not to excited about Shanahan. As for Pronger…as great as that would be…keep dreaming. If ANYTHING the leafs will sign Hill.

  7. gr8haluschak says:

    ohh i ain’t dreaming this is typical Laff garbage, I have copied a typical Laff fan so much that I have a few of you actually thinking that I am.

  8. NYR-Rangers says:

    i never knew the rangers would go after conroy….. i thought they would go after heatly or somethin…… to bad all the awsome talent is young and restricted…..

  9. bpanther83 says:

    U spent that much time doing this? GET A LIFE…seriously u don’t like what they write then IGNORE IT. HELL, sry that ur team doesn’t have as many die hard fans as the leafs that ur team might only get 1 or 2 rumors. Sry Toronto gets more publicity and is a major area players wanna play. Actually im not sry…Just get a life and ignore what u don’t like instead of showing that y have no life and making an entire article like this.

  10. bpanther83 says:

    Heatley? AHAHAHA where did u hear that? Heatley won’t go no where at least till he becomes a free agent. The only place Atlanta would give Heatley 2 is Prison for about 15 years. And thats cause they have no choice or they would dress him in Black and white stripes with a thrashers simple velcroed on.

  11. sharmuta44 says:

    I live next to joes parents in lynhurst, you are a liar and made this up joe doesn’t want to play for TO even though I wish it were true.

    He wants to play in LA or Fla some where warm or in detroit if not ie the number 19 he wears is for steve yzerman, his brother is now going to become his agent and he has alot of influence on joe and john is a huge wings fan

  12. sharmuta44 says:

    You guys are nuts

    I actuallyam friends with joes 2 brothers john and Alex and I wrote that joe wanted out over 5 months ago you all thought i was full of shit now you guys write the same stuff.

    Joe doesn’t want to be any where near the circus called toronto, too bad really. Yes his brother is now an agent in TO but joe wants like i said before to play somewhere warm Ie LA or Fla.

    If not joe would like to be in detroit he wears #19 because of steve Yzerman, idolizes him and would love to play with steve if stevie has anything left.

    I really hope the TO rumors were true but I know for sure that they are not

  13. sharmuta44 says:

    You guys are nuts

    I actuallyam friends with joes 2 brothers john and Alex and I wrote that joe wanted out over 5 months ago you all thought i was full of shit now you guys write the same stuff.

    Joe doesn’t want to be any where near the circus called toronto, too bad really. Yes his brother is now an agent in TO but joe wants like i said before to play somewhere warm Ie LA or Fla.

    If not joe would like to be in detroit he wears #19 because of steve Yzerman, idolizes him and would love to play with steve if stevie has anything left.

    I really hope the TO rumors were true but I know for sure that they are not

  14. sharmuta44 says:

    I am a leafs fan and agree with you one hundred %

  15. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    Am I the only 1 who noticed his predictions are literally impossible.

    Phili and TO can’t finish 1st and 3rd. One would have to be pushed back to forth. Also, Toronto is getting old…they can’t make 4th, 5th place when there average age is inching to 40.

    Now for my team NY. If NY makes smart F.A signings (including a goalie) and/or gets a strong effort from some youth, ex: Jessiman breaks out in training camp, and get good outings from there young goalies: Blackburn, Montoya( I hope not: He better play minors), or Lundqvist they could mayb push to a short lived play-off appearance.

    And just a question: how does a player as bad as Nik Antropov(taken 10th overall:yes quinns on crack) get so much ice time and love in TO, when i’ve seen players on my local Mississauga ice dogs with more skill then him. (to the exeption of O’sullivan since hes gonna tear Antropov apart in pnts.

  16. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    Am I the only 1 who noticed his predictions are literally impossible.

    Phili and TO can’t finish 1st and 3rd. One would have to be pushed back to forth. Also, Toronto is getting old…they can’t make 4th, 5th place when there average age is inching to 40.

    Now for my team NY. If NY makes smart F.A signings (including a goalie) and/or gets a strong effort from some youth, ex: Jessiman breaks out in training camp, and get good outings from there young goalies: Blackburn, Montoya( I hope not: He better play minors), or Lundqvist they could mayb push to a short lived play-off appearance.

    And just a question: how does a player as bad as Nik Antropov(taken 10th overall:yes quinns on crack) get so much ice time and love in TO, when i’ve seen players on my local Mississauga ice dogs with more skill then him. (to the exeption of O’sullivan since hes gonna tear Antropov apart in pnts.

  17. wayne2 says:

    If the Florida panters ever offer Weiss and Bouwmeester for Thornton,i`d do it without hesitation.Thornton is a great player,leader and

    one of the most gifted power foward/playmaker in

    the game today but i believe Bouwmeester is the

    best defensemen to come in the NHL since Pronger

    (and i believe he`ll even be better) and Weiss will

    also become a great player so the bruins should do

    it.They could sign a guy like Nylander or Zhamnov

    for the experience.

  18. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    37 yrs and counting, I think their goal is to beat my NYRs records for consecutive yrs with out a cup.

    The only difference was at times the Rangers were somewhat stacked. The leafs have taken GPS(global positioning system) and targeted every has been over the age of 35. And may after this offseason have the highest payroll in the NHL!

  19. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    Every1 is claiming they live next to Joe. Is this a fad?

  20. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    wow really hes at the leafs average age, maybe he’ll stick around until hes 42.

  21. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    its so sad…those to were taken in the top 10 of the draft. L.A(I think thats where he was drafted) had some pretty bad scouts in the 90s. 2nd not only do the leafs have no picks for the last 2 yrs, when they had a top ten pick they took the sleeper in stead of a surething. They could have taken Gagne, Tanguay, Regehr, or even Gomes.

    Incase some1 pins the sadness of lundmark to the NYR organization…that draft was so weak 1999, not 1 player is a top NHL player, Hell, the top three picks were stefan, sedin and sedin

  22. NYR-Rangers says:

    he is a free agent dummy and i didn’t say i heard rumors. i said i wished they would go after him but its too bad all the young talent are restricted free agents. like joe thornton himself he is restricted so boston has to trade him and accually get somethin, or let him go for nothin but a little pay cut.

  23. toto says:

    MY BROTHER IS NAILING JOE THORNTON’S SISTER AND SHE SAYS THAT IF JOE HAS TO PLAY 1 MORE DAY IN THE STINKING US OF A, HE IS GOING TO PUT AN UMBRELLA UP HIS ASS AND OPEN IT. HE HAS SPECIFICALLY SAID HE WANTS TO COME TO THE LEAFS AND WOULS ALSO WELCOME THE FLAMES OR THE CANUCKS, BUT IF HE EVER ENDED UP IN OTTAWA OR MONTREAL, HE WOULD IMMEDIATELY RETIRE AND BECOME A MENONITE. I DON’T BLAME HIM, BETTER A MENONITE THAN A FAGGOT!

  24. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    ppl like you are what give leaf fans a bad name

  25. meetak says:

    Actually, People like him give PEOPLE a bad name.

  26. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    scratch the part about being in same devision, i was thinkin nyr

  27. toto says:

    It is people like you who give guys who fucck goats a bad name!

  28. toto says:

    I am no Leaf fan faggot. I am a Ranger fan.

  29. bpanther83 says:

    it has NOTHING to do with age. Its his hip…he has the same thing Lemieux had. And he said that he just doesn’t like the way hockey is played anymore.

  30. bpanther83 says:

    why do u knock the leafs for that? Chicago hasn’t won in even longer, and are even FARTHER from winning. It also took Dtroit 50 years then they won 3 cups in 4 years.

  31. bpanther83 says:

    Whatever either way. Heatley is not gonna be playing for a lOOOONG time. He is going to court or did u not know? He is facing up 2 15 years. And even if he is a free agent…I believe he is restricted…and I don’t think he even wants to leave Atlanta after all he has gone through there. And EVERY team wishes they could get him, but it isn’t gonna happen.

  32. StuWild says:

    These predictions are ridiculous!

  33. nocuphere says:

    This guy has no life, he should just do us all a favor and off himself right now. He gets his kicks out of picking on the very young leaf fans that crowd this site and offer opinions. You couldn’t even sit down and have a conversation with a guy like Gr8halusk or whatever the little jerk offs’ name is.

    Oh how easy it is to ridicule leaf fans especially the little 10 year old boys eh gr8shaluck?

  34. bpanther83 says:

    since when is Philli and TO in the same division? Philli is NOT in the same division. To is with Ottawa…NOT PHILLI…Get ur facts straight. And I have NOT met any leafs fans who like Antrapov…So he isn’t getting no love from the fans, I’ll tell u that much.

    And Why do u doubt the leafs can do it? IF there is a shortened season the advantage automitcally shifts to the leafs…cause the older players have less games to play and more time to heal. and why is their average age inching to 40? The oldest one there is belfour and he is 39. YES they are an old team…but by no means are they all old players. There is NO reason to believe the leafs won’t be in the top 3 or 4 like they are almost every year (in there conference). Go cheer for them…maybe this year they will get a little closer to the playoofs (still won’t make it) but might get closer.

  35. nocuphere says:

    Actually they can finish 1-3, they’re in different divisions.

  36. nocuphere says:

    Well said Memtown!!! Thornton doesn’t hold a candle when it comes to clutch performance. Thornton has made th playoffs what 2 times as a bruin and both exits to the habs?

  37. Furlong19 says:

    The rumor out of Toronto has Thornton, Samsonov, Gonchar and Boynton coming to T.O. for Aki Berg, Tom Fitzgerald, Coliacovo and the leafs 7th round pick in 2005.

  38. DarkPhoenix says:

    The rumor I heard is that you’re talking out of your ass, just like all the other anti-Leaf fans. Would you guys get a *****ing life?

  39. NYR-Rangers says:

    oh i never knew he was goin to prison for sure lol

  40. nocuphere says:

    No way man, we ain’t giving up that pick. It’s fitzy, Berg and an 8th rounder in 2008 for Thornton, Gonchar, Raycroft, and fu ck it throw in Samsonov too.

  41. Shortstuff says:

    I was gonna say that. Toronto is in the northeast, and philly is in the atlantic.

  42. Pavel_Bure_NYR says:

    that 7th round pick will prolly b there highest pick in the draft

  43. DarkPhoenix says:

    Left, third button from the top. It’s labelled “Caps Lock”. Please press it before you post again.

  44. Beattie says:

    This from the same source (nypost) that had the exclusive story that Dick Gephardt was John Kerry’s VP. LMAO. Thornton is a Bruin and he better stay that way!! I wouldn’t trade him for 4x Sundin’s so any deal is unacceptable!!! Bruins management did screw him over but they should get this straightened out!!! If not its the last straw!! WHA maybe… ??? But seriously whats next – nypost predicts that Clarke signs Eric Lindros back to the Flyers as the 2 work out their differences… hahaha

    We’ll see…

  45. IKovalchuk17 says:

    To the guy making the predictions, I was just wondering, you picked the Calgay Flames to win the Stanley Cup, who are the CalGAY Flames?

  46. gr8haluschak says:

    yeah keep strokin the goat loser, I would rather ridicule the 10 yr olds boys than what you do tyo them you loser, and for the record when I watch hockey games here in Edmonton I pick out the white trash loser leaf fans who are wearing their Gilmour or Clack size medium jerseys from the early 90’s, stained with mustard and beer thier gut hangin over their belt, who keep trying to tell us how it is. Those losers and losers like a lot of people on this site who keep telling us who the Laffs are going to get and why.

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