How I Cope with Bruins Losses & Proudly Bandwagoning to the Cup, Part 2

Continued from part 1...

2001: Colorado Avalanche defeat New Jersey Devils in 7 games
I was pretty enraged when the Avs/Bourque got eliminated in 2000, hence me rooting for the Devils against the team that beat the Avs (Dallas). I still loved the Devils, but I loved Ray Bourque so much, words can't explain. Nor can words explain how much I wanted him to win the Cup. It broke my heart and I didn't want his departure from Boston to be in vain. I rooted so intensely for Bourque, that I came to love the Avs like the Bruins - it helped that the Bruins had again missed the playoffs.

My favorites all came to the rescue - Sakic, Forsberg, Chris Drury, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay, Adam Foote, Martin Skoula, and the best of all, Patrick Roy, who won the Conn Smythe (for the 2nd time in his career).

Watching Sakic got the Cup and didn't even lift it before handed it directly to Bourque turned the tears I was already crying into sobs. Back then, I thought I may never see the Bruins win the Cup, so I was so happy to see to ultimate Bruin win it so he could retire on top.

Bruins Sign Veteran Goaltender Marty Turco as Tuukka Rask is out 4-6 Weeks; Turco subsequently spelled name Tuurcco

What a whirlwind of a day for the Bruins! Fans waiting for several hours after they were promised a statement on the extent of Tuukka Rask's injury sustained against the Islanders on Saturday. Seemingly moments later, the Bruins announced the signing of former Dallas Star and Chicago Blackhawk and current wanderer Marty Turco. Chiarelli seemingly wasted no time in searching for a new back-up for Tim Thomas, a difficult situation to resolve when the trade deadline is long gone and the team's minor league goaltenders are not quite ready for or trusted with the responsibility of giving the team a chance to win while still allowing Tim Thomas to stop and catch his breath after expanses of 5 games in 7 days or something equally ridiculous that the Bruins currently face on the schedule (because the NHL schedule-makers are the most incompetent entity in the league - including referees.)

Only a few hours after the Bruins released this statement regarding Tuukka Rask's injury, Peter Chiarelli then announced the signing of veteran goaltender Marty Turco, to a one year contract. The contract has a few significant stipulations due to the nature of the situation: (1) Because Turco is a UFA returning to the NHL after playing in another pro league during the season, he must clear waivers first after the contract is signed (think of Nabokov last year when he tried to sign with Detroit and got snapped up by the Islanders); and (2) Because Turco was signed after the trade deadline, he may not participate in the playoffs this season should he clear waivers. Although an annoying policy, it is certainly justifiable to keep teams honest and, as I will explain below, this particular circumstance may be perfect for strictly regular season play from Turco.

Tuukka is said to be sidelined for 4-6 weeks, at which point the Bruins will be in the final games of the regular season, or already in the first or second round of the playoffs. Turco's ineligability to play in the postseason is irrelevant because Tuukka should be back by then. In the next month or so before we get there, however, the Bruins definitely needed more reinforcements in net. AHL goaltenders Khudobin (injured) and Hutchinson (sucks or something) were not adequate enough to provide any relief to Tim Thomas over the course of the final stretch leading into April where the Bruins have several back-to-back games, a West Coast road trip, and a span of no more than one day off between games for a few weeks. 

While Thomas is clearly the Bruins starting goaltender by now, he cannot be expected to play in every single game for the rest of the season. This poses two significant risks: (1) over exhaustion from playing that many games in such a short span of time will make him vulnerable to injury, and (2) will certainly drain some very important long-term rest to prepare for the brutality of the playoffs (especially if he is going to perform the way he did last year).