Good Start

He may only be a fourth liner who didn't score a goal for the last 70 or so games of the regular season, but don't under-estimate Shawn Thornton's importance to the Bruins. Too allow the rugged team-leader to walk as a free agent would have been an enormous mistake to start the 2010 offseason. But Peter Chiarelli wised-up and gave Thorny a much deserved two-year extension.

Last season, guys like Lucic, Mark Stuart, Chara, and Boychuk proved that they aren't always around to drop the gloves in defense of a teammate (lets add in Ryder to lambaste him a little more for his pathetic response to Matt Cooke's hit). While injuries kept some of the B's "grit" out of the lineup for good portions of the season, Thornton was always around as the guy who never turned down a bout.

It's a long ways to go for Chiarelli if he wants to make this team a Cup contender. But if there is one thing I know for sure, it's that the Bruins weren't making any progress by letting Shawn Thornton walk away.