Boston Bruins: Game 8

Record: 6-2-0

     It's going to get old if I keep talking about how great Tim Thomas is playing, so I'll have to find other topics to discuss.  It won't be easy since Thomas is the glaring reason why Boston is off to such a hot start.  Thomas got his third shutout in six starts Satuday as the Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators 4-0.  Both Jordan Caron and Tyler Seguin added to their point totals, keeping the B's youth movement going.  David Krejci added a goal and an assist as he proves he is ready to take over for the ailing Mark Savard as the team's top playmaker.
     With the team off to such a good start, the question seems to be, who is going to be left out when Savard comes back?  One would think Daniel Paille, who has been a health scratch since the first game, would be the odd man out, but I'm not sure that would keep the B's under the salary cap.  As much as I enjoy watching him play, Brad Marchand has to be on the list as well.  He's a great agitator and his fore checking abilities makes him great on the penalty kill, but he can't put the puck in the net.  Some people will say he's just been snake bit, after all he was one of the top scorers in the AHL, but I don't buy it.  Much like Paille proved last year, if you can't get the puck in the net, it's not something that is just going to change.  Marchand will never be a 30 goal scorer, probably not even a 20 goal scorer.  The question will be, are the other things he brings to the ice more important to the team then scoring goals?  I'm not sure.  The one thing he does have going for him is his salary.  Paille gets $500,000 more and brings pretty much the same talents to the table.
     Other people on the block are Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler.  Both have higher salaries that will give the Bruins more wiggle room if dumped.  If one of them doesn't go when Savard comes back, chances are they will go when Sturm is ready to return.  Ryder has looked better then last year, but still isn't playing up to the 4 million he's getting.  I'm not sure anyone will want to take Ryder on, so he will have to be demoted to Providence.  Wheeler has never been a favorite of mine.  He's just to big a liability on the ice.  There have been a lot of trade rumors floating around about him going to Phoenix or Toronto.  It would be very much in character for the B's to trade Wheeler for high draft picks, which would drop the team salary and keep the youth movement going.