New Hope: Bruins Grant Tank's Agent The Right To Actively Seek Trade With Other Teams

After the initial announcement a few days ago that the Bruins would be actively shopping Tim Thomas, speculation arose that Boston would have a difficult time dealing him. The idea was that teams knew the B's were desperate to dump Thomas and his salary, and thus, they would be very stingy and Boston would never get fair value (if any value) in return.

According to TSN, though, that may change with this Peter Chiarelli decision. According to sources, Timmy's agent -- Bill Zito -- has stated that if he was given permission to seek trade, he would make plenty of phone calls to find an option. Tim Thomas has a no-trade clause in his contract, so it makes sense that he would only waive that to play in a location he desired to play in. With this new permission granted, there is a much better chance that the Bruins will find a way to make that happen.

With the draft coming tomorrow night, you can expect Chiarelli to have his phone lines ringing and dialing off the hook for the next 24 hours. Will Thomas be a Bruin for long? Can they find a way to rid his salary and get a little value in return? Stay tuned.