Why Marty Turco signing by Boston Bruins will pay off

He’s the only man to have the distinct honour of being named the smartest goaltender while being foolish enough to take part in a bet with a fan during a hockey game.

Now, he’s back on track to being gainfully employed by an NHL team, for a one-year contract, joining the defending Stanley Cup champions Boston Bruins.

Marty Turco in action in the Austrian Hockey League. The Boston Bruins have picked him up, and he waits to clear waivers. Turco should serve as a fine addition to help with fill the void left by the injured Tuuku Rask.

Here’s the details:

• He has to pass waivers. (Another team can claim him.)
• He’s set to clear waivers Wednesday.
• If he does clear waivers, he cannot participate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as being activated after the trade deadline.
• Turco has been hiding out in Europe, playing for the EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian Hockey League.
• Turco’s claim by Boston has been as a result of Tuuku Rask being out 4-6 weeks.

Why this is good for Boston:

• Turco never had a terrible outing in Chicago. He was a backup veteran to help Corey Crawford find his spot in the crease. Turco went 11-1-31 with a GAA of 3.02 and a save percentage of .897. It’s nothing impressive, by all means, but there was pressure to also compete for the starting job if Crawford wasn’t ready.
• Turco’s presence in Boston will mainly be an insurance policy to give Tim Thomas some rest, open bench doors, and, possibly, wager with fans sitting in the third row.

Why this is good for Turco:

• He’s still young. Look at guys like Dwayne Roloson and Nikolai Khabibulin. (And Tim Thomas, for that matter.) Thomas (37), Khabibulin (39) and Roloson (42) still have a bit of game left. (Well, Roloson may be done after this season.)
• But the shelf life of the goalie has been pushed to the boundaries, especially for the tested and proven ones. The ones who have gotten their teams to at least the Conference finals.
• Turco stands to get noticed playing again in the NHL. The idea — from his fallout from Dallas — was to join the defending Stanley Cup champs in the Blackhawks, and either find a home until retirement, or get plunked by a team who will keep him for five years. That didn’t happen, so Turco has a second chance, behind a stellar blue line. (Boston is ranked sixth in goals against.)

Where’s Turco’s game at:

• Since those numbers he posted in Chicago, Turco has improved his stats. His GAA is 2.64 and save percentage is .934 with the EC Red Bull.
• How those numbers translate from Austrian hockey to North American can vary. We’ll just have to wait to find out, whenever he’s given the chance. Saturday’s afternoon game against the Washington Capitals in Boston looks like a good time to slot Turco in, given a tough patch of games the next two weeks.

Tags: Boston Bruins, Marty Turco, Tim Thomas