Thunderbolts

Jay Henderson, a forward with NHL and AHL experience, is expected to arrive in Wichita tomorrow. He will have veteran status. General manager Joel Lomurno said he won’t play until next weekend, at the earliest, while his immigration paperwork is processed.

I’ve been on this beat long enough to know that one name will come up as a possible replacement for Brent Bilodeau, who was fired this afternoon. So let’s put an end to any talk right now.

Yes, it would be interesting, to say the least, but longtime Oklahoma City coach Doug Sauter is not a candidate for the job.

“I just don’t think he fits,” Thunder GM Joel Lomurno said. “Plus, it’s my understanding that he’s got a good job in Oklahoma City right now.”

Other tidbits:

• Rob Boyle will be retained as assistant coach.
• Until a new coach is found, player personnel moves will be a collaborative decision made by Lomurno, interim coach Jason Duda, captain Chris McAllister and Boyle.
• The team plays at Missouri this weekend. Lomurno will make the road trip.

• Check tomorrow’s paper for more — not about Sauter, but about Bildoeau’s firing and where the Thunder goes from here.

It was in July when the Thunder sent out a news release with this headline: Thunder Strengthens Offense With NHL Experience. The player was Damian Surma. He was released by the Thunder on Sunday after providing no goals and two assists in eight games. Bilodeau’s comments on the matter:

“He was obviously struggling. We brought him in here to put up some points and it just wasn’t working out for him. It was kind of a situation where it wasn’t working out for both sides. Maybe in another year, we could have let him battle through it.

“After the Colorado game, he was just beside himself because it wasn’t happening for him. He knew he was struggling. He’s been through struggles, and he always got out of them sooner or later before. But we didn’t have the time to wait for him to get out of it now.”

Boron update: Bilodeau will meet with goaltender Tim Boron tomorrow morning. Boron (4.67 GAA, .835 SP) has not been his typically reliable self. He sat out the most-recent game at Colorado. Rookie Scott Campbell (3.21, .888) played instead, making 32 saves in a 5-2 loss.

“Timmy’s frustrated,” Bilodeau said. “I think the surgery and then him being sick took a lot out of him. He lost 11 pounds. Everything he worked for all summer basically went out the door. Coming back a couple weeks ago, he was starting from scratch. Any professional hockey player knows you can’t do that.”

We’re trying here!: Bilodeau said he is aware that some fans think the Thunder should be dropping the gloves more often. He has an explanation: opposing players are passing on offers to throw down.

“Not many teams in this league want anything to do with us,” he said. “People say, ‘Why aren’t you fighting,’ and I agree that when you’re getting beat somebody needs to change the momentum and something needs to be done, and we haven’t done that in a few games. But nobody wants to fight us.”

Is that 5:30 in the a.m.?: Health fanatic Joel Lomurno, the Thunder GM, and six of his employees are taking part in a fitness boot camp. For the next six weeks, they plan to meet at 5:30 a.m. on weekdays to firm up those abs.

“I’m not in the best shape,” Lomurno said. “Partially, that has to do with the smoking.”

Lomurno says he has given up smoking.