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Free agency, Day 1 wrap: For B’s, three B’s
Posted on July 1, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Hockey, NHL, NHL Free Agency, Roster moves, Transactions | Leave a Comment
Looks like all the news that’s going to come out of TD Banknorth Garden has come out of there by now. The Bruins, sticking to their non-aggression pact, announced only three moves: Restricted free agent winger Byron Bitz and unrestricted free agent defenseman Johnny Boychuk were re-signed, and Boston also added ex-Montreal pot-stirrer Steve Begin, a center who finished last season in Dallas.
Not a salary-cap killing day, by any means: Without counting Boychuck’s money yet (the $500,000 he earned last year was almost always off the cap, because he was in Providence for all but one game), the B’s probably spent about $2 million or so on Begin, Bitz and a buyout for Peter Schaefer. But, with Boston entering the day an estimated $5 to $6 million from hitting the ceiling $56.8 million ceiling, there’s even less room available now to spend on restricted free agents Phil Kessel and Matt Hunwick, plus any other UFAs (P-J Axelsson, Mark Recchi, Shane Hnidy) they’d like to keep.
What we do know, after Peter Chiarelli’s early-evening conference call, is that with the feistier Begin — yeah, the same guy who messed up Marc Savard’s back with a cross-check two years ago — in the fold, Stephane Yelle won’t be back. Defenseman Steve Montador’s departure for Buffalo earlier in the day, while it may not necessarily have prompted the re-signing of Boychuk, certainly gives Boychuk a better shot at playing in Boston next season. He was voted the AHL’s best defenseman last season, when he scored 65 points (20 goals) for the Baby B’s.
Hnidy’s name didn’t come up, but Chiarelli said Axelsson — for the first time in an NHL career that started in 1997-98 — was going to see how much interest he could get on the open market. Barring a take-it-or-leave-it, “gun to the head” offer, Axelsson has told the B’s he’ll give them a chance to respond to any proposals he receives. That may or may not be the case with Recchi, but he’d like to return, and the Bruins haven’t written him off.
Bruins re-sign Bitz
Posted on July 1, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, NHL, NHL Free Agency, Roster moves, Trades, Transactions | Leave a Comment
As expected, the Bruins haven’t added any big-name free agents since the NHL market opened at noon, but they have kept one of their own in the fold: The team just announced it had re-signed right wing Byron Bitz, an unexpectedly effecitive presence as a rookie last season, to a multi-year contract.
That leaves defenseman Matt Hunwick, also coming off an excellent first season, goalie Kevin Regan and … oh, yes, goal-scoring leader Phil Kessel … as Boston’s remaining restricted free agents. The market opened with six of their players available as unrestricted free agents; so far D Steve Montador (to Buffalo, for two years) is the only one who has left. Forwards P-J Axelsson, Mark Recchi and Stephane Yelle, defenseman Shane Hnidy and goalie Manny Fernandez are all still available, to the B’s and any other team, at the moment.
NHL Free Agency: Montador leaves B’s for Buffalo
Posted on July 1, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Hockey, NHL, NHL Free Agency, Trades, Transactions | Leave a Comment
It’s about three hours into the NHL free agent signing period, and while action is picking up throughout the league, not much is going on in Boston. No surprise there, really, as general manager Peter Chiarelli said not to expect the Bruins to be aggressive, at least in the early hours, or even days, of the open market.
Boston has yet to announce any free-agent signings, whether from inside our outside the organization. They just lost their first unrestricted free agent, with defenseman Steve Montador taking Buffalo up on a 2-year, $3.1 million offer. The B’s picked up Montador at the March trade deadline, sending Petteri Nokelainen to Anaheim.
Most of the big deals so far involve players from the Western Conference, but a couple of moves have changed things a bit in the East: Montreal added center Scott Gomez in a trade with the Rangers (Christopher Higgins was the most recognizable Canadien sent to New York), Toronto added former Bruin tough guy Colton Orr, and the Sabres brought in Montador.
Outside the Bruins’ Northeast Division, Tampa Bay landed Vancouver D Mattias Ohlund, former Bruin winger Mike Knuble has moved from Philadelphia to Washington, the New York Islanders signed G Dwayne Roloson away from Edmonton for two years (wonder what that says about oft-injured Isles goalie Rick DiPietro?), and the Rangers replaced Orr by bringing in Washington’s Donald Brashear.
Another interesting signing: Florida re-upped with C David Booth for 6 years, the deal worth $25.5 million, or $4.25 million per year against the salary cap. Booth, like Boston’s so-far unsigned Phil Kessel, just completed his third NHL season, and both scored 60 points this past season. Kessel, 36-24–60 last year, is 66-60–126 in 222 career games; Booth, 31-29–60 last year, is 56-54–110 in 193 games. No aribitration is involved in Kessel’s case, but it wouldn’t seem unreasonable that a $4.25 million average at this point in his career might be about the right number.
Chiarelli has a 6 p.m. conference call scheduled with reporters; we’ll update after that.
Draft, Day 2: B’s stand pat; Boyle traded to Rangers
Posted on June 27, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Entry Draft, Trades, Transactions | Leave a Comment
In roughly the time it took for 30 selections to be made in Round 1 Friday night, Rounds 2-7 of the NHL Entry Draft — 180 picks — were completed on Saturday morning and early afternoon in Montreal.
Why so fast? Far fewer hold-ups for trade discussions is probably a reason. More than that, though, scouts check and cross-check players all year, take advantage of the Scouting Combine, and meet as groups with their teams more than once before even leaving for the draft. When it’s time to pick on Day 2, these people know who they want.
The Bruins were never able to move up in Friday’s first round, nor were they able to obtain a second-round pick, so they ended up making five total selections. Unlike center-heavy drafts of the past, the B’s chose three wingers, one defenseman and a center with their last choice. With the exception of their final pick, center Ben Sexton (5-11, 182), Boston’s picks have some size, a commodity general manager Peter Chiarelli is always looking to add.
Although only a couple of major trades were made (D Chris Pronger from Anaheim to Philadelphia; D Jay Bouwmeester from Florida to Calgary) during draft weekend, a smaller deal had local implications. The Los Angeles Kings traded Hingham native Brian Boyle, their first-round draft pick (No. 26 overall) in 2003, to the New York Rangers for a third-round choice in next year’s draft. That added to what was already a pretty distinct Massachusetts flavor to the Rangers’ draft weekend: They used their first-round choice (No. 19 overall) to grab Chris Kreider of Boxford, who played at Phillips Andover Academy, and also grabbed Ryan Bourque — the youngest of Hall of Famer Ray’s three kids (both sons have now been drafted), and, like Boyle, a product of Cushing Academy. Ryan Bourque was selected in the third round, No. 80 overall.
Here’s a quick rundown of Boston’s second-day picks.
— Ryan Button, D, Prince Albert (WHL): 3rd round, No. 86 overall: Was ranked 23rd among North American skaters, leading to some speculation that the B’s might have had their eyes on him in the first round. Fair size at 6 feet, 185 pounds, with decent production (5-32–37 in 70 games), he rose in the second half of the season. NHL Central Scouting had him ranked 36th in North America at mid-season.
— Lane MacDermid, RW, Windsor (OHL): 4th round, No. 112 overall: Not rated this year by Central Scouting, which only ranks first-year eligibles, and MacDermid wasn’t selected when he became eligible last year. His stock rose this season, however, when he was traded from Owen Sound to Windsor and helped the Spitfires win the Memorial Cup. MacDermid is 6-3, weighs 204 pounds, and he fights: In three OHL seasons, he scrapped 14, 18 and 17 times, respectively, and he added four fights during the past playoff season. Scored 35 points over 64 regular-season games, but was plus-23 in 38 games after getting traded to Windsor, and had a solid post-season (20 games, 4-5–9). He’s the son of former NHLer Paul MacDermid, who spent most of his career with Hartford — thus Lane’s Connecticut birthplace.
— Tyler Randell, RW, Kitchener (OHL): 6th round, No. 176 overall. Like MacDermid, Randell was swapped in mid-season, from Belleville to a Kitchener team that missed the OHL playoffs. Randell scored 14 goals in 37 games after being traded (10 in 36 games before the deal), but was minus-14 with his new team. Rendell, rated 95th at mid-term and 116th by the end of the year, is 6-1 and weighs 195 pounds.
— Ben Sexton, C, Nepean (CJHL): 7th round, No. 206 overall: Ranked 137th in North America by NHL Central Scouting, Sexton played a step below the Major Junior level in Canada to preserve his NCAA eligibility. (He’s going to Clarkson in two years.) Sexton so far has 30 goals and 68 points in 87 Junior A games.
Those four selections, plus first-rounder Jordan Caron, are expected to come to the Bruins’ development camp next month. The B’s haven’t announced the dates yet.
Bruins Draft, Day 1
Posted on June 26, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Entry Draft, NHL Free Agency, Roster moves, Transactions, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Well, they didn’t draft a center again.
Who knows how disappointed the Bruins might have been, however, over being unable able to move up from the 25th pick in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft, or by the fact that there apparently wasn’t a defensemen they liked when they finally made their choice Friday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Those were among the hopes the Bruins had when they went to the draft, where they did grab the sort of player general manager Peter Chiarelli has always liked: Boston selected Jordan Caron, a big right wing from Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Caron, ranked 21st among North American prospects by Central Scouting, is listed at 6-foot-2 and 202 pounds. While not necessarily a huge scorer — at least, not by the high-flying QMJHL’s standards — Caron certainly seems to have an offensive touch. He scored 36 goals (No. 1 on his team, No. 11 in the Q) and 67 points in 56 regular-season games, and added 66 penalty minutes.
The selection brought a quiet end to a day that had started with a lot more buzz. General manager Peter Chiarelli woke in Montreal to reports that the B’s had offered Phil Kessel, their potentially hard-to-sign right wing, to Toronto for veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle. One version of the story apparently had the B’s also getting an early draft pick with Kaberle; another had the Bruins sending Toronto a pick with Kessel.
Neither scenario panned out. Nor did Chiarelli’s hoped-for deal that would have allowed Boston to move up from No. 25. Prior to drafting, he told reporters in Montreal that if another wish was to be fulfilled — that of replacing the second-round pick sent to the New York Islanders for Petteri Nokelainen in September, 2007 — it probably wouldn’t happen until Saturday, when the draft resumes starting with Round 2 at 10 a.m.
Friday’s other event of note was the long-awaited revelation of the salary cap, which will be $56.8 million for next season. As expected, it’s nearly identical to last year’s $56.7 million, and with Boston already within $5-$6 million of the ceiling, Kessel’s name is bound to remain in play. Chiarelli wouldn’t comment on the trade rumor Friday, but added: “What I can say is that (Kessel) is a young player who has shown tremendous progress, and I’d love to be able to keep him.” Kessel’s entry-level conract exires at midnight Tuesday, but he doesn’t have arbitration rights, and the Bruins have the right to match any free-agent offer sheets. Chiarelli has said the B’s will match.
Chiarelli also indicated that he still had hopes of re-signing some of the veterans who become unrestricted free agents on Wednesday. The GM said he’d told some of the potential UFAs (the group includes forwards P-J Axelsson, Mark Recchi and Stephane Yelle, plus defensemen Shane Hnidy and Steve Montador) he’d be in touch with them on Monday.
A last note: Prospects Wacey Rabbit and Ned Lukacevic haven’t been extended qualifying offers, indicating the B’s will let them become free agents. Lukacevic was obtained in the trade that sent Andrew Alberts to Philadelphia; the Flyers give the B’s a third- or fourth-round choice on Saturday as part of that deal.
We’ll be back throughout Day 2 on Saturday.
Chiarelli signs contract extension
Posted on June 15, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Transactions | Leave a Comment
The press conference won’t come until Tuesday, but the Bruins announced late this afternoon that general manager Peter Chiarelli has signed a multi-year contract extension.
This is good news on a few fronts.
First and foremost, he has recovered from a trying first season to help construct one of the better young teams in the NHL, and a two-time playoff qualifier. This is no time to interrupt that progress.
Second, it’s an emormously important off-season for the Bruins, who seem to be facing significant salary-cap issues, and with his contract now extended past the coming season, Chiarelli and the B’s have pushed a potential distraction in the rear-view mirror.
Finally, it quiets speculation that Chiarelli, who would have entered 2009-2010 as a free agent-agent-to-be, might have been enticed to leave the organization.
Chiarelli will be joined at noon Tuesday by Bruins Principal Charlie Jacobs, son of team owner Jeremy Jacobs.
Bruins break-up day
Posted on May 18, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Injuries, Playoffs | Leave a Comment
Turns out the Bruins were a pretty banged-up bunch throughout the post-season — so damaged, in fact, that they’ll start next season that way.
Here’s the list of injuries/surgeries known at the moment.
— Phil Kessel: Will have shoulder surgery Thursday to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. Rehab period 4 to 6 months.
– David Krejci: Is in the process of scheduling hip surgery. Also expected to need 4 to 6 months to recover.
— Andrew Ference: Will have surgery next month to repair a groin tear and a hernia.
— Mark Recchi: Had a kidney stone removed the night before Game 7 against Carolina.
— Chuck Kobasew: Sustained broken ribs in Game 1 of the series against Carolina.
GM Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien are holding their year-end press conference shortly. Notes of interest, etc., will be passed on.
OT final: Carolina 3, Bruins 2
Posted on May 14, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Bruins Game Day, Bruins game report, Playoffs | Leave a Comment
Figures. The only infamous player in the series — Carolina’s Scott Walker — just ended Game 7.
Walker, who had a suspension lifted after belting an unsuspecting Aaron Ward near the end of Game 5, scored with 1:14 left in the first overtime to eliminate the Bruins, 3-2, and advance to the Eastern Conference final against Pittsburgh.
Walker swatted the puck out of the air after Tim Thomas stopped a shot by Ray Whitney from the right circle. Not only is it Walker’s first goal of the series — it’s his first goal in 25 playoff games, period.
Carolina moves on to face Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference finals, which begin Monday night. The Bruins take at least one day to lick their wounds, and will probably convene sometime over the weekend for exit interviews and the like. We plan to be there for the break-up.
Game 7: B’s 2, ‘Canes 2, OT ahead
Posted on May 14, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Bruins Game Day, Bruins game report, Playoffs | Leave a Comment
It took several minutes and one enormous, early play, but the Bruins finally found their game in the third period of Game 7.
Now, they’re going to overtime.
Milan Lucic scored the biggest goal of the season for the Bruins 7:45 into the third period, after Marc Savard made a brilliant move to get the puck from behind the net to the front. After waiting several seconds, Savard came out from Carolina goalie Cam Ward’s left, drawing two Hurricanes while Lucic camped just off the crease. Ward got a piece of Savard’s pass, but Lucic gained control, pulled it back and lifted a shot past Ward’s shoulder and blocker.
That enormous play? Happened in the first minute of the third period, with Carolina on a power play. Rod Brind’Amour deflected a point shot past Tim Thomas that hit the post to Thomas’s right, and the puck rolled inches from the goal line behind him. Aaron Ward swept it away to keep the Bruins within 2-1.
Another big play came at the end: Ray Whitney cranked a shot off Thomas’s mask from the left circle, and Thomas was then swept away from the front of the net when teammate Steve Montador and Carolina’s Scott Walker crashed into him. Eric Staal had a brief look at an empty-net rebound, but Patrice Bergeron got in the way of the shot.
Bruins are playing their second OT of this series, and of the playoffs. They lost Game 3 in OT at the RBC Center, 3-2.
Back after another intermission, or after the game.
Game 7, end of 2nd: B’s behind, 2-1
Posted on May 14, 2009 by Mike Loftus
Filed Under Boston Bruins, Bruins Game Day, Bruins game report, Lineup notes, Playoffs | Leave a Comment
If coach Claude Julien can’t regroup his troops during this intermission, the Bruins aren’t going to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
Carolina picked up where it left off in the first period, dominating the second period — despite killing off three penalties — and took a 2-1 lead on the fourth goal of the series by ex-Bruin Sergei Samsonov. Samsonov finished off a 2-on-1 by getting ahead of Michael Ryder, with the rush made possible by Steve Montador’s unsuccessful pinch in Carolina territory.
Julien, his team outshot 10-6 in the period, has made some significant moves. After a dismal first-period effort by the first power-play group, Julien started leading off with the second group (David Krejci-Phil Kessel-Chuck Kobasew up front, Patrice Bergeron and Montador at the points), and pulled Ryder off the power play altogether. Milan Lucic took over up front with Mark Recchi and Marc Savard; Dennis Wideman and Zdeno Chara continue to man the points.
Couple scoring changes on the first-period goals. Byron Bitz scored his first career playoff goal with assists from Krejci and Ryder; Rod Brind’Amour was given late credit for the Hurricanes’ goal, with assists from Dennis Seidenberg and Joni Pitkananen. Pitkanen also had the assist on Samsonov’s go-ahead goal.
Back after the third period.
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