B's now completely irrevlavent in Boston

1) Red Sox. Has been this way for years. The Sox will continue to dominate headlines for decades.

2) Patriots. Used to be the bottom, but now with 3 SB rings, Tom Brady and Tedy Bruschi, they are tops in the headlines. Adding Adalius Thomas and...Randy "bleeping" Moss doesn't hurt either.

3) Celtics. Was a toss up between the B's, but from about a month ago from wait a few years, to now title competitive for the next 4 seasons. Adding Ray Allen on draft night, and today added Kevin Garnett. That's Pierce, Garnett and Allen. Now the Celts will be top of the headlines as well.

The B's are clearly last. Now that isn't to say if they start to win it'll stay that way, but the media wants wins and names. The B's don't have any "sexy names" like a Sakic, Forsberg or Luongo. That doesn't help. The team has sucked for the past 10 years, 0 cups since 72. Thats 35 years and counting. So any fans under that age, slim they are, have nothing to remember the team by. The B's need results, or soon they will be below the Revolution...and by reading articles in the globe, that may already be the case.

Top 10 Worst Signings this Offseason

1) Scott Gomez. Signed a big juicy 7 year deal worth 51.5 million. 10 million on the first season. Now check this calculation. Say he has a 7o point season, which is a little above average for him, but say 70 points. That's 142,857.14 per point. Breaking the bank. Even if he hits over 80 points, it is still 100g per point. Gomez is a nice player. But the guy has cracked 20 goals..once! He has never cracked 90 points. As a C, he isn't much of a playmaker either. His career high for asssits is 56. Glen Sather...there is a salary cap.

2) Roman Hamrlik. 4 years/22 million. Mr Gainey...You are going to pay 5.5 per for the next 4 seasons? First off...Hamrlik is an average defender. Nothing special. He is a top 4 guy on any team. He is a top defender on a bad team. WAIT! Doesn't that mean...yes! Montreal sucks! For a guy who doesn't score for a defender. Can't play the PP. He is a stay at home guy. Thanks, but I already have Aaron Ward. Hamrlik will be a solid defender, but had the price been 4 million or under, it would have been a nice signing. BTW Bob, you could have paid 200k extra and keep a guy the Habs actually liked. And when the bitched because he sucked, you could have said, you wanted him.

3) Sheldon Souray. 5 years/27 million. Kevin Lowe is a dumbass. Besides dealing Ryan Smyth and Chris Pronger. Okay, you want star players. Vanek didn't work out. Now Penner may not. But, don't get desparate. Souray had 1 good season. 1! He sucks in his own end. Had he been on the Bruins he may have been -100. Something fishy about Souray. He had one season of 60 plus points. 2 alright seasons prior to this one, but only 35 and 39 points respectively. Before that...14 career goals...career high was 11 points. He has never played a full season until last. Lowe just cap hindered his team for years, and his player is probably worth 3 million at most for 2 years.

4) Jason Blake. Something about Canada. 5 years/20 million. JFJ, you have just won an award for being A WORSE GM THAN MOC. Kubina 5 million, now Blake at 4? Where to start. Length is 5 years. Blake is 33. So when he hits the final year of his deal in Toronto, because no way in hell he is ever traded unless Columbus wants to put him on the same line as Fedorov, who will be 100 years old then, he will be 38. I don't recall any 38 year old being worth 4 million. The length isn't just the issue, the amount is as well. 4 million for a 40 goal scorer is market price, but it'd be nice if it weren't a 1 year wonder in a contract season. He will likely pot 20 and end up with 50 points, but that's not worth 4 million. 4 straight seasons of 20 goals...only 1 that cracked 30. Never cracked 60 points until last season. Had 18 points in 82 games his first full season. Average winger at best. An awful signing. Too long, too much. Why can San Jose score a 50 goal scorer for 2.5 per season for 5 seasons. They also paid 7.2 million for 130 points in Joe Thornton. Wish the B's had a guy like him....Okay, I'll revoke the Worse GM than MOC award from JFJ.

5) Chris Drury. 5 years/35.25 million. Why don't we give the cup to NY now? They got Gomez, and Drury, add that with Jagr and Prucha. Oh my! Think again idiots. Drury was a guy, who before was on Buffalo who has about 100 30 goal scorers, was a checking line center that would have earned 4 million in any market. I thought he would only make 5 million a season maybe 6 if some team went insane. By insane I think I forgot to include Sather. The Knicks and Rangers have a lot in common, they suck, and they can't buy a championship. Drury, arguably better than Gomez number wise, actually he is, was more consitant. He was a regular 20 goal scorer every season of career except one, but never cracked 30 until the past two seasons. He averaged around 50-60 points a season. Average for a center. You are telling me that is worth 7.050 over the next 5 seasons? Marc Savard got me 96 points on a SHITTY Bruins team and makes 5 million. 14.1 million for 120 points. The Pens got that in 1 player for less.

6) Todd Bertuzzi. 2 years/8 million. I swear he was only supposed to make 1.5 million plus incentives, I swear. Is Brian Burke a complete moron. 4 million a season, for 15 games last season. Big risk, low reward. he hasn't done shit since his 97 point campaign in 2002-03. He managed okay in the playoffs, but still, 4 million. Atleast it isn't for 5 seaons... Now Burke is bitching to Lowe over Penner. Well maybe if you hadn't wasted 4 million for a guy who is injury prone you'd have money left to resign him. I know they have to replace Teemu Selanne, if he retires, but come on. Bertuzzi. Go out and signed Nagy or someone for less and more reward.

7) Daniel Briere. 8 years/52 million. Atleast has a creative final two years worth only 5 million. Briere goes from a talented Buffalo team to a lesser Philly team. Okay, so Briere did have 95 points. But that was the first time he ever cracked 60 points. He had 60 one season in Phoenix. Briere had 58 points in 48 games for Buffalo, but having Vanek and Pommonville on your line doesn't hurt, and the fact that the Sabres score 20 goals per game. Briere will likely have 80 points. Not worth 6.5 cap hit. Now had Briere not accepted the final 2 year/5 million ending to the contract, he'd be number 2. I want to see more consistancy from him. And...Daniel...don't be the biggest pussy on ice. Also, Briere will be 37 when his deal expires. 6+ million cap hit for a declining 30 year old whose only skill is speed and being a pussy. Nice.

8) Kimmo Timonen. 6 years/38 million. Timonen is a nice defender, a perfect 1b guy. Why trade Joni once you got him? I don't really like 6.333 cap hit per season, and deflated due to a 3 million dollar final year. Chara's deal looks better now. Timonen has been a regular 40-50 point defenseman, but come on, he makes more then Chris Pronger. I like Timonen, but I doubt he will be worth the money. He will also be in his mid-late 30s during the deal, so his play is going to decline.

9) Danius Zubrus. 6 years/20.4 million. Who said Lou is a genius again? He may be a cap genius, but he is one of the worst GM's when it comes to free agent signings. It isn't the money that is bad. 3.4 per season is fair market value for Zubrus, in this crazy free agent market. He is 29 now, and will be 35 when the deal is done. He has scored 20 goals 2 times, never cracked 25. Has cracked 50 points...2 times. Usually averages only 30 points a season. I can get that for 1 million dollars. Bad deal for an underachiever. If you can't get it done with Ovechkin or in Buffalo, I don't know if he ever will.

10) Michael Nylander. 4 years/19.5 million. 4.85 per season. Fine for a 80 point center...but he is 34, and won't get much better. Will probably post the same numbers this season with Ovechkin rather than Jagr. I mean, Nylander is a good player, the money is a fine, but the length again is awful. Nylander is also injury prone throughout his career. If not for Jagr, he was a 60 point centerman. Again, the Caps need help, and they had to extend the length for Nylander for him. It was a nice signing, but in 2 years I think we will see the negative side to this deal.

Does Kevin Lowe have "balls"?

This is a topic that has been pissing me off for some time. Alright.

Leading into this offseason, evey rumor was Lowe is on the verge of doing something...Lowe is about to acquire a huge name. Jokinen, Horton, Redden, Marleau...etc.

Flashback...trade deadline 07. He lost Ryan Smyth, franchise player, over 1 million bucks! Now he is bitching and crying for big names. He has more cap space than he knows what to do with...but he is a brilliant GM. And when he trades Smyth, he doesn't even get a name in return. Ohhh a 1st rounder...yeah he already had like 3.

News Flash...Edmonton's roster SUCKS! What do they have to offer to any team? Nothing. I am pretty damn sure if Edmonton even had a somewhat nice offer to give, another team could easily outbid Edmonton.

Thomas Vanek's 7 year/50 million offer sheet. Alright, people said oooh Lowe has balls for doing that. Let me see....He knew Buffalo would match it after losing both Briere and Drury. So...no risk there. And even if Lowe had to give up 4 1st rounder is comepensation, he got a young 50 goal scorer, probably better than any 1st round he'll get. Also, it isn't like Edmonton is a place where they can "rebuild" ala Pittsburgh.

So Lowe acquired Pitkanen from Philly. Well, it isn't like they got him for nothing. Joeffry Lupol and Jason Smith are both great players. A top 6 and a top 4 for a top 4 defenseman. Pitkanen is young so he may have more upside, but it is hard to say Lowe robbed Philly. If anyone, Philly won the deal because they didn't want Joni and got value.

Now the 5 year/21.5 million offer to Penner. Oh no. Hey Kevin, your the idiot who traded Pronger to your own conference. Should of told Chris to shutup and play. And for those like Eklund who are all don't piss Brian Burke off. Shut up. This is guy overrated as a GM. Selanne, luck, wanted to give him a 2nd chance and it worked out. Niedermayer, only signed for his brother. Pronger, was a okay deal with another stupid GM. Losing Federov, a high retarded GM helped him in Columbus. Don't piss Burke off. Oh, what's he gonna do? If anything, Lowe is getting even in the Pronger deal where he got ripped by Burke. And isn't it better for Anaheim to lock up an RFA like Penner for a somewhat reasonable deal. Hell, send offer sheets to Getzlaf as well. Burke is obviously going to match, since he stated that awhile ago. But, even if he changes his mind. Lowe has I believe 2 1sts and a 2nd in compensation or some sort, so that's a nice deal for a guy like Penner. Lowe wins either way.

So does he have balls? No. Is he smart? Somewhat. He knows how to play poker. But he did mess up with Pronger and Smyth. Every GM makes mistakes, but 2 franchise guys, come on.

Has Chiapet really been bad?

Let's go over his deals...

1) Acquired Tuukka Rask for Andrew Raycroft. Razor ended up sucking in TO. He may never been the Calder goaltender he once was. Boston got the best goalie prospect in the world. He could turn out to be the next Hasek for all we know.
VERDICT: Great trade

2) Acquired Paul Mara and a pick from Phoenix for Nick Boynton and a pick. Boynton was alright at the time, and Mara was a Rafalskilike player. At the time, it seemed like a nice deal. Boynton ended up on waivers, so...
VERDICT: Alright trade
2b) Acquired Aaron Ward from the New York Rangers for Aaron Ward. At the time we all wanted Mara out. He was misused by Lewis. Trading Mara may have been a mistake, but at the time it seemed necessary. Ward is overpaid, but he is a nice vetern defenseman who can make plays and is rarely out of position.
VERDICT: Even trade...slight edge NYR.

3) Signed Zdeno Chara to a 5 year deal at 7.5 per. We all liked it, shut up. Happy as hell. His play may have not backed it, but he is a great defenseman.
VERDICT: Good signing.

4) Signed Marc Savard to a 4 year deal at 5 per. An amazing deal. Savard churned out 92 points on a shitty team. Best bargain of the offseason, hell of the new NHL.
VERDICT: Amazing signing.

5) Signed Shean Donovan to a 2 year deal at .925 per. Was supposed to be a nice 3rd line winger with speed. Never really did much.
VERDICT: Bland signing. Didn't hurt or help the team.
5b) Acquired Peter Shaefer from the Ottawa Senators for Shean Donovan. A now spare-part 4th liner for a potential top 6 winger, who had 20 and 30 2 years ago.
VERDICT: Great trade.

6) Signed Mark Mowers to a 2 year deal at .463 per. Loved in Detroit. Was a great PKer and solid 4th liner. He provides depth to the team. Now a 4th liner or 13th forward.
VERDICT: Solid signing

7) Signed Jason York to a 1 year deal at .5. Okay, Ottawa connection. Thought he'd be a NICE 7th defenseman, not 6th. Wasn't PC's fault! It was Lewis.
VERDICT: Solid signing

8) Signed Nathan Dempsey to a 1 year deal. 8th defenseman, didn't do much, didn't take cap room. Sort of nothing with him.
VERDICT: Pointless signing

9) Signed Petr Tenkrat to a 1 year deal. We all loved Petr. Scored some goals..was a true warrior. Liked him a lot, but didn't see a spot for him this season.
VERDICT: Nice signing

10) Signed Wade Brookbank to a 1 year deal. Wade who? Never did anything. Was supposed to be a tough guy. Didn't see much in the signing.
VERDICT: Pointless signing
10b) Traded Wade Brookbank to Pittsburgh for Future Considerations. Getting rid of him was amazing. Otherwise we would have lost 450,000 in cap space rather than the 90k we already paid him.
VERDICT: Pointless trade, but helped

11) Signed Jeff Hoggan to a 1 year deal. A depth guy. Did his job. Need I say more?
VERDICT: Slightly not pointless signing

12) Acquired Stanislav Chistov from the Anaheim Ducks for a 3rd round pick. Okay, Chistov could turn out to be a nice winger, and the 3rd rounder has yet to be drafted, but a 3rd rounder is high for Stan, considering at the deadline you can get players for 5th rounders with better numbers.
VERDICT: Nice trade

13) Acquired a 4th round pick for Milan Jurcina. Bad deal. Lewis didn't play him, so PC traded him. I liked Jurcina. I knew it was a bad move when they dealt him.
VERDICT: Bad trade

14) Acquired Phillipe Sauve from the Coyotes for Tyler Redenbauch. Sauve sucked. Redenbach is a ok AHL guy.
VERDICT: Pointless trade

15) Acquired Bradon Bochenski from the Blackhawks for Kris Versteeg and a conditional pick. Bochenski is the man now. A potential top 6 winger. Is much better than Versteeg.
VERDICT: Good trade

16) Acquired Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference for Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau, and a 4th round pick (Milan Jurcina). Ference is nice, Kobasew I need to see more. Primeau was alright here. I wish we could have resigned Brad who eventually only got 3.5 to his wanted 5 per with LA. But I didn't see why we had to give the Flames a 4th rounder.
VERDICT: Ok trade

17) Claimed Joey MacDonald off waivers. MacD played well for us.
VERDICT: Good claim

18) Signed Marco Sturm to a 4 year extension at 3.5 per. Undermarket value for Marco. Especially if he turns into a 40 goal scorer.
VERDICT: Great signing

19) Acquired Dennis Wideman from the Blues for Brad Boyes. SHIT! Awful deal. I loved Brad, cheap money for a guy who can even skate a penalty shot. Now Wideman may turn out to be a 60 point a year defenseman. But Brad was a proven top 6 winger.
VERDICT: Bad trade

20) Signed Shawn Thornton to a 3 year deal at .517 per. A great tough guy. Won't score, but will drop the gloves and add the needed grit to the lineup.
VERDICT: Solid signing

21) Signed Jeremy Reich to a 2 year deal. More grit. Nice signing. Maybe not necessary but doesn't hurt.
VERDICT: Fine signing

22) Signed Bobby Allen to a 1 year deal...again. Forgot him up top. A nice 2-way defenseman (AHL-NHL) and will travel between the teams. I like him.
VERDICT: Solid signing

23) Signed Jeff Hoggan to a 1 year deal. 2-way deal. More depth.
VERDICT: Pointless signing

24) Acquired Manny Fernandez from the Wild for Petr Kalus and a 4th round pick. What is it with these 4th rounders. Manny is a nice bridge to Rask. Kalus was a nice prospect, but nothing more. We needed a number 1 goalie to move forward.
VERDICT: Good trade

25) Acquired Carl Soderberg from the Blues for Hannu Toivonen. Hannu is a potential number 1 goalie. Why give up on him. We didn't get an NHL player in return. Soderberg is a ok prospect.
VERDICT: Bad deal.

Overall, PC has only made 3 bad trades. No bad signings. He drafted Kessel. Every GM makes mistakes. I mean people consider Lou in NJ a god. Hmm...he signed Malakhov, Mogiliny, McGillis and was in cap hell for it. He also has Bryzin, and Madden taking up roster space. Didn't sign Niedermayer or Rafalski who both left.

Evey trade isn't going to make people happy, but PC has done a fine job so far. Now when he trades Bergeron and Kessel for Sturm, Primeau and Stuart, then come and talk to me.

Toivonen gone: Good deal or bad?

Ok Carl Soderberg. Who the $%@# is that? I know we were all hoping for Brad Boyes. Or atleast an NHL name for Toivonen.

I am a little shocked by this deal. I would have kept him for as long as I could until a team got horny for him and overpaid. Atleast try to get a 09 1st rounder for a chance at Tavares. Maybe package him to PHX for Jovanovski. I don't see anything in Soderberg. His numbers are decent, and he may well turn into a solid NHL player. But, say Soderberg develops into all his potential. Nice, we have a 50-60 point guy. In the new NHL, 400 guys get that. If Hannu rebounds, they have an all-star goalie.

But then again, Razor sucked in TO, so glad we dealt him. Can't wait for the headline. Rask dealt for Joe Shmoe in 3 years.

The only thing I am going to defend Chiarelli on is, he isn't the only one making the calls. They have scouts and assitant GM's for a reason. If enough people felt this deal sucked, it wouldn't have happened. Scouts must've been hot for this guy.

Toivonen traded

Toivonen is a St-Louis Blues...

Latrappe's take: This organisation will never learn. They give up on Boyes, Jurcina and Toivonen in less then 12 months. So far, Chiarelli bullshitted us with PR speech like : " it's important to develop our young players " etc etc. Carl Soderberg is the return for that trade. Soderberg suffered from a major eye injury and this trade could be a costly one for the B's.

Hoggan Back

1 year, 2 way deal, 475,000 at NHL level.

B's Offseason

1) Acquired Adam McQuaid from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a 5th round pick. A good aquisition. McQuaid will be a solid prospect who could help out the team in a few seasons. He is better than what you likely would draft at the 5th slot anyways.

2) Acquired Manny Fernandez from the Minnesota Wild for Petr Kalus and a 4th round pick. A great addition for the B's. Manny is a perfect bridge to Tuukka Rask. Manny is a real number 1 goaltender with a GAA under 3. The B's haven't had a number 1 goalie since Byron Dafoe and haven't had a good goalie season since Razor's rookie year. Manny will provide consistancy between the pipes.

3) Signed Shawn Thornton to a 3 year/1.55 million dollar deal. A necessary signing. I don't really like the length, but I like the player. Cheap money, so again the length isn't a huge concern. Thornton will provide grit, which the B's lacked. Look for over 100 PIM by him.

4) Signed Bobby Allen to a 1 year, 2-way deal. A good depth signing. I really liked Allen last season. He will be a great 7th-8th defenseman on the team. He also has a little cap hit due to the likeliness that he plays in Providence.

5) Signed Jeremy Reich to a 2 year/975,000 deal. Not sure on this one. They had just signed Thornton, so I thought that was to take Reich's spot. But then again, a guy like Reich and Thornton on the same line could be scary.

6) Acquired Peter Schaefer from the Ottawa Senators for Shean Donovan. A great deal. They traded a spair part winger for a potential top six winger. He can score 20 and have 50 points easily.

Schaefer in, Axe out?

According to KPD, the arrival of Schaefer could mean the departure of Axe.

Latrappe's take: Honnestly, i don't see that happening since Axe and Schaefer, as PK killers, are a part of the plan to cut the GAA. Let's add that Axe have a very affordable contract and that he's pretty efficient in many situations...

Here

Fitzgerald leaves NESN; Joins Pens.

The Penguins have named Tom Fitzgerald as Director of Player Development.

Good luck to Tom.

B's Acquire Schaefer

Latrappe beat me to it. I haven't been on the comp all day and was listening to all stations but WEEI who broke the news to me.

An absolute great deal by PC. I was thinking Donovan to land us a late pick, but to acquire a potential top 6 winger is great. PC knows Peter Scheafer, who is 29, from Ottawa, so he knows what he is getting.

Ottawa was trying to clear space, so but taking Donovan's .925 cap hit vs Scheafer's 2.1 over the next 3 seasons is why.

Like in my previous posts, it seemed the B's had a logjam of okay players. Cleared that up.

Schaefer had 20 goals and 30 assists 2 years ago, and last season had 12 goals and 34 assists.

Only concern is cap hit, but if the guy can score 25, he is well worth it.

Sturm-Savard-Murray
Schaefer-Bergeron-Bochenski
Axlesson/Chistov-Kessel-Kobasew
Thornton-Mowers-Reich

Schaefer in, Donovan out

The B's acquire Peter Schaefer from the Sens in exchange of Shoan Donovan.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=213812&hubname=

Latrappe's take: A good trade for the B's who acquired a solid 2nd-3rd line player. A good defensive player who will not hurt you when he's on the ice. His +59 record is a good indication in that regard. Donovan never lived to the expectations ( as a 3rd liner ) and a change of scenary is a good thing for him. Downside: Schaefer still have 3 years on his contract.

Schedule Out

Click Here to see it.

Kind of a BS start. Another road trip to start off and then a hole bunch of 10 pm games. Atleast no week breaks inbetween games like last season to start off.

Log jam of "ok" players

When Reich resigned with the B's, I was thinking okay this is a good move. Then when I read multi-year 1 way, I paused. I was confused. Didn't Shawn Thornton (who if he wear$ 19 won't $urpri$e me), just get signed for that. (Reich's deal is 2 years). So that leads me to the question, do we have too much mediocre players?

My list of 3rd-4th line guys are Shean Donovan, Mark Mowers, PJ Axelsson, Stan Chistov, Chuck Kobasew, Shawn Thornton and Jeremy Reich.

My "ideal 4th line" was Thornton-Mowers-Donovan. Now, the 3rd line looks like...

Axlesson/Chistov-Kessel-Kobasew
Thornton-Mowers-Donovan/Reich

Let's start off.

Shean Donovan: Widely a scape goat for B's fans, he actually did what he did his previous seaosn before joining the B's, 2 goals less. He won't be the 15-20 goal scorer, but is a solid penalty killer, and many other fans would like to have Donovan on their team. I like him as a player and on the 4th line, he's fine. Ideal Uses: Penalty killer, 4th line winger. Likely Usues: Trade bait, 3rd-4th line winger. Options: Trade in package, keep.

Stanislav Chistov: It makes me laugh when I see people on forums saying if Chistov plays 20 minutes a game, he'll be a 20-30 goal scorer. If he plays that much, he MAY get 15. But, if Stan Chistov is playing that many minutes on your squad, your team has more issues. Now he is only 24, so he may turn it around by playing with Kessel/Bergeron. I don't really see him as a PP guy, but a nice 3rd line winger. Ideal Uses: 3rd line winger. Likely Uses: Top 6 winger. Options: Keep, package in trade.

Mark Mowers: I am a Mowers fan. Label me all you want. He was a great penalty killer, and actually scored some clutch goals...see Florida. I don't think B's fans judge him fairly. People in Detroit loved him. Now, with the logjam of players, I don't know where his role is. A 13th foward would be nice, but I see Reich being that. Ideal Uses: 4th line winger/center. Likely Uses: 13th foward. Options: Demote to AHL, keep.

PJ Axelsson: Not mediocre, but not a top 6 winger. He'll make the team. One of the best 2-way forwards in the league. If you think he sucks...get out of town. This guy is a great player. We just forget him because he was hurt last season. Ideal uses: 3rd line winger. Likely Uses: top 6 winger. Options: keep.

Chuck Kobasew: Not sure what I think of him yet. He did have 20 goals, and is fairly young. Then again, trading him and his 1.2 cap hit would be nice as well. Package deal could happen with a goaltender. I don't have much to judge on last season because he was hurt. Ideal uses: 3rd line winger. Likely uses: 3rd line winger, trade bait. Options: keep, trade.

Shawn Thornton: Love this guy, is a ass-kicker. Write up the T-shirts now. Lock to make the 4th line. Ideal Uses: 4th line enforcer, 13th forward. Likely uses: 4th line enforcer. Options: keep.

Jeremy Reich: Now, I liked him last season, but wasn't Thornton brought in to replace him? I don't see the need for him. Now he will likely only make 500k. So he could be the 13th forward, but he has a 1 way deal, so he can't play in Providence without passing through waivers, which is likely he would pass through. I don't know where he fits in. Ideal uses: 13th forward, 4th line enforcer. Likely uses: 4th line enforcer. Options: Demote to AHL, keep.

Reich resigned; Wideman close

Reich resigns with the Bruins with a 1-way multi-year deal.

PC said he is close to signing Dennis Wideman to a 1 year deal.

This could spell a deal because that gives us Thornton-Reich/Axelsson-Mowers/Donovan on the 4th line. Chistov-Kessel-Kobasew on the 3rd. It remains to be seen if we add a 3rd line center (Lindros/Peca) and move Kessel to the wing. The B's could package TT/Hannu with Donovan for a forward as well.

Allen resigned

B's resigned Allen to a 1 year, 2-way deal.

They also signed prospect Byron Bitz.

Offseason could turn out alright

This offseason could actually turn out better than we all think. I was sitting around and going, who is still out there I want? Well...

Andy Sutton would be a perfect defenseman to add on the squad. His value has dropped dramatically. He was supposed to be paid 4 million, but no team has offered that. So say we can get him at 3.4 or so for 1 season maybe 2, like a Brad Stuart deal, than that would be perfect. LA needs goaltending, what about trying to acquire Lubomir Visnovsky?

Then, forward wise, we could sign Brandan Shanahan, or offer Michael Ryder an offer sheet. Or, we could swing a deal. Trade TT/Hannu and Kobasew for a top 6 winger. Then we could sign a 3rd line UFA like Peca, or take a chance on a guy like Tony Amonte, or Mike York.

Oilers give Vanek an offer sheet

And could this offseason become more stupid....why don't we offer 50 million for 7 years for a one time 40 goal scorer? Wait...the Oilers did.

12:30 press conference in Buffalo. If I am Buffalo I would not match. 4 1st rounders...and 7+ million a season is just a bad deal.

There are a few rumors of the B's possibly offering Michaeal Ryder an offer sheet.

A Misperception

Glen Murray is a hot topic, in Beantown, right now. Trade or not to trade? Love him, hate him; everyone has an opinion. Well, here's my two cents...

Murray is a fan favorite and of course,many of us like his dedication, his team player spirit and the way he acted when JT was trade. Murray is a class act. But, in this new NHL' it's important to understand that hockey becomes a business; more then ever. Sentimentalism is not allowed anymore. Lots of fans says that the 30 goals of Murray cannot be replace and that's why we shouldn't trade him. Granted,the guy is a goal scorer but do Murray is a good fit for the B's, at this moment? The answer is no.

Let's face it. Past decisions and some bad decisions by PC make the team tight against the cap. That's why the B's were dead quiet in the UFA market. The team have holes, lots of them. The 4 per contract of Murray is hurting the team the same way as Ward contract. Until Murray stays on the payroll, nothing will change; roster wise. The B's need to deal Murray in order to progress. I already hear your objection: How trading a 30 goals scorer is a progression? Well, short term it doesn't help you but long term it will. It would be foolish from our part to think that the B's will contend, next year. Their better in the net but the task is colossal and i don't think the B's will be able to make the playoffs, especially when you look on how some teams, in our conference, improved. The B's need to shed salary and when you have to shed salary, you don't start with young players and cheap contracts. Murray is a victim. Victim of the situation,victim of this new Cap era.

I, for one, like Murray. But the fact is that the B's cannot afford him anymore. He will be older, slower and will not help the team long term. The B's need to look forward and get ride of the short term vision. Of course, short term is JJ mantra but when money is involve, JJ can be convince. I'm sure the perspective to save money on a trade involving Murray will convince JJ fairly fast...

Why the hate for Muzz?

I don't get why many B's fans are so against Glen Murray.

I know his 4.15 cap hit sucks, but it really isn't that bad. Hmm...Muzzy can score 40 goals and have 20-40 assists if he stays healthy. Scott Gomez makes 10 million for 60 points! Scott Hartnall gets 4.2 million for NEVER SCORING 25+!

I can agree before the UFA signing period his contract sucked, but now...after Guerin gets 4.5 million and Zubrus gets 20 million for 6 seasons, his deal is fine.

B's fans, we need to shut up about Murray. His contract is fine. And if we lose Muzzy, whose going to score for this team?

Thornton's Salary; $500,000

JR hangs'em up

It was known that JR was going to hang them up it was just a matter of time. Offically yesterday he is no longer an NHL player. JR is one of those guys you either love them or hate them. JR was first seen here in Mass at Thayer Academy where he tore it up with Tony Amonte who might also hang them up. JR is known for being the lound mouth. He will probally get a chance to be on TV weather it's in movies, NBC hockey coverage, or Versus. Thoughts on JR?

Signings

Clagary signed Owen Nolan to a one year deal, hoping he can come back to where he once was with the Sharks. If so he can get the presure off of Iggy and not reley on him for all the offense. Speaking of Jarome Iginla and Robyn Regehr to 5 year deals.

Former Bruins signings Wade Brookbank signed a one year deal with Carolina. Minnesota Wild also resigned Bruins farm hand Wes Walz to a two year deal. Another former Bruin Brad Isbister signed with Vancouver for one year. The big signing of former Bruins was Brad Stuart who signed one year $3.5 million a year with the LA Kings. Montreal signed former Bruin Bryan Smolinski one year $2 million, that includes a no trade clause.

Edmonton signed Matheiu Garon to a two year deal. Garon once a big time prospect of Montreal. Garon was in a bad spot with the log jam of goalies with the Kings. Look for Garon to back up Roloson. Edmonton also resigned Raffi Torres 3 years $6.75 million. Torres was one of the keys to the Oilers Stanley Cup run.

Dallas offers Slava Kozlov a contract 3 years $12 million..... more to come on where and when Kozlov signs.

Former Providence College goalie Nolan Schaefer signed with Minnesota for two years, after last season being a part of the Worcester Sharks. Schaefer could be a candidate to back up Backstrom or be the starter for their AHL team in Houston. Minnesota also signed the gritty Eric Belanger.

Nashville taded away Vokon to Florida on draft day and today they gave goalie Chris Mason a two year extension.

Montreal has also signed Roman Hamrilk to a four year deal worth $22 million. This could mean Montreal is out of the Sheldon Souray race.

Ducks sign Todd Bertuzzi to a two year deal.

After the Devils lost Scott Gomez they had to sign a forward to play with Giontia and Ellias and that forward is Dainius Zubrus to a 6 year deal. I am a little surprised Lou gave out a 6 year deal.

Boston College and Marblehead nativc Cory Schneider is leaving school after signing with the Vancouver Canucks to a two year deal. Schneider the former 1st round pick will more than likely play this season with Vancouver's AHL team the Manitobia Moose. Congrats to you Cory.

The Current Roster

____-Savard-Murray
Sturm-Bergeron-Bochenski
____-Kessel-Kobasew
Axelsson-Mowers-Thornton

Lashoff-Chara
Alberts-Wideman
Ference-Ward

Fernandez
Thomas/Toivonen

The Bruins lack serious offensive weapons up front. It will be a repeat of last season if Axelsson is asked to be anything but a checking line winger, the job he is best suited for. They need to add one top 6 left winger as well as a 3rd line left winger to play with Kessel. Donovan, Mowers, and Thornton will probably rotate on the fourth line, unless one of the first two are waived.

The defense will be average and nothing more. Lashoff needs to play with a veteran, either Chara or Ward, to help the development stage. Hopefully Wideman becomes the defenseman Chiarelli thought he would be, but with the performance he displayed at the end of last year, it seems doubtful. The Bruins may want to explore trade options here, with Alberts and Ference being the top candidates, since Ward has a huge salary, Chara is "the captain", and the rest of the defenseman are all relatively young.

The goaltending issue is finally resolved and the Bruins have a number one. Now there is the matter of who goes, Timmy or Hannu?

Voice of Reason

I am going to try and put a fair voice on all of this.

First, we have to look at this and say, screw the to FA's. We weren't going to get them period. Fine! I am fine with that. Teams overpaid anyways.

Like I have said, I am not pissed about the lack of activity, but the fact that the Bruins haven't improved offensively. Roster wise, they are 1 top 6 forward away from a decent lineup. Kozlov is closing in with Dallas, and after that nothing looks good except for Shanahan and MAYBE Guerin.

I don't want PC to spend 4 million on Bertuzzi.

I am pissed because PC claims he has no cap space when he has over 6 million. I am pissed because the B's couldn't give Nagy a 3.75 million or Stuart 3.5. They made a bad deal by not dumping any salary to Minnesota.

Just Sad:

I respect PC idea of staying under the cap, but we finished last year in the 13th.
We got Manny Fernandez okay great now go get a defenseman and a top six forward we do have money to spend.

If PC had some "you know whats" this is what we could look like:

Sturm-Savard-Shannhan
Bochenski-Bergeron-Kessel
Axellson-Donovan-Kobasew
Thorton-Mowers-Chistov, Walter, or Krejci

Chara-Ward
Ference-Aaron Miller
Alberts-Wideman, Stuart

Trade Muzz free up some space even if your getting a draft pick and prospect.
Trade Hannu for the same maybe a forward or try and get a puck moving defenseman instead of Miller.

Other players I would look at is Darren McCarty or Martin Gelinas for out third line duties.

But come on the team we have here cannot not win the Eastern Confrence. Sorry PC.

I love MOC...for this trade

Good job trading Scatchard for Tanabe. Scatch was just bought out.

Visnovsky?

Pure speculation, but there have been grumblins that Lumbor Visnovsky of LA is available...impending UFA. He has a really cheap cap hit, but is a top 20 defender in the league. 1.9 cap. LA signed Preissing, they have Blake, they are after Stuart. Could the B's package TT or Hannu with someone for him?

Murray/Toivonen on the move?

SJ has a lot of interest in Muzzy and the Oilers like TT and Hannu.

If Marleau or Cheechoo aren't coming back for Murray...SJ can kiss my ass.

If we deal Hannu I want a forward...and EDM has nothing.

Bertuzzi to Ducks

2 year deal. Killer for B's.

PC needs to make a move

Hate to be a downer, but this team sucks on paper right now after the 1st 1 and half lines.

Sturm-Savard-Murray
Chistov-Bergeron-Bochenski
Axlesson-Kessel-Kobasew
Thornton-Mowers-Donovan

The defense and goaltending is fine IMO, maybe another guy on the D line would be nice. But forward wise, I'd like to have Axy on the 4th line, and have either Mowers or Donovan be the 13th forward. I'd like to put Chistov with Kessel and Kobasew. Slava Kozlov, Todd Bertuzzi or Bill Guerin are my top 3. The B's need another forward.

LA Grabs 2

Nagy and Handzus to multiyear deals...Ken Klee to ATL.

Signings...

Hamrlik to MTL...4 yr/22 miilion
Lang to Chi...2 yr
de Vries and Bonk to Nsh 2 years each.

Drury/Gomez

I apologize for not being more up to date on things, not a lot of time...

Anyways, the NYR snagged Drury AND Gomez to major deals. TBL anyone? I don't want to sound like a downer or jealous. If the B's got these two I'd be doing cartwheels...but at what price? You are going to pay Scott Gomez 7+ million per for 60 points! 13 goals...47 assists. Wow, seems like a 7 million guy to me. NOT!

Chris Drury, a good player, but 6.5+, no thanks. This is a guy who will score 15-25 and assist 20-40 a season, at best. His days in Buffalo, that entire team had good stats. Can you convert that to another team? No.

Same goes for Briere. I mean this cap hinders the team for years.

Shawn Thornton

Good signing by PC. He will make around 500k, the minimum for a veteran. He can play some hockey, but isn't blessed with talent. He is basically going to go out there to kick the snot of a anyone. The B's needed a guy like this and they accomplished that goal.

Preissing to LA

4 years/11 million.

Makes me wonder for 2.75 per why PC couldn't make that deal.

Oullet to Tampa Bay

2 years/undisclosed

Jeff Hamilton to Carolina

2 years/1.6 million.

Dvorak to Florida

2 years/undisclosed

A lot of talent still out there

No names are real killers for the B's who signed except for Rafalski..but I wouldn't have given him 6 million per.

Guys like Guerin, Nagy, Kozlov are still out there along with Hannan, de Vries, and Sutton.

Bruins sign Shawn Thornton

To a multi-year deal...more details to come.

Zednik, McLean to Florida

Zednik...2 years/3.25 million

McLean...3 years/5.1 million

Sarich to Calgary

5 years/18 million.

Perrault to Chicago

1 year/1.5 million.

Rafalski to Detroit

5 years/30 million.

Briere to Philly

8 years/52 million.

Poti to Washington

4 years/14 million.

Schneider to Anaheim

2 years/11.25

White to Atlanta

4 years/9.5 million....2.375 per.

Thornton inks extension

3 years at 7.2 per.

Could be a great day!

As noon comes around I do not see the Bruins being very active, PC has said that before. I do see them although making many calls for trades. Hannu and Muzz being most popular. I've heard Edmonton for maybe Torres and others.

The tier 2 Free Agents the Bruins will look at according to the Boston Herald:
"Brendan Shanahan (who initially hoped to sign in Boston last summer before going to the Rangers, who paid him $4 million); C Peter Forsberg ($5.75 million); C Michael Nylander ($2.28 million); LW Paul Kariya ($4.5 million), LW Slava Kozlov ($2 million); D Brad Stuart ($3.5 million); RW Bill Guerin ($2 million); D Brian Rafalski ($4.2 million); RW Jason Blake ($1.5 million). "

I personally do not see them signing anyone big today, but my wild card guess is going to be Aaron Asham.

Even look at Todd Bertuzzi or Bill Guerin wouldn't hurt, speculates Stephen Harris of the Herald.

Chat at 11:45

I am going to start the chat att 11:45EST. See you all in there.

Bruins acquire Fernandez

Ryan beat me to it, but the Bruins acquired Manny Fernandez for Petr Kalus and a 4th rounder.

It's a better asking price than last week, but Kalus was a top prospect. I like Kalus, but we still have Krecji. I don't know if I like the deal yet, but like I said, Fernandez is the best bridge guy out there. UFA wise, I think this may impact the team signings unless this is step 1 of trades, aka TT/Hannu and Muzzy.

I'll have more later.

Looks like we have a Goalie:

Reports out of Minnesota and the Pioneer Press is the Bruins have traded Petr Kalus and fourth-round pick to Minnesota for Manny Fernandez.

Reports are out that now the teams need to get league apporval.

Huge news as the clock strikes Midnight!