Kaberle Rumors

The latest rumor from TSN had the Boston Bruins offering Phil Kessel to Toronto for Tomas Kaberle AND the 7th overall pick.  Eklund has now reported that Kessel for Kaberele straight up is not enough.  Conflicting...but I take McKenzie's word of Eklund's any day of the week.

I don't want to trade Kessel, as his potential is very high, but the first offer is one of the better ones I have seen.  Kaberle has a very affordable contract for the next two seasons at 4.25 per and is one of the best puck movers in the game.  The 7th overall pick could land us talent close to Phil, but we would not see that player for a few seasons, which is important since we would not have to pay him.  

Kaberle Boston bound?

Reports out of Canada are that Brian Burke has received an offer for defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The proposal would send a player and a pick to Toronto for Kaberle. Kevin Paul Dupont of the Globe believes the Bruins could possibly be that team. GM Peter Chiarelli wants to address the defense, especially by trying to add another puck moving defenseman. If the Bruins are indeed offering a player it would have to be a high salary player since Kaberle has a $4.25 million dollar cap hit next season. If Kessel's name is being dangled, then that would be a very steep price to pay for an inconsistent defenseman in the final year of a contract.

Apologies in advance

I would like to apologize to everyone who visits this site on a daily basis. I have to go on a business trip and will be leaving Friday morning and will not return until the following Saturday evening. Therefore, I will not be able to update this blog until I return. Unfortunately, this trip comes at the worst time of the year, where there is potential to be a lot of important moves made by the Bruins. As you all know the draft in Friday and Saturday and the following Wednesday free agency begins. The Bruins have a number of possibilities, all which seem to revolve around Phil Kessel. They could trade his rights to move up in the draft, sign and trade him for a player, or simply sign him to a long term contract. There is also the possibility that another team signs him to an offer sheet, while the Bruins have said repeatedly that they will match any offer. Hopefully one of the other bloggers will update the moves the Bruins make but that is unlikely, so once again I apology and will speak you to all in about a week.

Chiarelli looking to move up

Peter Chiarelli stated today that he would like to move up in Friday's NHL entry draft. The Bruins currently sit at number 25. Here is what Chiarelli said earlier,

''Our guys have an eye on one player, I don't know if we'll get him.''

The New Jersey Devils (23) and the Washington Capitals (24) pick right before the Bruins in this draft. It is unlikely Chiarelli can strike a deal with either one of those teams and would probably prefer to pick before the number 2 and 3 seeds respectively. The Flames at 20 and Flyers at 21 seem like potential trade partners.

Winter Classic : Bruins to host Flyers??

According to Joe Haggerty of WEEI.com and the Boston Metro, the Bruins New Years Day opponent may be the Philadelphia Flyers instead of the Washington Capitals. Here is the link to Haggerty's article

Yuri Alexandrov to attend development camp

Yuri Alexandrov will be attending Bruins development camp which runs from July 6th through July 12th. Alexandrov was the Bruins second round (#37 overall) selection in the 2006 entry draft. The young Russian defenseman, who is listed at 6'1 and 170 pounds, has a shot to make the team this fall. Here is his profile from hockeysfuture.com:

Talent Analysis
Scout 2: A dependable defenseman…shoots left…doesn’t have many weak spots…main area of improvement is his body mass and strength– he is very light…good top speed… skates well backwards …a technically sound skater…a strong leader (1988 born national team’s captain)...aggressive – likes to hit, likes the physical aspect of the game…a capable power play quarterback…dangerous as both a shooter and a passer…shot – not bad, good strong shot…solid first pass out of the zone…controls the puck well, modern two way defenseman…gets ice time in Cherepovets – not much, but consistently gets ice time.

Future
Alexandrov has the potential to develop into a reliable defenseman, capable of quarterbacking the power play. The Bruins were unable to come to terms on a contract with Alexandrov, so it is unclear when, or if he will make is debut in North America. He is expected to play in the RSL for at least one more season in 2008-09.


Alexandrov gives the Bruins another puckmoving option on the backend. His numbers are not very impressive but he does stand a chance to stick as a 6th or 7th defenseman on this team. If one of the veterans (Ward, Ference) are moved look for Alexandrov to get a long look in camp. If Alexandrov doesn't make the Bruins roster, expect him to return to the KHL. Now the question is, will Carl Soderberg ( St. Louis 2004 second round pick, acquired for Hannu Toivonen) be the next to come?

Glen Murray loses hearing

After what seems months of wondering what was happening with Glen Murray's contract situation, arbitrators officially ruled against Murray and he will not be awarded the remainder of his contract. This however, is a bad thing for the Bruins cap situation, as his $1.383 million dollar buyout will continue to count against the 2009-2010 cap total.

Chiarelli's contract extended

The Boston Bruins have announced that GM Peter Chiarelli has signed a contract extension. Chiarelli was in the final season of a four year contract. More details to follow on the length of the contract after the Jacobs address the media tomorrow.

UPDATE: Chiarelli's contract is a four year extension, keeping the GM in Boston through the 2013-2014 season.

Draft Update

With the NHL Draft less than two weeks away, here is a breakdown of the picks the Bruins have available.

First Round - As Assigned - 25th pick overall
Second Round - No Pick (Traded to N.Y. Islanders for Petteri Nokelainen)
Third Round - As Assigned - 86th pick overall
Fourth Round - No Pick (Traded to Minnesota with Petr Kalus for Manny Fernandez)
Fifth Round - No Pick (Traded to Phoenix with Nate DiCasmirro for Alex Auld)
Sixth Round - As Assigned
Seven Round - As Assigned

Conditional Pick

The Bruins also will receive a pick from the Philadelphia Flyers. On October 13, 2008 the Bruins traded Andrew Alberts to the Flyers for Ned Lukacevic and a conditional pick. If Andrew Alberts resigns before the draft it will be a third round pick (pick 81). If Alberts does not resign before the draft it will be a fourth round pick (pick 112).

Notable picks at number 25 in recent drafts:
2006 - Patrick Berglund - St. Louis Blues
2005 - Andrew Colgiano - Edmonton Oilers
2003 - Anthony Stewart - Florida Panthers
2002 - Cam Ward - Carolina Hurricanes
1997 - Brendan Morrow - Dallas Stars
1990 - Chris Simon - Philadephia Flyers

David Krejci Resigned

The Boston Bruins have announced that David Krejci has been resigned to a three year contract. The cap hit will be $3.75 million annually. His salaries will be $3.5 million in 2009-10, $3.75 million in 2010-11, and $4 million in 2011-12.

Excellent contract for both the Bruins and the player. A three year contract at a relatively low cap hit for a point-per-game player enables the Bruins to now focus on resigning other key members of the organization. For Krejci, signing this contract enables him to prove his worth and cash in on a huge contract after three seasons. One interesting thing to note is once Krejci's three year contract expires, he will be 26 years old, meaning he will still be a restricted free agent.