Six Bruins skate as Boston gets back to work in Wilmington

On the eve of September we finally have some actual hockey news, not just those silly rumors.

The players who were present at the ice box today were, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, Zdeno Chara, Marco Sturm, David Krejci, Shawn Thornton, and Kevin Regan.

Most of the news today was about David Krejci, but let's start with a note on Marco Sturm. Sturm appeared in only 19 games last season after tearing the ACL and meniscus in his left knee. However, today Sturm was skating without limitations and is counting on being 100 percent for the start of camp.

As for Krejci, he said that he wasn’t ruling out a return to the lineup for Boston Bruins opening night on Oct. 1 after off season hip surgery. This was a bit of a surprise as the original time table for a return was set for mid November.

However, Krejci said he won’t be ready for full-time drills with the rest of his team when the club starts official training camp on Sept. 12.

This blogger thinks that opening night may be a stretch and that a more realistic date may be when the Bruins go on their first road trip on October 16.

However, Krejci said he will not rush himself back. "I don’t want to rush it, Krejci said. I’d rather miss a few games than be out for half of the year. There’s no point to rushing it.”

BIG Z SPEAKS

Zdeno Chara didn't skate today but did chat with media members briefly. Chara said he was excited to start a new season and answered some questions about his possible new defensive partner, Derek Morris.

"He's a veteran guy who's been in the league for many years," Chara said. "He knows what his job is. We all have expectations, and I'm sure he knows them as well. It's a good addition."

Chara also was asked about the Phil Kessel situation. "It's part of the thing that every player has to realize and decide what he wants to do," Chara said. "The rest is up to management and Phil. As a player, I can't really wish for anything more than to have both sides being happy."

This coming on a day where Canwest News Service reported that the San Jose Sharks are looking to add a scorer and said that they are either going to make a serious push for Dany Heatley or Phil Kessel.

Other teams rumored to be interested in Kessel have been Edmonton, Vancouver, New York Rangers, Minnesota and Los Angeles.

Now, as for the action in Wilmington for the rest of the week, only Sturm, Rask, and Regan are expected to skate tomorrow.

The skates will take place every day this week starting at 11:30 a.m. As always, these sessions are free and open to the public. The next skate with some meat to it may be on Wednesday when Byron Bitz, Dennis Wideman and Derek Morris are expected to arrive.