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.

Trade talks surrounding Kessel heating up?

How about a Phil Kessel update friends? Well, like it or not, you're getting one, courtesy of the New York Post.

The report said that, "The Boston Bruins don't have the cap space to sign the restricted free agent because the 21-year-old center is demanding $5 million." They went on to say that, "For the Bruins to sign Kessel, they would have to dismantle their roster to stay under the cap."

"The Rangers are believed to have talked seriously with the Bruins about trading for Kessel, but not lately," according to the Post. The paper also wrote that, "At least two other teams are believed to have stepped up their bidding of late."

At least three teams, including the New York Rangers, are rumored to be interested. But the New York Post writes those talks have died down as of late.

The other teams that have said to have interest in Kessel are Vancouver, Edmonton and San Jose.

On another note, the Bruins will begin informal practices next week at Ristuccia Arena. The first session of 2009-10 will take place on Monday at 11 a.m. No word on which players will be skating.

Bruins announce rookie camp roster

Last week I promised the Bruins today roster for their upcoming rookie camp in Kitchener, Ontario. Today, we finally got that 24-man list.

The team departs on Saturday, Sept. 5 and returns Thursday, Sept. 10, with three games in between against the Maple Leafs, Senators, and Penguins.

Here's the travel roster for your oversight, with the players positions in parenthesis.

Adam Courchaine (G)

Matt Dalton (G)

Mike Hutchinson. (G)

Ryan Button (D)

Scott Fletcher (D)

Brad Good (D)

Alain Goulet (D)

Mark Isherwood (D)

Rob Kwiet (D)

Marc Zanetti. (D)

Jamie Arniel (F)

Chris DeSousa (F)

Zach Hamill (F)

Jordan Knackstedt (F)

Jason Lawrence (F)

Lane MacDermid (F)

Taylor MacDougall (F)

Matt Marquardt (F)

Jeff LoVecchio (F)

Levi Nelson (F)

Tyler Randell (F)

Max Sauve (F)

Peter Stevens (F)

Jason Wilson (F)

Jordan Caron, Boston's 2009 first-round draft pick will not make the trip due to his injured collarbone.

BU & BC to headline two more games at Fenway this January

Hockey East officials announced Thursday afternoon that the Boston College and Boston University men's hockey teams will face off at the Fens on, Jan. 8.

Along with the Eagles and Terriers, the Northeastern University and UNH women's hockey teams will also lace them up to form a college hockey doubleheader at Fenway Park.

The tickets for the two games that are a week after the Bruins and Flyers tilt on New Year's Day will go on sale Sept. 17, and ticket prices will range from $5-90.

Yelle sings with Carolina

Stephane Yelle, who spent last season with the Bruins, has signed with the Carolina Hurricanes.

The 'Canes of course ended Boston's season in the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals.

Yelle, 35, signed a one-year, $550,000 contract with Carolina. Yelle will be reunited with his 08-09 teammate, Aaron Ward, who was dealt to Carolina last month.

In Yelle, Carolina gets a good penalty killer and proven veteran leadership. He is entering his 14th NHL season, and the Hurricanes will be his fourth NHL team.

Yelle became expendable when the Bruins decided to sign Steve Begin, to replace Yelle as their fourth line center.

Kessel and Bruins no closer to a deal

Contract negotiations between the Bruins and restricted free agent Phil Kessel continue to be heading in the wrong direction, reports the Boston Globe.

According to the paper, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli remains hopeful a deal will be struck.

"Right now, there is nothing going on," Chiarelli told the Globe. "This is a player that we still covet, and we'll do anything to keep him - within reason, including matching an offer sheet and shuffling our roster around."

However, the two sides still appear to be at a standstill as the Kessel camp seems to be holding out for something in the neighborhood of $4 million plus.

It has been widely reported that Boston will not give Kessel more than David Krejci money ($3.75 million). However, it is not known whether or not Boston has even approached that number.

When asked if Kessel is holding out for the big bucks, Kessel responded with a short answer, "No." Kessel has said he would ideally like to make something in the upper four range, but has not asked for anything above that mark, even at the start of negotiations.

Kessel said he understood that this is a business and that he knows there is a real chance that he may be in another uniform in 09-10. The speedster did say that he is ahead of schedule and expects to be back on the ice in mid November, whether he will be wearing a Bruins sweater or not.

If Kessel is not back in Boston, where will he end up? The list of teams floated out there have been San Jose, Edmonton and Vancouver. Much of the rumors have had to do with San Jose, but I am more inclined to think Kessel would end up in Vancouver or Edmonton.

The clock is ticking, with the start of camp just a few weeks away. However, since Kessel would not be on the ice anyway, things could still drag out well into September or beyond.

Bruins Sunday quick hits

Hey everyone, it is time for some Bruins quick hits.

*According to Peter Chiarelli, the Bruins this week will announce the names of the two dozen youngsters they’ll invite to their rookie tournament Sept. 6-10 in Kitchener, Ontario.

Some of the Bruins biggest names in terms of young talent, Jordan Caron, Yuri Alexandrov and Carl Soderberg will not be in attendance. Caron will be recovering from injury, while Alexandrov and Soderberg are going to be continuing their careers over seas for at least one more season.

*Tomorrow at noon, the NHL will release ticket information on nhl.com for the Jan. 1 Winter Classic at Fenway Park. Purchases will be by lottery later in the month or early September. To get in on the lottery, get to nhl.com/winterclassic after noon tomorrow.

*Chiarelli said he expects the Bruins will have some sort of a ceremony for P.J. Axelsson, who decided to return to Sweden this summer after logging 851 NHL games for the Bruins.

Details have yet to be worked out, but expect to see PJ back in Boston at some point this season.

Winter Classic ticket details to be available Monday

The NHL will finally disclose the details of ticket availability on Monday at nhl.com/winterclassic. According to the NHL, the information will be posted at approximately noon, ET.

All Bruins season ticket holders who have full season-ticket packages have been guaranteed the right to purchase tickets to the Jan. 1 game, which will begin at 1 p.m.

Other hockey games set for Fenway?

WEEI.com is reporting that Hockey East officials along with coaches and athletes from Boston College, Boston University, the University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University are planning to hold an Aug. 20 press conference at Fenway Park.

This information is coming from a release sent out by Hockey East on Wednesday afternoon.

According to WEEI, BU and BC are slated to tangle in an outdoor hockey game at Fenway Park on Jan. 8 and the UNH and NU women's teams are also expected to announce an outdoor hockey game at Fenway Park as well.

Both games are expected to be announced at the press conference.

So, to all of you Bruins fans who have been complaining about getting tickets to the big show on January 1, here is your chance to see an outdoor game at the Fens.

I will have more after the official announcement next Thursday.

Manny headed to the Habs?

Manny Fernandez spent a couple of disappointing seasons in Boston and after the 2008-2009 campaign, it looked as if he was headed toward retirement.

However, according to NESN.com one rumor flying around had former Bruins goalie Manny Fernandez signing a two-way contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

There have been talks between the Habs and the unrestricted free agent, but nothing was signed as of Monday.

The Habs have two goaltenders, in Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak. However, the Habs are looking to move Halak.

It would be interesting to see a Boston flop lace them up for the team that has been dubbed the kings of flopping by Bruins fans.

Bruins' first-round pick Caron breaks collarbone

Jordan Caron, a first-round pick of the Boston Bruins this year, suffered a broken collarbone in the first intrasquad game of camp for Canada's junior hockey team entry for the World Juniors tournament Saturday according to TSN.

According to TSN, Caron was reaching for a pass when defenceman Colten Teubert caught Caron at the blue-line and dealt Caron a thunderous, but clean, check that sent him flying.

TSN asked players about the hit and how Caron was feeling.

"We saw him this morning. He didn't look too great," defenceman Ryan Ellis said Sunday. "He was in a lot of pain."

"Playing the body is my game, so that's what I have to do out there," Teubert said. "That's how I have to play or else I probably wouldn't be playing for this team, right?

A broken collarbone takes between six-and-eight weeks to heal, which would most likely keep Caron out of Bruins training camp. A shame for Boston, as the Bruins brass was really looking forward to seeing Caron in camp.

For the entire story, go to http://www.tsn.ca/story/?id=287247

UPDATE:
The Boston Globe reported that some players at the camp told Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli that the blow, delivered by Kings' prospect and fellow Canadian Colten Teubert, was "dirty" and "suspect."

Well, Bruins fans, here it is. Judge for yourself.

Minnesota a new possible landing spot for Kessel?

With Phil Kessel yet to have a place to call home for the 2009-2010 campaign, there have been a number of trade rumors circulating. Add another possible landing spot for Kessel to the list; the Minnesota Wild.

Wild GM Chuck Fletcher would "love to add a No. 2 center or scoring winger via trade," according to Michael Russo at the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Obviously Kessel is the ladder and is apparently available. Just a little bit more to keep an eye on in the Kessel sweepstakes.

Of course the biggest buzz has been that the Bruins may be talking to a West coast team about Kessel. The rumored teams are San Jose, Vancouver and Edmonton. The Sharks had been trying to acquire Dany Heatley from Ottawa but it is looking more and more like a long shot by the day.

Does this mean that the Sharks will turn their attention to Kessel now that Heatley looks to be out of the way? Last week, the San Jose Mercury News reported that Sharks General Manager, Doug Wilson said that "Anything is possible," in regards to Kessel.

Stay tuned, as the young sniper remains unsigned with less than a month until camp.

Individual tickets going on sale in two weeks

The Boston Bruins announced that individual tickets for the 2009-10 season will go on sale on Thursday, Aug. 20, at 10 a.m. Tickets will be available at the TD Garden box office and at www.bostonbruins.com.

I do not have word on whether or not Winter Classic tickets will be on sale at the same time or not. I'll check into that and get back with more when I find out.

Boston talking to two West Coast teams about Kessel

The Bruins are talking to two West Coast teams about a Phil Kessel trade, according to a New York Post informant. This comes after contract talks came to a stand still next week.

"The Bruins, we're told by a well-placed informant, are talking with "two West Coast" clubs about a deal for unsigned Group II winger Phil Kessel," said the New York Post.

The Bruins are allegedly seeking a young roster player, a prospect and a first-rounder. It will be interesting to see if teams are willing to pay that high of a price for Kessel.

Sunday Notes: Kids likely to get long look at camp

In his Sunday column, the Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa said he expected Vladimir Sobotka and Tuukka Rask to break camp with the Bruins. These are players that Bruins fans are aware of as Rask is a talent that has been dubbed, the goalie of the future and Sobotka has been sprinkled into the lineup over the past couple of seasons.

But, Shinzawa also brought up players Brad Marchand and Jeff Penner wh

o he thought have a shot to earn a roster spot. Both Marchand and Penner were standout players last yeatr in the American Hockey League (AHL). Marchand was the number two NHL scorer among rookies, and Penner has 10 goals and 18 assists for the Providence Bruins. Penner has been compared to Matt Hunwick, without as good of speed.

So, with the Globe talking about what players will make the 2009-2010 roster I thought I would put out some possible opening night lines.

Lucic - Savard - Ryder

Sturm - Sobotka - Wheeler

Recchi - Bergeron - Kobasew

Bitz - Begin - Thornton

*David Krejci and Phil Kessel (if still with team) will not be ready for start of season.

Chara - Morris

Ference - Wideman

Hunwick - Stuart

Boychuck (7th D, healthy scratch)

Thomas

Rask

David Krejci will still be recovering from surgery and will not be ready for the start of the season. You would have to figure that Sobotka will take Krejci's spot until Krejci is ready to return. This lineup also does not include Phil Kessel as Kessel would not be ready to go until December.

Kessel, recovering from shoulder surgery may not even be with the Bruins when camp cracks. It is being discussed that Kessel may be on his way out of Boston, perhaps to San Jose.

Boston is loaded with young talent and will have a lot of young players fighting to crack the team. Players like Penner, Marchand, and Zach Hamill will be closely monitored come September.

Wilson on Kessel: "Anything is possible"

In a follow up to a previous post that Phil Kessel could be heading to San Jose I turned to David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.

In his blog, 'Working the Corners' Pollak goes to the source in trying to figure out if there is fire below this smoke.

There’s enough smoke out there — the ongoing Dany Heatley saga, the latest rumors surrounding Phil Kessel — that I figured MAYBE there was a fire someplace.

So I called Doug Wilson — realizing full well that he would not say, “Yep, we’re trying hard to land that forward from Boston” as we know his policy when it comes to talking about another team’s players. He got back to me today and we agreed you could boil his response down to six words: Anything is possible, nothing is imminent.

We didn’t define imminent, but I think it’s safe to say those reports that something big is about to break are at the very least, premature.

So, if Kessel were to be traded to San Jose, it doesn't look like it will be soon. The Sharks, like the Bruins are tight to the cap and may want to make another move before trading for Kessel. There is no word on what San Jose would be offering in a deal.

However, hockeybuzz.com is reporting that the Bruins are preparing to announce a deal "by Monday."

Stay tuned.

Bruins trading another star to San Jose?

Hockeybuzz.com is reporting that Phil Kessel is likely out the door. The website was talking about the Edmonton Oilers options now that they have given up on acquiring Dany Heatley. Kessel was at the top of the list for Edmonton, however, the website said a deal for Kessel to be traded to San Jose is almost done.

"Now many sources and the general underlying belief on the inside is that a deal that would send Kessel to San Jose is done and just waiting on the Sharks to finish up their cap space clearing," the website said. "However, this all may be in jeopardy if the Oilers get involved in this game. Kessel's speed added to what I feel is already the fastest team in hockey in Edmonton could truly be something special."

One thing we know here, is that both of these teams are out west and in the Western Conference. These are the types of teams that Peter Chiarelli would want to deal with to make sure that they wouldn't have to deal with Kessel regularly.

This may have legs to it as contract talks for Kessel still haven't progressed, Kessel's agent told NESN.

However, Kessel staying in Boston isn't over yet. If a deal is not struck by Boston Kessel may look to sign a one-year deal and cash in next July. There is also the possibility that Kessel may hold out if Boston does not move him.

It has been speculated by several NHL GMs that the Bruins may not think he's worth a long-term deal. An anonymous GM was quoted as saying he hasn't proved he's someone who, by himself, can "make the team have a better chance of winning."

It seems like there has been a lot of damage done in the relationship between the Bruins and Kessel. Remember, Kessel was known to have an attitude problem in college and fell to the Bruins because of it. Kessel is a great talent, but may have burned his last bridge in Boston.