Bruins shift focus to free agency

Well, it has happened. Your Boston Bruins are Stanley Cup Champions and are the toast of the town. With the Bruins running the table and bringing Lord Stanley back to the hub time is of the essence. July 1 is this Friday and the free agent frenzy will officially be under way.

The Bruins have two key contributors up for unrestricted free agency in Tomas Kaberle and Michael Ryder. Both are guys who are on the fence in terms of returning to Boston. Reading into Peter Chiarelli's comments about the duo makes it seem as though both men would be back at the right price.

The more attractive name of the two on the open market will likely be Kaberle. There are some Western Conference teams that could use a puck moving defenseman. Nashville, Los Angeles and Detroit are teams that come to mind.

Michael Ryder is a third line forward and the going rate for a third line forward is somewhere in the range of $2 million. Now if there is a team out there that wants to throw $3 million Ryder's way he should be gone faster than a thief in the night.

Ryder has averaged 42 points a season since joining the Bruins in 2008. While Ryder's shot is one of the best in the league his inconsistency often has fans calling for his head.

Kaberle is 33 and Ryder 31 so both will be looking for one last big pay day as both are entering the back nine of their careers.

If the Bruins do not resign Kaberle the other attractive name on the free agent list is Kevin Bieksa who of course faced the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals. Bieksa is three years younger than Kaberle and is a better all around player than Kaberle. However, he will be tough to rip away from the Canucks who badly want to retain him and have almost $19 million of cap space to play with.

The Bruins have roughly $12 million in cap space, but owe a raise to Brad Marchand so they are looking at around $10 million in available space.

General Manager Peter Chiarelli has said he will not be looking to make a big splash in free agency and with a deep farm system that is a good bet. Guys like Steven Kampfer, Jordan Caron and Zach Hamill are all NHL ready in this mans opinion so the Bruins do not need to over pay for either Ryder or Kaberle.

The Bruins are the kings of the town right now, (Just as Tyler Seguin and Marchand) and even though major changes will not occur it is key for the Bruins to be wise come July 1 so they can make another run at Lord Stanley.

Bruins sign, trade, lose a coach and rumors galore

The Bruins are certainly keeping things interesting in late June folks. As you all know by now, Boston was involved in a trade Tuesday with Florida.

The Bruins traded fan whipping boy, Dennis Wideman, the number 15 selection in Friday's draft and a 2011 third-round pick to Florida for Nathan Horton and Greg Campbell.

Campbell will likely be Boston's fourth line center, or extra forward while Horton is expected to be the Bruins first line right wing. Horton has topped the 30 goal mark once in his NHL career, but is hoping to make it twice while playing with a top play-making center.

Now, on to today where the Boston Bruins signed a young fan favorite, Johnny Boychuk to a two-year extension. Boychuk will hold a $1.875 million annual cap hit. Boychuk asserted himself in the post-season and was rumored to be getting a possible three-year, $7 million deal from his hometown Edmonton Oilers if he waited for July 1. Boston is very happy that Boychuk decided to sign now and not test the market.

Also today, the Bruins lost assistant coach Craig Ramsey to the Atlanta Thrashers. Ramsey, 59, will be the head coach of a team that has been as active as the Bruins.

The Thrashers have added three Stanley Cup champions including Dustin Byfuglien in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks so they are trying to build a contender in the ATL.

Ramsey has almost 40 years of NHL experience and is known as a players coach. The Boston players will certainly miss Ramsey's soothing presence in the locker room.

One other side note coming out today is that Tim Thomas is willing to waive his no-trade clause given the right opportunity. Tim Thomas' agent Bill Zito has been granted permission by the Boston Bruins to seek a trade for his client according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

Thoms and Zito are not actively looking for a trade, however, they are trying to gage certain teams interest.

One final note I've been passed is that Mark Recchi and Blake Wheeler have a good chance of re-signing with the Bruins. Both could sign prior to July 1, with Recchi likely to be the first of the two.

Things should be interesting tomorrow as well with the NHL draft taking place in Los Angeles. NHL sources are expecting Boston to be active and do some dealing. Also, Boston will end up with one of the drafts crowned jewels in either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin.

Are you ready for the hurricane that will be Friday Boston? Oh, and did I mention that NHL free agency opens one week from today?

This week in Bruins nation

Hello Bruins fans. As you can see by looking at the page I have been slacking with the blog. I have gotten incredibly busy, but no excuses.

It has been a busy week for the Bruins despite it being June. Let us first start with the concrete news.

Shawn Thornton will be back in black and gold for the next two seasons. Thornton signed a two year deal worth slightly over $800,000 per season. This is no surprise that the Bruins would bring back Thornton as they need to keep an enforcer to protect their stars and Thornton is a good locker room guy.

The Bruins also re-signed Dennis Seidenberg to a four-year extension. It's for $13 million, giving him a $3.25 million annual cap hit. This did not come as a surprise for me either as Seidenberg was adament about signing early. If you recall, he did not sign until September last season.

Now, let the rumors start flying!

League sources are saying the Bruins prefer Taylor Hall to Tyler Seguin. The proposed trade is the #2 pick & Blake Wheeler for Edmontons #1.

Another hope is that the #Bruins can dangle their No. 15, No. 32 or No. 45 pick to someone for a goal scoring wing. The Chicago Blackhawks will be looking to deal at least one of their talented wings this off-season, look for Chicago as a possible trade partner.

Finally, multiple sources are saying that the Bruins are looking to trade for the #3 pick held by the Panthers to also acquire a young stud defenseman.

All of the speculation will continue as the NHL draft is less than three weeks away now. Keep coming back to BruinSpace for your updates on all things Bruins all season long.

Bruins sign Alexandrov

The Boston Bruins have signed 2006 second round draft pick Yuri Alexandrov to a two year entry-level contract. The team issued the following statement on its website yesterday.

BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed defenseman Yuri Alexandrov to an entry-level contract. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

The 21-year-old Alexandrov has played the last five seasons in his native Russia for his hometown club Cherepovets Severstal of the KHL. He set career highs in games played, goals and assists last season after recording 6-15-21 totals in 56 games.

During his five seasons for Cherepovets, Alexandrov has skated in 206 regular season games and has notched 16-27-43 totals. He has also appeared in 15 postseason contests.

Alexandrov played for Team Russia in the 2007 and 2008 World Junior Championships.

The 6'1'', 185-pound native of Cherepovets, Russia was selected by the Bruins in the second round (37th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

------------------

It is expected that Alexandrov will start the 2010-2011 season with the Providence Bruins.

The beginning on an era; It's Tuukka's time

After Thursday's 3-0 beat down at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins a lot of Bruins fans jumped from the bandwagon; some for good.

It was the most hyped Bruins game of the season, rivaling even the Winter Classic. Tickets were being scalped for twice as much as a Celtics-Cavaliers and even Celtics-Lakers games.

With Bruins fever in the air once again, it seemed that the black and gold could save face in an otherwise disappointing season. The fans had placed a fictional bounty on the head of Matt Cooke, and were willing to pay long into the night for multiple acts of violence towards the newest Boston villain.

Cooke was the most hated cheap shot artist in Boston since Ulf Samuelsson, and Daniel Day-Lewis might as well have starred in the game as fans were expecting blood.

Things started off well enough, with Matt Cooke throwing down with Shawn Thornton. Thornton took the decision and the crowd was pumped for what they thought would be the start of something more.

Long story short, the something more with Cooke never came and the Bruins got blanked 3-0. The loss left a sour taste in people's mouths and have a lot of people tuning out the Bruins for Red Sox Spring training.

With a dozen games to go, Boston will continue to fight for a playoff spot, but at the same time will look towards their future. Tuukka Rask has been the goaltender of choice for coach, Claude Julien since February and look for that to continue down the stretch.

After last season's Vezina trophy winning season, people expected Tim Thomas to carry much of the load in the 2009-2010 campaign. Well, things change, and last season's best goaltender was being out played by a 22 (Now 23) year old goalie of the future.

Rask has been nothing short of spectacular posting the league's best goals against average (GAA) at 2.12, and second best save percentage at .928%.

While Thomas hasn't been awful carrying the 16th best GAA at 2.57 , he has been mediocre and mediocre just doesn't cut it when you're carrying a $5 million cap hit and are the reigning Vezina trophy winner. Here are how the two keepers match-up.

Goalie Min GAA W L OT SO Sv%
Tim Thomas: 2291 2.57 15 17 8 4 .914
Tuukka Rask: 1984 2.12 16 10 4 3 .928

The numbers speak for themselves and Rask gives the Bruins the best chance to win. The question has been asked, who will start for Boston if the make the playoffs? The answer is simple, it will be Rask.

With Rask being appointed the starter going forward, the Bruins have to ask what are they going to do with Tim Thomas. The answer is try and shop him this off-season.

Thomas' name was thrown around at the trade deadline to contenders like Washington and Chicago, although nothing occurred. However, in the off-season teams have a lot more room to deal with and will be more aggressive trying to nab a goalie like Thomas.

Thomas will make $6 million next season, but that goes down to $5 million in 2011-12 and then $3 million in 2012-13. It is not the worst deal in the world for a guy that still has some game left in the tank.

Teams that could possibly be interested in Thomas include, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals.

Thomas does have a no trade clause in his contract, however, and can block any trade. Thomas would likely waive his no trade to play in Detroit. Thomas of course grew up in Michigan and would love to play in hockey town.

That being said, a trade will be very difficult for the Bruins to work out. A trade, however, will likely be a priority for Peter Chiarelli seeing as how Boston will have a lot of holes to fill and cap room is limited.

It looks as if the Thomas era is over in Boston and it sure was a dandy of a ride. With the tank being out played it is time to usher in a new era for the stretch run.

It's Tuukka time, and it may be for many years to come.

Bruins and Chara to talk extension come July

The Toronto Sun has reported that the Boston Bruins are likely to talk extension with Zdeno Chara this summer. Chara is currently signed through the 2010-2011 season, but when it comes to a big time defenseman you always want to try and get him wrapped up before he hits the market.

Oh, and did I mention he is your captain in addition to your best defenseman? My advice to the Bruins is, get it done.

However, there is a lot of business to take care of before the Bruins can get to Chara. Boston has 11 players who will be due for a new deal come season end. The list includes, Mark Recchi, Steve Begin, Miroslav Satan, Shawn Thornton, Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg make up the list of UFA's. Blake Wheeler, Daniel Paille, Vladimir Sobotka, Johnny Boychuk and Mark Stuart will be the RFA's.

Now players like Begin, Satan, and Ference will likely be shown the door, and then Recchi will likely retire. Seidenberg should be a guy that Boston trys to re-sign. The black and gold need another rugged defenseman and Seidenberg is that, however there will be multiple teams in on him and the B's won't have the most cap room.

Entering Monday, the Bruins will stand a lonely point ahead of the New York Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston will face-off against the New Jersey Devils and the one that got away (Ilya Kovalchuk) on Monday night.

This is a big game for Boston, as they have two games in hand on the Rangers, but if they continue to drop hockey games, those games in hand will mean nothing.

So, Peter Chiarelli you thought you had a headache at the trade deadline, wait until this summer when you have to try and re-tool this flawed roster.

Savard diagnosed with Grade 2 concussion

Marc Savard was diagnosed by Dr. Peter Asnis on Monday as having suffered a Grade 2 concussion. Asnis has not determined how much time Savard will miss.

However, the NHL does require players to miss at least one week with a concussion. I have received a lot of texts asking the difference between the three grades of concussions.

Doctor P. Dean Cummings gives the following analysis of a Grade 2 concussion.

The difference between a Grade II and a Grade I concussion is the presence of post-traumatic amnesia (loss of memory after the injury). After sustaining a Grade II concussion, an athlete does not remember events following the impact and may not be able to recall events that led up to the injury.

Athletes are removed from competition for the day after suffering a Grade II concussion. A complete neurologic (nervous system) examination of the athlete is performed immediately. If there are no neurologic symptoms, the athlete may be sent home provided that friends or family members are able to frequently check on the athlete over the next 24 hours. Otherwise, the athlete may be required to stay in a hospital for a 24-hour observation period.

The injured athlete is re-evaluated the following day and again in one week by a physician. If there are no symptoms after one week and no symptoms during testing (both at rest and with exertion), the athlete may return to practice or competition. If an athlete suffers a second Grade II concussion, he or she is removed from competition for a period of one month. An injured athlete may return to play only after exertional testing reveals no symptoms. If a third Grade II concussion occurs, the athlete is removed from competition for the season.

So, after reading Dr. Cummings summary of a Grade 2 concussion things do not seem as bad as they once did. Hopefully Savard will feel strong and be able to return to the ice this month.

The bare minimum here for Savard will be an absence of three games, as Boston has three games this week. Next Monday Savard will be re examined and likely there will then be a timeline put on his return date.

Bruins lose more than a game in Pittsburgh

So, what happened this weekend? On Saturday, Michael Ryder decked Blake Comeau from behind and received a 10 minute misconduct. There has been no word on whether Ryder will be suspended as of Sunday night.

Then today, Marc Savard was blind sided by Matt Cooke in the third period. People are clamoring for a massive suspension for Cooke. However, Mike Richards laid a similar hit on David Booth earlier this season and received no suspension.

If you don't believe me, check out the video's yourself?

Richards on Booth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSILVbnofZM
Cooke on Savard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_F7LEZ78_o

Now, Cooke did hit lead with the elbow, where as Richards got a little more of the shoulder involved. However, Richards got zero games, which means Cooke may only have a few games to sit, if that.

League policy requires players who have suffered concussions to sit out at least one week, Savard will miss at least three games. This means that Savard will at least miss games against the Leafs, Flyers and Habs.

The Bruins released this update on Marc Savard Sunday evening.

Marc lost consciousness briefly on the ice after being struck in the head. He suffered a concussion from the hit. He was not transported to a hospital, but will remain at the team hotel in Pittsburgh with a member of the Bruins' medical staff tonight as a precaution.

No further update on Marc's condition is expected tonight.

Now, apart from the weekend of the dirty hit, there were points at stake. Boston split their games this weekend and currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

Finally, a lot of you were upset that the Bruins didn't add a significant piece at the trading deadline. Well according to the Ottawa Sun, that piece could come this June.

The Sun reports Tomas Kaberle has a list of three teams he would waive his no trade clause to go to. Those teams are the Rangers, Bruins & Flyers. I would bet Boston will be heavily involved in the Kaberle sweepstakes this June as they were last June when Phil Kessel was nearly moved on draft day for Kaberle.

A heavy day in the hub for its hockey fans. Monday will be a big day when a further prognosis will come out on Marc Savard. Let's all hold our collective breath.