Krejci will go Thursday; Final roster in tact

Hello Bruins fans, big news today for your boys in black and gold. We'll get to that in a second.

First, a quick note, as the six players placed on waivers on Saturday were not claimed by today's noon deadline. Drew Fata, Drew Larman, Guillaume Lefebvre, Dany Sabourin, Trent Whitfield, and Andy Wozniewski are now on their way down 95 to Providence.

Also, joining these men with the baby B's are Zach Hamill and Brad Marchand. Both Hamill and Marchand were assigned today from the big club. The Bruins have 22 players remaining with the big club, holding one extra defenseman (Johnny Boychuk), and one extra forward (Vladimir Sobotka).

If you're wondering what Claude Julien has in mind for a lineup come Thursday, you may have gotten a hint at this mornings practice.

Milan Lucic - Marc Savard - Marco Sturm

Blake Wheeler - David Krejci - Michael Ryder

Mark Recchi - Patrice Bergeron - Chuck Kobasew

Shawn Thornton - Begin/Sobotka - Byron Bitz

Zdeno Chara - Derek Morris

Andrew Ference - Dennis Wideman

Mark Stuart - Hunwick/Boychuk

Tim Thomas

Tuukka Rask

Now, you'll notice who was taking the reps on the second line. Yes, that is Krejci, who was out the entire preseason. Krejci, who initially was thought to be out until November, is expected to be in the lineup on Thursday.

Krejci was teaming up with old line mates, Michael Ryder and Blake Wheeler. If these three can click like they did during the middle of the season last year, look for them to be Boston's most effective line.

Boston is with out a doubt, the deepest front side in the NHL. Their top three lines can score each time they hit the ice. The third line has looked particularly good, as they did at the end of last season after the Mark Recchi deadline deal.

Another quick note is that Marco Sturm has been slowed by a groin injury. Sturm, may still be a bit of a question mark health wise as the season kicks off.

I'll leave you with a quote from the Bruins owner, Jeremy Jacobs. "My ambition is to win a Stanley Cup ... and I'll be disappointed with anything less than that." Hey, even JJ is on board, this team has sky high expectations, now it's time to live up to them.

CUSICK TO BE HONORED SATURDAY

The Bruins announced they will posthumously honor legendary play-by-play voice Fred Cusick during the second period of the team’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes this Saturday, Oct. 3.

The broadcast booth will be renamed the “Fred Cusick Broadcast Booth.” The club also plans to place a silver microphone encased in a black and gold frame on the TD Garden’s level 9 facade beneath the home TV broadcast booth, which will permanently displayed.

Cheers Fred, and here's hoping you found a nice sheet of ice to call your own on the other side.

Bruins down to 24 on roster; Sweeney gets promoted to Asst. GM

The Boston Bruins fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight, 4-2 at the TD Garden.

Vladimir Sobotka and Zdeno Chara were the goal scorers for the Bruins, and Milan Lucic, fresh off of his epic with Chris Neil last night assisted on both goals.

The boys in black and gold will lace them up for keeps starting Thursday night against Washington from Causeway Street.

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The Bruins have trimmed their roster to 24 players. They are expected to make a couple of additional cuts tomorrow. Look for Brad Marchand to get assigned to Providence. Also Zach Hamill or Vladimir Sobotka will likely go down. I'd say Hamill will as the Bruins will only need a fill in for David Krejci for a few games. Sobotka is the veteran of the two and may get the nod.

Boston placed Drew Fata, Drew Larman, Guillaume Lefebvre, Dany Sabourin, Trent Whitfield and Andy Wozniewski on waivers.

Mikko Lehtonen, Jeff LoVecchio, Adam McQuaid and Kirk MacDonald were all assigned to Providence and don't have to clear waivers.
Boston will be deep in Providence yet again and will compete for the Calder Trophy.

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Another note from the Garden today was that Don Sweeney has been promoted to assistant general manager, sharing the duties with Jim Benning.

Sweeney held the roles of Director of Player Development and Director of Hockey Operations before the promotion. Sweeney, of course was a former Bruin, so even though he is only 43 he has endless experience in the organization both on and off the ice.

It wouldn't be a shock if Sweeney ended up being Peter Chiarelli's right hand man at some point over the next few years.

Krejci may play opening night after all

According to reports today we may not be without David Krejci for much longer.

According to Claude Julien, David Krejci has a 50-50 chance to dress in next Thursday's regular-season opener against Washington.

"I think Thursday, as we speak today, I'd probably put him at close to a 50-50 chance," Julien said.

David Krejci hasn't played in the preseason, nor will he. However, Krejci seems to be more optomistic than he was just a week ago.

"I think the chances of me playing are a little better. Much better actually. But you know it's going to be, I guess, a 'game day' decision. It's going to be really close," said Krejci.

*I would say Krejci is out for opening night, but you never know.

Here is a look at tonight's lineup against the Montreal Canadiens.

Blake Wheeler - Zach Hamill - Michael Ryder
Mark Recchi - Patrice Bergeron - Chuck Kobasew

Brad Marchand - Vladimir Sobotka - Jeff LoVecchio

Guillaume Lefevbre - Trent Whitfield - Kirk MacDonald

Mark Stuart - Johnny Boychuk

Drew Fata - Dennis Wideman

Andrew Ference - Adam McQuaid

Tim Thomas

Dany Sabourin

*The best battle in camp has been for Krejci's spot if he is not ready for opening night. The battle has been between Vladimir Sobotka and Zach Hamill. Is Hamill's presence on the first line an indicator that he might have the inside edge? Boston's former first round pick (eighth overall) may finally be ready to show his skills on the big stage.

The Final Countdown: Roster taking shape

Wednesday news and notes.

*The Bruins have assigned Kevin Regan, Jeff Penner, Andrew Bodnarchuk, and Jamie Arniel to Providence. The Bruins have 36 players remaining in camp. The roster will likely be shaved to 21 players by the end of camp.

* Blake Wheeler took a puck in the grill and needed stitches. However, he's a hockey player and is fine.

* Marco Sturm also had to leave the second session early. Sturm has to leave due to groin discomfort.

*Zdeno Chara and Steve Begin sat out the sessions today due to lower body injuries. Neither injury is thought of as severe. Both players will be ready for opening day.

Today's lineup in practice could be a possible lineup for opening night. Missing of course is Steve Begin who will be the fourth line center. Vladimir Sobotka will likely start the season with Boston and play center until David Krejci's return.

Lucic-Savard-Sturm

Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder

Recchi-Bergeron-Kobasew

Thornton-Sobotka-Bitz

As far as the defense is concerned, no official partners have been set. However, it is a good guess things will line up like so.

Chara - Morris

Ference - Wideman

Stuart - Hunwick

Johnny Boychuk will likely be the team's seventh defenseman.

* Finally, if you're sick of wondering what the Bruins opening night lineup will be against the Capitals then tune in Saturday night. Head coach, Claude Julien said he hopes to have his final roster play in Saturday's preseason finale against Columbus.

So, only three days until we know for sure.

Bruins fall to Jackets in SO 6-5

The Bruins lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight 6-5 in a shoot out. My three things that I learned from tonight's game.

1) Patrice Bergeron is going to have a big season.Bergy has had great vision in the pre-season, and it looks like he could get back to pre-concussion form. I'm still going to stick with my prediction of a possible point per game season; possibly 80?

2) Marc Savard looked good, and scored Boston's fifth goal. Savard had a knee issue earlier this pre-season, but it looks like Savard is back at 100 percent. There is no question that Savard is the most important forward for Boston. Savard should easily eclipse 80 points again this season.

3) Is there really still a question to who will back up Tim Thomas? The answer is no, as Dany Sabourin and Tuuka Rask have been on two different levels in their starts thus far. Rask will be behind Thomas. I can see Rask starting close to 30 games this season, with Thomas being a guy who needs to have his fair share of rest.

Bruins roster for Tuesday's game, What to watch for

The Bruins released 13 players from training camp this weekend, and will look to cut more in the coming week. Tuesday's game against Columbus may be a big game for a few Bruins on the bubble.

Here is the roster for the game against the Blue Jackets.

Forwards: Patrice Bergeron, Zach Hamill, Chuck Kobasew, Drew Larman, Guillaume Lefebvre, Milan Lucic, Mark Recchi, Marc Savard, Vladimir Sobotka, Shawn Thornton, Blake Wheeler, Trent Whitfield.

Defensemen: Johnny Boychuk, Drew Fata, Andrew Ference, Derek Morris, Mark Stuart, Andy Wozniewski.

Goalies: Dany Sabourin & Tuukka Rask

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

* Bubble Bruins Zach Hamill, Vladimir Sobotka and Johnny Boychuck take the ice to try and convince the Bruins boss' that they should be here to stay.

* Andrew Ference will be making his pre-season debut tomorrow night. Ference is supposed to be on the Bruins second defensive pairing, so hopefully Ference will be back to his old ways after an injury-plagued season.

Kessel meets the media: Quotes galore

Phil Kessel has met the media in Toronto and here are some of the quotes worth noting.

PHIL KESSEL
"It's the best hockey city in the world," Kessel said. "The fans here are great. It's a first-class organization. They just love hockey here in Toronto. It's one of the reasons I chose Minnesota in college. In Minnesota, they love hockey. It's the No. 1 sport. Here in Toronto, hockey's it. I want to be part of that. I'm so excited to be here and be part of the organization."

"Obviously there's going to be pressure, but I'm going to work as hard as I can and try to help get this team into the playoffs," said Kessel. "I want to be considered a great player in this league, and I'm going to work as hard as I can. I'm here to help this team win."

"My shoulder is doing well," said the native of Madison, Wisc. "I started skating again about a week ago, and shooting the puck around, and it's been good. I'm going to check with the doctor (Sunday). It looks like a month or a month-and-a-half".

"I never one time asked to be traded," Kessel said. "I think it just became a mutual thing that it was best for both parties to move on. That's basically what happened with that."

BRIAN BURKE
GM Brian Burke said that 36 goals was a platform, not a peak. "The way we play, the way we want to attack and utilize his speed, it's like someone wrote a script and handed it to Phil," Burke said. "This is the right team to be on."

ZDENO CHARA
"We are all happy with what we have, the group of guys we have in this room," captain Zdeno Chara said. "I can't really make comments on Phil's behalf, what he felt, why he decided not to be part of it. It's absolutely Phil's decision. It's part of the business."

CLAUDE JULIEN

"My first year here (2007-08) was really trying to convince him that we were really trying to make him a better player and that he needed to just understand that," Julien said on Saturday. "Obviously, he did because he scored 36 goals the next year (and was a plus-23), but I even told him in a conversation that I didn't get a bonus for making him a bad player, so that he had to understand that everything I did was to try and make him a better player and I think that message was understood."

Rangers romp Bruins 5-2

Good evening folks, the Bruins actually played a game today after all of the Kessel talk.

The Bruins fell to the New York Rangers, 5-2. The loss was Boston's first of the pre-season.

The goal scorers for the Bruins were Marc Savard and Zach Hamill. Tim Thomas went the entire way in goal, and looked shaky. Thomas yielded five goals on 19 shots.

Milan Lucic was physical as always in this one, but was ejected for spearing New York's Michael Del Zotto at 16:06 of the second period.

The Bright Spot: Marc Savard played in his first pre-season game, scoring in the first period. Savard had a knee injury early in camp.

The Dark Spot: Tim Thomas looked shaky in goal. Thomas is likely shaking off the rust and is prepping for Oct 1.

Bruins trade of Kessel, a move for 2010

Stories are all over the place about Phil Kessel and the reasons he is gone. Yes, there is the reason that Kessel didn't want to be in Boston. However, a reason that is being forgotten is a simple one, 2010.

No, I'm not talking about the Bruins acquisition of Toronto's 2010 first round draft pick. I am talking about the Bruins laundry list of free agents coming at the commencement of the 2009-2010 season.

First the Restricted Free Agents: Tuukka Rask, Mark Stuart, Vladimir Sobotka, Milan Lucic, Blake Wheeler.

Now, the Unrestricted Free Agents: Marc Savard, Derek Morris, Andrew Ference, Shawn Thornton, Steve Begin, John Boychuck, Mark Recchi (Likely will retire).

Wow, that is a lot of your 2009-2010 Bruins lineup looking at a new pay day in July 2010. Tying up players like Rask, Lucic and Wheeler is imperative for the Bruins.

Boston just could not tie up $5.4 million a year in Kessel this off-season and expect to sign the majority of these players back. The big question will be Savard and whether or not Boston will be able to tie him up. Savard will be looking for a solid pay upgrade, in the neighborhood of $6+ million a season.

Now Bruins faithful, let me ask you, who would you rather keep? Lucic and Wheeler or Kessel? Now of course it is not that cut and dry, but the Bruins had to look at 2010, before making a deal for Kessel.

Kessel to Leafs: Be careful what you wish for

With Phil Kessel getting shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs for two first round picks and a second rounder, one of the biggest soap operas of the off season is finally over.

Yes, you can now put away the Advil because the headache is gone. That headache of course is Kessel, who is expected to be in Toronto today to ink his deal and talk to the media.

Now I know a lot of Bruins fans are chalking this one up to the Bruins brass being cheap, but I hardly find that to be the case. The answer is actually quite simple; Kessel did not want to continue his career in Boston.

Don't believe me? Let's have the Boston GM, Peter Chiarelli tell you for himself. "Let me be perfectly clear," Chiarelli said. "This trade is really about two things. One, it's about a player who did not want to play in Boston. Two, it's about the threat or the perceived threat of an offer sheet."

So, with that being said, why did Kessel want out of Boston? The answer was that Kessel did not enjoy Bruins bench boss, Claude Julien's defense first minded scheme.

Julien always was tough on Kessel and did not pamper the young star. As you will recall, Julien benched Kessel during the 2008 playoffs against the Canadiens due to his lack of defensive effort.

Kessel then informed the Bruins last week that he was done negotiating with the Bruins and would be looking for an offer sheet from one of the other 29 NHL franchises. At this point, Chiarelli put on the full court press to trade Kessel.

"We want players that want to be here," Chiarelli said. "I know that this player is a good player. Obviously he is. He can skate. He can shoot the puck. But we want players that want to be here. We want to grow the team with these types of players. I know the history here, but this isn't about frugality. There were some significant [contract] offers made. There was little or no attempt to negotiate from the other side, which I think is for a reason, which is the reason I explained earlier."

With the dust clearing, we can finally look at the big picture. Did Boston get enough for Kessel? Now personally I would have preferred to get at least one position player back in the deal, but complaining about two first round picks and a second is like complaining you got a 60' HD TV and not a 60' Plasma HD TV.

The 2010 first round pick should be a high choice for Boston as Toronto is expected to struggle in 2009-2010. Remember, even with Kessel, the Leafs are a suspect offensive unit. Not to mention the fact that Kessel is likely out until Dec. 1, while recovering from shoulder surgery.

Kessel was adamant about playing in Toronto, but should he have been? Let's take a look at the picture both here and there.

Here, Kessel would have been part of a cup contender who finished first in the Eastern Conference after the regular season. There, Kessel will likely be on a unit that will finish in the cellar of the Northeast division.

Here, Kessel skated on a line with one of the league's best visionaries in Marc Savard. Savard makes whoever he plays with better as is evident by his year in and out point per game seasons. Not having that kind of set up man will undoubtedly hurt Kessel in 2009-2010.

There, who will Kessel have to feed him the biscuit? Oh, I know! How about the out of retirement, Jason Allison?Here, Boston fans are passionate about there hockey, don't get me wrong. However, Toronto is the hockey capital of the World.

Here, the Bruins are the fourth major sports franchise in terms of mass appeal, behind the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics.

There, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the fillet. Last time I checked, the Blue Jays and Raptors weren't the talk of the town. In fact, Maple Leafs hockey is still at the forefront in August, which is the most dead time of the year for hockey. Picture the love for the Sox, and multiply that by five and you've got Leaf Nation.

The Toronto media will crucify Kessel if he takes a step back and scores only 20 goals. That seems low, but remember, he will be out until likely December.

So, be careful what you wish for Mr. Kessel. Yes, you will be playing for Doug Wilson and Brian Burke, your team USA brass. However, you will also be playing for a lousy team that will most likely be at the bottom of the Northeast division come April.

Oh, and did I mention the fact that you will be playing the Bruins six times a year? Kessel will get to see first hand the Bruins continued dominance of the Northeast, while the speedy winger will be able to firm up tee time reservations in mid April.

Kessel traded to Toronto

Stay tuned folks, I've heard it is all picks, but I'll wait for the official release.

Edit: The Bruins will receive a 1st and a 2nd round pick in 2010, and a 1st round pick in 2011 for Kessel. The Maple Leafs have reportedly signed Kessel to a five-year, $27 million deal.

Kessel to Leafs, Boston's only option? Lineup released for Saturday

The Bruins released the lineup for Saturday's 4 p.m. exhibition contest against the New York Rangers at TD Garden.

Tim Thomas will get the start in goal, with Tuukka Rask also dressing.

Johnny Boychuk, Drew Fata, Derek Morris, Jeff Penner, Mark Stuart and Dennis Wideman will be guarding the back end for Boston.

Finally, the forwards will be, Jamie Arniel, Steve Begin, Zach Hamill, Jeff LoVecchio, Milan Lucic, Kirk MacDonald, Michael Ryder, Max Sauve, Marc Savard, Marco Sturm, Shawn Thornton and Trent Whitfield.

KESSEL TO TORONTO MAY BE BOSTON'S ONLY OPTION
TSN hockey analyst, Bob McKenzie had a great point in his blog posted early this morning on TSN.ca

McKenzie said that Boston may be forced to deal with Toronto and nobody else. Here's a portion of McKenzie's blog.

I don't doubt the Nashville Predators have significant interest in Boston Bruins' restricted free agent Phil Kessel.

And I don't doubt, all things being equal, Boston would rather move Kessel to Nashville and the Western Conference than to the division rival Toronto Maple Leafs.

But here's why Nashville, regardless of what it offers Boston, is at a serious disadvantage in the Kessel sweepstakes.

Kessel, it appears, wants to play in Toronto, not Nashville. And as long as that remains the case, Nashville can't trade

for him.

In order to make the trade with Boston, Nashville has to be sure it can get Kessel signed to a contract. And, by all accounts, as long as Toronto wants Kessel, the player isn't going to agree to terms with any other team.

That leaves both Boston and Nashville in a tough spot.

McKenzie went on to say that if the Predators traded for Kessel without the forward being signed, then the Leafs would likely offer a large sheet to Kessel.

Kessel really wants to play in Toronto, under GM, Brian Burke and head coach, Ron Wilson. Both of whom hold the same titles for the 2010 USA Olympic team.

All reports indicate that Burke is getting impatient and that he will make an offer sheet for Kessel early next week if a trade is not worked out.

That would lead us to believe that we could see a deal struck this weekend.

How about Sunday, so New Englanders have something to avert their attention (Patriots vs. Jets) away from a Bruins block buster?

OK, so that's just a spitball, but even with this out there Kessel probably ends up in Nashville because, honestly, nobody knows.

That includes Kessel, Chiarelli, Burke, Arnott, Poile and the rest of sports nation.

Savard still nursing his knee

One thing that has been overshadowed by all of the Phil Kessel hoopla is that Marc Savard has been limited so far this preseason.

Savard has not played in either of the teams first two exhibition games because of a sore left knee, and is questionable for Saturday's game against the Rangers.

Head coach, Claude Julien said that Savard is 100 percent but did not say that Savard will play in Saturday's game.

The 32-year-old center is likely to play Sunday against Montreal if he does not suit up Saturday.

The first line pivot, has been nursing a knee injury but said if it were the regular season he would be ready to go.

Claude Julien had this to say about Savard's availability. "It's a choice of mine more than anything else. In Savvy's case, I'm pretty sure he's 100 percent. So it's just a matter of when we decide to put him in."

The sooner that Savard cracks the lineup the better, as the Bruins drop the puck for real two weeks from today.

Winter Classic jersey unveiled

Patrice Bergeron sports the Boston Bruins Winter Classic jersey that will be worn Jan 1.

REPORT: Kessel gone within a week?

As I'm sure you all have heard, the Boston Herald is reporting that the Bruins will likely deal Phil Kessel over the next week. The Herald sites Toronto and Nashville as the leaders in the Kessel sweepstakes, with Minnesota and the New York Rangers in as dark horses.

These are all teams I have put up on this blog in the past, so no surprise here. However, there was another twist today in the Tennessean.

The Predators GM, David Poile said Wednesday that the Predators have offered a combination of draft picks and prospects to Boston for forward Phil Kessel.

"I certainly believe in being aggressive and persistent and going after what I want. But I've made it clear what we can do,'' Poile said. "It's fairly apparent what other teams are doing.''

There have been reports saying Toronto is willing to give up two first-round draft picks and a second-rounder for Kessel. Poile also responded to that.

"If (Chiarelli) gets two firsts and a second, he's getting really good compensation,'' Poile said. "But it is all in the eye of the beholder for a 21-year-old player who scored 36 goals.''

Reports are that Chiarelli talked to Toronto GM, Brian Burke about Kessel in Toronto on Wednesday night. It is being reported that a possible player may have been added to the talks.

The Herald report would have to seem to be true since Burke has threatened to offer Kessel an offer sheet before Oct. 1.

The clock is ticking, so where will Kessel end up. One thing is certain, it won't be in Boston.

Bruins leap Leafs, 3-2; My three stars

The Bruins and Maple Leafs played a very entertaining exhibition game in Toronto tonight.

The goal scorers were Steve Begin, Brad Marchand and Andy Wozniewski. Wozniewski's goal, the eventual game winner was scored just over seven minutes into the third period.

Three stars of the game:

3) Brad Marchand: Marchand played hard and scored the second goal of the night. Marchand is playing like he wants to stay in Boston and not take the trip down 95 to Providence. Claude Julien seems to be a fan.

2) Steve Begin: Scored Boston's first goal of the game and was physical. Begin got into a scrap with Andre Deveaux and even though he came out on the wrong end showed that he may be meant for the black and gold, taking on a much larger opponent.

1) Patrice Bergeron: Bergeron had two assists and looked like a player who was ready for a bounce back year. Bergeron had a mediocre year in his comeback season, but was sidelined again. If Bergeron can be as creative with the rubber as he was tonight and find wingers like Sturm, Wheeler, Ryder or Kobasew, look out for a possible point per game season from Bergy.

Bruins announce roster for game against Leafs

The Boston Bruins announced who will be making the trip to Toronto to play the Leafs.

Here's the list...

Blake Wheeler, Byron Bitz, Brad Marchand, Jamie Arniel, Vladimir Sobotka, Steve Begin, Patrice Bergeron, Drew Larman, Guillaume Lefebvre, Jeff LoVecchio, Michael Ryder and Shawn Thornton up front.

Matt Hunwick, Adam McQuaid, Derek Morris, Mark Stuart, Dennis Wideman and Andy Wozniewski on defense.

Dany Sabourin will start in goal for the Bruins. He is expected to play the entire game.

Sabourin is competing with Tuukka Rask for the backup goaltender role. Rask took a big step towards earning the spot last night, making 31 saves.

Bruins take preseason opener, lose a legend

There was a lot of Bruins related news from today, but none to do with Phil Kessel.

First, the good news.

The Bruins defeated the New York Rangers 2-1 in the preseason opener. Zach Hamill and Max Sauve scored power-play goals to lead the black and gold past the blue shirts.

The star of the night was Tuukka Rask, who stopped 31 of 32 shots to earn the win. Rask may be becoming known as a Ranger killer. If you remember, last season Rask shut out the Rangers in his lone NHL appearance in 2008-2009.

Now to the not so good news.

David Krejci is "not even close to playing" in the preseason games this week, coach Claude Julien told the media today. However, Julien did not say that Krejci's assessment of returning by mid October was out of the question.

Finally, Fred Cusick, the popular play-by-play voice for the Bruins for more than 40 years, has died. Cusick died at his home on Cape Cod at the age of 90.

I believe it is a no brainer to say that Cusick is the best Bruins play-by-play man in the teams storied history.

It is terribly sad to hear about Mr. Cusick's passing. He was a great broadcaster and will be sorely missed.

Bruins and Leafs just finalizing picks in Kessel deal?

The Toronto Maple Leafs have offered two first rounders and a second rounder for Phil Kessel according to multiple reports. The Leafs also want a third round draft pick in return from Boston in addition to Kessel.

According to a source, the Bruins don't want to package any picks with Kessel and that is the hold up. Like Kessel is done negotiating with the Bruins, the Bruins are done dealing with Kessel and will ship the forward out of town. The same source said that Boston will deal Kessel for the two first rounders and second round pick.

If all that is holding this up is a third round pick, why would I not think that things may be done soon?

Nashville is still interested in Kessel, however, are talking about position players in a swap for the young sniper.

Bruins back to work

The Bruins concluded their first full day of training camp. The Boston squad is trying to get their legs back in preparation for Tuesday's preseason opener against the New York Rangers.

A few notes from today's practice.

* David Krejci didn't practice with his teammates today but skated in some non contact drills prior to the main sessions. Krejci is supposed to do the same tomorrow, but there is a chance he will practice with one of the Bruins groups.

* Marc Savard has an apparent knee injury and it is said that Savard will not be fully participating in workouts for precautionary reasons. Head coach Claude Julien said that Savard will be fine and will be at full strength come the season opener on Oct 1.

* All reports are that Marco Sturm is at 100% and is showing no limitations in practice.

* Zdeno Chara reportedly did 31 pull ups at the teams strength and conditioning tests. That is a lot of pull ups folks. It looks like Big Z is ready to defend his Norris trophy.

THREE REPORTS: Leafs, Rangers & Preds interested in Kessel

I've been doing my weekend reading on all sorts of websites for Kessel updates. I did find a few updates that I felt I should pass along.

It looks like a three team race for Kessel. Toronto, Nashville and the New York (Rangers) are the interested parties.

Newsday is reporting that the Rangers have legitimate interest in Kessel and they may trade disgruntled forward for disgruntled forward by packaging Brandon Dubinsky in a deal for Kessel.

The Maple Leafs appear to be in the lead in the skirmish to get Phil Kessel, Toronto Sun reports.

There is speculation that Leafs GM Brian Burke will likely pony up two first round picks, a second and a third for the 21-year-old restricted free agent.
Burke could also give the Bruins a first, second and third round pick plus one of his surplus defensemen according to the Sun. The talks have heated up between Boston and Toronto since the Boston Globe reported that Kessel is done negotiating with the Bruins.

Finally, according to the Tennessean, the Nashville Predators "Covet the Boston Bruins scorer."

Predators General Manager David Poile confirmed to the paper, as much on Friday, saying he's talked with Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli and Kessel's agent, Wade Arnott, in recent days.

"We've talked concepts,'' Poile said of his conversations with Chiarelli. "I'd be very interested to see if there might be something he would like from the Predators.''

The Predators have a lot of cap space and could certainly afford Kessel. A trade with Nashville would likely hold a draft pick and a couple of prospects.

Nashville has said that they have no interest in signing Kessel to an offer-sheet.

Kessel on chances of staying with the Bruins: "Slim"

The Phil Kessel roller coaster has taken another dive folks. Early this afternoon, the Boston Globe's Kevin Dupont reported that Kessel had broken off negotiations with the Bruins.

Here is an excerpt from Dupont's post on the Bruins Blog at Boston.com.

"Phil Kessel has made it clear that he doesn't intend to negotiate any longer with the Bruins, his Toronto-based agent in recent days informing the Boston front office that the right winger's priority instead is to sign a free-agent offer sheet with one of the league's 29 other teams."

However, Kessel spoke with Sportsnet.ca on Thursday afternoon and denied the Globe report that he's broken off all negotiations with the Boston Bruins. "I don't know who is saying that, but it's not true," said Kessel.

Kessel said that he didn't think he would be a member of the Boston Bruins during this coming season, and that his chances of returning were, "Slim."

It is starting to look like Kessel will end up in Toronto with multiple draft picks ending up in Boston. However, Kessel could still end up in other locations as Nashville, San Jose and the New York Rangers are still interested.

Bruins sign Wozniewski

The Bruins have signed 29-year-old defenseman Andy Wozniewski to a one-year contract for additional depth.


The tale of the tape on Wozniewski:

• 6-foot-5
• 225 lbs.
• Played in AHL last season for Peoria and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
• 3 Goals, 18 assists, 74 games last season
• 1 NHL game in 2008-2009 with St. Louis
• Played in 77 career NHL games (St. Louis and Toronto), scoring two goals and 10 assists.

Wozniewski will compete with Johnny Boychuck for the 7th defenseman role. Wozniewski will likely be a depth defenseman who will end up in Providence and may be called up if the Bruins back line is hit with multiple injuries.

Bruins tell Leafs they will match any offer sheet for Kessel

Happy Labor Day everyone, I hope you all are enjoying. You've got to love reporting tweets, but they are the new wave, so here you go.

According to a tweet from TSN's Darren Dreger, the Boston Bruins' front office has notified Toronto Maple Leads GM Brian Burke that the B's will match any offer sheet that the Leafs throw out to restricted free agent Phil Kessel.

Dreger's tweet reads as follows, "Bruins say they've told Burke if he goes after Kessel, they will match. This may be fun to watch. :)"

There has been a lot of speculation that something may happen with Kessel this week because Peter Chiarelli may be worried about Toronto offering Kessel a sheet.

Obviously, Toronto is in the same division as Boston so the Bruins GM will most likely try and do anything possible to move Kessel out of the conference.

There of course still is the chance that Boston could move some other players in order to sign Kessel. Previous candidates were Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference.

REPORT: Maple Leafs paving way for move for Kessel

According to Bob McKenzie's twitter page and TSN.ca, the Maple Leafs may have just made several moves to put themselves in a position to acquire Phil Kessel.

Want to check out the stories, click on one of the two links. TWITTER:http://twitter.com/tsnbobmckenzie

TSN.CA: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=290103

Here's why the speculation is rampant: If the Leafs submit an offer sheet for Kessel in the next few days it would be very difficult for the Bruins to match. They would have to ship out a couple of players swiftly.

If Boston weren't to match, (which is likely) the Leafs would owe the Bruins a first, second and third round pick.

That said, the Leafs just acquired a 2010 second rounder in exchange for their second and third rounders in 2011.

The Boston Globe reported that Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli admitted that multiple teams were interested in Kessel last week.

Stay tuned here, as this is purely speculation at the moment but Bob McKenzie usually finds himself in the know ahead of others.

Julien extended, Chiarelli address' organization being called cheap with Kessel

Now, as all of you know by now Claude Julien has signed a multi-year contract extension to remain the Boston Bruins bench boss.

In his two seasons with the Bruins, Julien has compiled a 94-48-22 record in 164 games. Julien is a proven winner, winning 64% of his games as the Bruins head coach and 60% of his games throughout his stops in New Jersey, Montreal and Boston.

Now, of course this is big and great news over on Causeway street. However, there was another twist to things yesterday that caught my attention.

With about a week and a half to go until training camp kicks off and Phil Kessel still unsigned, the question of course came up of, why not?

Peter Chiarelli seemed real agitated when the question came up. Chiarelli was quick to point the finger at Kessel’s agent Wade Arnott. Chiarelli said that Arnott has created a bit of a 'media war' and that the sides have discussed a contract since the draft, contrary to what Arnott claims.

The Bruins General Manager was then asked if he thought this would cause a distraction for his team? “It becomes a distraction because the other party starts making it a distraction,” he said. “I understand all the tools of their trade, too. I used to be an agent. So you deal with it. We have a strong room, we’ve got strong leadership. It’s just part of the game.

Chiarelli then showed a little more frustration, when he addressed the buzz that has started that the Bruins front office was back to their old habits of not paying their stars.

“I just get a little disturbed when they talk about us being cheap. Because it’s not about that. Look at some of the second contracts we’ve given — Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci. It’s not about that. It’s about a balance.”

Now, I agree with Chiarelli that it is about balance. However, can you really let a potential 40 goal scorer just walk?

By my count the Bruins have $1,304,167 million remaining in cap space. The only contract that the Bruins have right now other than players named Savard or Krejci, that would create the space necessary to sign Kessel is Marco Sturm's, $3.5 million.

This contract shipped out, would leave about $4.8 million in space and would give the Bruins the opportunity to sign Kesel. Now, people have heard Chuck Kobasew's name put into trade rumors, but, with that contract shipped that would only leave just over $3.6 million in space, not enough to sign the 21 year-old forward.

So where does that leave the Bruins and Kessel? To me, the writing is on the wall and Kessel will not be back with Boston in 2009-2010. Chiarelli is saying all the right things, that he will match any offer sheet, but will he?

Chiarelli is clearly posturing to send the message out to other teams to stay away. But with the cap so tight for Boston, is it really a stretch to think that if a team were to put out an offer sheet to Kessel that Boston wouldn't let him walk? Boston after all would receive multiple early round draft picks.

Kessel has been mentioned in rumors to multiple teams. San Jose, Edmonton, Vancouver, New York (Rangers), St. Louis and Los Angeles are among the laundry list.

On a day that was supposed to be a happy one for Peter Chiarelli, it ended up being a bit frustrating. Will the onslaught of questions frustrate Chiarelli to the point of ending the soap opera before camp?

My gut would lean me towards no, but hey, we've all been wrong at one point or another in this tango between Kessel and Chiarelli.

REPORT: Bruins to announce extension for Julien tomorrow

The Boston Bruins have announced a 10 a.m. press conference at the TD Garden.

The club is expected to announce a contract extension for head coach, Claude Julien who was entering the final year of a three year contract, signed in 2007.

In June, Peter Chiarelli said that re-signing Claude Julien was a priority of his, along with his other RFA's. Look for Julien to have a deal similar to Chiarelli's, keeping the coaching staff in tact for years to come.

Some new faces show at Ristuccia, Begin checks in

Hello Bruins fans, it's another day of ice time for the black and gold in Wilmington.

The players who participated in the skate were, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, Kevin Regan, Matt Dalton, Adam Courchaine, Marco Sturm, Brad Marchand, Matt Marquardt, Andrew Bodnarchuk, and Jeff LoVecchio, Milan Lucic, Steve Begin, Andrew Ference, Dennis Wideman, Byron Bitz, and Johnny Boychuk.

The news of the day was that there were a few new faces on the ice. Key faces like Ference, Wideman and Bitz.

Also, the projected fourth line center for the Bruins, Steve Begin was on the ice at Ristuccia for the first time. For those of you who don't know much about Begin, I will let him explain the type of player he is.

"I'm not a big talker on the ice. I'm pretty quiet," Begin said. "I talk with my shoulders. I'm in-your-face. I just go skate, hit, block shots."

David Krejci, who skated on Monday opted for an on-ice workout. He has said that he is not at the point where he can skate every day. This is a clear indication that Krejci will not be ready to go come opening night on October 1. At least, that is what this blogger would speculate.

Sharks prepping offer sheet for Kessel?

The Sharks are still interested in the Bruins speedy RFA, Phil Kessel and it appears they may submit an offer sheet for the restricted free agent, Slam Sports reports.

Boston has under $ 2 million in available cap space and therefore doesn't have the cap space to sign the restricted free agent. Kessel is said to be looking for something close to $5 million.

For the Bruins to sign Kessel, they would have to dismantle their roster to stay under the cap. So if the Sharks sign Kessel, they would likely not match the offer sheet. However, we have picked up on some low lying rumors that the Bruins could be shopping Andrew Ference and Chuck Kobasew to create space.

There are rumors that the Sharks could put in an offer sheet to Kessel as early as next week. If Kessel were to accept the sheet and sign in San Jose, the Sharks would owe the Bruins multiple draft picks.