The Stanley Cup Finals, a rematch of 2008

The Stanley Cup Finals will be a rematch of last season, as the Detroit Red Wings will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Last season the Red Wings defeated the Penguins, four games to two.

Detroit earned a spot in the finals by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 tonight in OT, and four games to one overall.

Pittsburgh won the Eastern Conference last night by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes. The Pens swept the 'Canes in four games.

This will be a great series, with some super stars. I have to go with the champs to repeat, however.

Kessel undergoes surgery, rehab to take six months

Phil Kessel underwent successful left shoulder surgery today at Massachusetts General Hospital to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. Rehab and recovery will sideline Kessel for up to six months.

Six months would take us into the ladder portion of November. With this surgery news and David Krejci's upcoming surgery, Boston will likely be without both Krejci and Kessel at the start of the 2009-2010 campaign.

It will likely be November before either would be ready to return.

The Bruins by the numbers, cap numbers that is

OK, so I've been starting to get the questions for next season. The main one being, "How will the Bruins fill in their team and sign their free agents?"

So, here is a look at the Boston Bruins salary cap numbers for next season. Tuukka Rask is added to this list as Manny Fernandez said he is leaning toward retirement and there is a zero percent chance of the B's bringing him back.

Assuming Tuukka Rask will be on the 2009-10 roster, here is the current salary breakdown for 15 players under contract for next year, as well as Glen Murray's buyout number. The cap is expected to either stay at $56.7 million or dip in 2009-10.

This list was provided by Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe.

Forwards

Marc Savard, $5 million

Patrice Bergeron, $4.75 million

Michael Ryder, $4 million

Marco Sturm, $3.5 million

Chuck Kobasew, $2,333,333 million

Glen Murray, $1,383,333 million

Blake Wheeler, $875,000

Milan Lucic, $850,000

Shawn Thornton, $516,667

* Mark Recchi, P.J. Axelsson, and Stephane Yelle will be unrestricted free agents.

* David Krejci, Phil Kessel, and Byron Bitz will be restricted free agents.

Defensemen

Zdeno Chara, $7.5 million

Dennis Wideman, $3.875 million

Aaron Ward, $2.5 million

Andrew Ference, $1.4 million

Mark Stuart, $1.3 million

* Steve Montador and Shane Hnidy will be unrestricted free agents.

* Matt Hunwick will be a restricted free agent.

Goalies

Tim Thomas, $5 million

Tuukka Rask, $850,000

Current cap hit: $45,633,333.

So, if the cap stays the way is is the Bruins will have about $11 million of cap space to play with. However, the cap is likely to fall a few million dollars according to multiple reports. This will be nearly impossible to fill a full team under the current numbers if you are trying to sign both Phil Kessel and David Krejci.

Boston's GM, Peter Chiarelli told WEEI today that he will have to make a few adjustments to the team in order to re-sign Kessel and Krejci.

Look for the defensive unit to consist of Chara, Wideman, Ward, Stuart, Ference and Hunwick. Montador and Hnidy will not be re-signed if for nothing else, the cap will not allow it. Johnny Boychuk who has been a solid player for the baby B's this season will likely fill the role of a seventh defenseman for Boston, at relatively cheap dollars.

All of Boston restricted free agents, (Kessel, Krejci, Bitz) are priorities to get signed this off-season. The unrestricted free agents, (Axelsson, Yelle, Recchi) will almost surely have to wait until after the July 1 free agency period to see if Boston wants to retain their services. Boston likes all three of these players for depth, but look for Chiarelli to try to upgrade in the size department.

One wild card here is Byron Bitz who could very well take one of these three players spots. Chiarelli has said he loves size up front and Bitz has it.

Here are some possible lines for next season, granted no trades are made and Boston takes care of signing their big free agents.

Lucic - Savard - Kessel

Wheeler - Krejci - Ryder

Sturm - Bergeron - Kobasew

Bitz-(Yelle? Ax? Free Agent? Current P-Bruin?) - Thornton

The fourth line center position could likely go to a guy like Martin St. Pierre or Vladimir Sobotka. There are also longer shots like Zach Hamill and Jamie Arneil.

This could likely mean the end for the one year Bruins like Yelle and Recchi and also the end for the eleven year vet, Axelsson.

However, there is a long way to go obviously and I wouldn't be surprised if the Bruins deal away one of their forwards to create space.

It will be an interesting off-season for the Bruins, so stay up to date with BruinSpace. We'll keep you posted on any trades, signings, and of course the NHL awards show and NHL draft.

Surgery necessary for young snipers

It was closing time on the 2008-2009 season today at the Garden, as the Bruins emptied their lockers. There was a lot of big news that came out today, including surgery for a couple of young Bruin snipers.

*Phil Kessel will undergo shoulder surgery on Thursday to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum.

*Andrew Ference will undergo groin surgery next month. Ference suffered a groin tear against the Rangers on April 4. Ference then absorbed more groin damage in Game 3 of the second round when he was belted by Scott Walker. Ference also suffered a pelvis injury on the hit.

*Chuck Kobasew broke two ribs in Game 1 of the Carolina series when he was cross-checked from behind. Kobasew said the pain improved as the series went on, but that it was still uncomfortable to play.

*David Krejci will undergo hip surgery next month. He is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp.

Krejci's surgery will keep him out four to six months and the surgery will take place in June. Krejci will go to Europe for the surgery and with the four to six month time frame he may miss the first month of the season.

This is obviously a huge concern for Boston, but with Krejci being an unrestricted free agent this may provide leverage for the Bruins brass.

P-Bruins fall to Hershey 2-1, series moves to Providence tied 1-1

The Providence Bruins fell to the Hershey Bears 2-1 Sunday evening at the Giant Center in Hershey. The P-Bruins got their goal from Brad Marchand.

The best of seven series is tied at one. The P-Bruins return to the Dunkin' Donuts Center on Friday, May 22 at 7:05 p.m. for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Tuukka Rask was busy in net for the baby B's, stopping 37 of 39 shots. Providence, who is the under dog in this series, will return home for three straight games.

If they can take two of three at home they will put themselves in good position to advance to the Calder Cup finals.

P-Bruins take 1-0 series lead: Conference Finals Predictions

Here is your Providence Bruins update folks. At least we have our young guys in the Eastern Conference finals, and winning at that.

The Providence Bruins defeated the Hershey Bears 3-2 Saturday evening at the Giant Center. The P-Bruins got their goals from Jeff Penner, Jordan Knackstedt and Matt Marquardt. The baby B's lead the best of seven series 1 game to 0.

Now, for all of you Tuukka Rask fans out there, Rask stopped 30 of 32 shots for the P-Bruins.
The P-Bruins return to action tonight at the Giant Center at 5:00 p.m. for game two.

If you're looking for a baby B's fix, log onto ProvidenceBruins.com or come here and get an update from BruinSpace.

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The Conference finals for the NHL are starting this afternoon when the Chicago Blackhawks visit the Detroit Red Wings for game one of the Western Conference Finals. The series will begin in about an hour so I figured I should get my Conference finals picks in.

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: ~Detroit over Chicago in five games.

EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: ~Pittsburgh over Carolina in six games.

Yes, I am looking for a re-match of last year's Stanley Cup Finals. I like Detroit to repeat, but one step at a time. Detroit is a real tough match-up for Chicago and Pittsburgh looks like the team that won the Eastern Conference last year with Crosby carrying his team.

Bruins make Eastern Conference Finals, P-Bruins that is

Now that the Boston Bruins are out of the playoffs I am looking for a way to keep Bruins fans posted on the organization until the NHL award show comes next month.

So, last night I was watching CSN's Sports Tonight show and their nightly poll was, "Who should be the starting goalie next season for the Bruins, Tim Thomas or Tuuka Rask?"

The results shocked me. Sixty percent of the voters said the Bruins should have Rask as the starting goalie next season. This, after Thomas is a finalist for the Vezina trophy. Now, I don't know the sample size of the vote, but still.

I am a huge Rask fan, but even I was shocked at the B's fans result. So, with that in mind I figured I would keep you all updated on Rask, and the baby B's.

The Providence Bruins are Atlantic Division champions after defeating the Worcester Sharks 5-1 Wednesday evening at the DCU Center. The P-Bruins won their best of seven series four games to two.

The baby B's are currently in the Eastern Conference Finals, facing off against the Hershey Bears. The Bears are the favorite in this series, having finished the season with 106 points. Providence finished the season with 94 points. So, clearly Hershey is the favorite in this Eastern Conference finale.

The series will open tonight in Hershey. Below is the seven game schedule for the series. The first game at the Dunk will be Friday, May 22.

1. PRO at HER Sat May 16 7:00 PM

2. PRO at HER Sun May 17 5:00 PM

3. HER at PRO Fri May 22 7:05 PM

4. HER at PRO Sun May 24 7:05 PM

5. HER at PRO Mon May 25 4:05 PM *

6. PRO at HER Wed May 27 7:00 PM *

7. PRO at HER Thu May 28 7:00 PM *

It will be interesting to see how the apparent fan favorite for the starting goaltender position next season will play against Hershey.

One thing is almost certain for the 2009-2010 campaign. Both Thomas and Rask will be a one-two punch that will be one of the best duos in the NHL.

Pittsburgh advances, waits for winner of Boston and Carolina

Good evening Bruins fans. On the eve of game seven, things are getting down right crazy.

The Pittsburgh Penguins just defeated the Washington Capitals, 6-2 in game seven and will move on the the Eastern Conference Finals. Meaning of course that the Penguins will be the opponent of either Boston or Carolina in the East's final series.

So, it's Sid the kid and the league's leading scorer, Evgeni Malkin heading to the Eastern final for the second straight season.



Now, back to the game that we all care about right now, Boston and Carolina. Obviously, the tables have turned in this series and Boston has forced a game seven.

The effort for Boston will have to increase yet again as Carolina will be roaring in game seven. Carolina played an even game with Boston last night and will no doubt up their game again.


At the rink today, Boston did not skate. All of the players were going through light off-ice workouts.

Head coach, Claude Julien reiterated today that Marc Savard will be ready to go tomorrow night. Savard's knee was still a bit sore today, however, Julien said Savard, "Will play."

There isn't much more to say, besides we all can't wait for Thursday night. Below are videos that will give analysis on the game and get you riled up.

I want Crosby!