Kelly
Ottawa forward Chris Kelly spoke for pretty much the entire hockey world yesterday when asked about the Dany Heatley situation.
“We just want to see it resolved, either way,” Kelly told Bruce Garrioch of Sun Media. “If Dany decides he’s coming back, then we’ll welcome Dany back. If they make a deal for him to go somewhere else, I’m sure (GM Bryan Murray) will try to get the best possible deal for him. I wish him all the luck if he goes somewhere else.” (more…)
Over at THN.com, John Grigg this week ranked the top 10 American-born players in NHL history. Future Hall-of-Fame defenseman Chris Chelios is ranked No. 1, while newly elected HOF-bound blueliner Brian Leetch — a former Boston Bruin — came in at No. 2.
Obviously, the best American-born player on the current Bruins roster is goaltender Tim Thomas, who should be the Team USA starting netminder for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver this February. But who’s the best U.S.-born player in Bruins history? Write your picks on the comments section of this post and I’ll try to write a little more on this at another time.
Thomas
ESPN and the folks at Puck Prospectus have been using a new projection system called VUKOTA to analyze a few players on each team in the NHL.
Today they took a capsule look at the Boston Bruins, and picked Patrice Bergeron as a player that’s trending up (if he can stay healthy for the full season) and goaltender Tuukka Rask as a name to know. In the trending down category, some fans might be surprised to see Vezina Trophy-winning netminder Tim Thomas listed. (more…)
The Boston Bruins’ recent signing of free agent defenseman Derek Morris, on the heels of their trade of Aaron Ward to Carolina, leaves the club with an interesting mix of left- and right-handed shots on its back line.
Boston’s depth chart on D now includes four left and two right defensemen. Now, while most NHL defensemen give you the boilerplate “I can play on either side, whatever the coach wants” response when asked about playing on his stronger or weaker side, there’s no question that every player has a comfort level on a particular side. Plus it’s in a team’s interest to have the majority of its players making outlet passes on their forehand rather than their backhand.
So how should the Bruins align their defense this coming season? It’s never too early to plan, and first and foremost if I was coaching the Black and Gold would be to move Zdeno Chara to the right side. (more…)
Here are some quick links from around the Northeast Division this morning:
•The Buffalo Sabres announced they will not be raising ticket prices for next season. That’s a nice gesture by a franchise that hasn’t done much in the way of rewarding its fans with on-ice success the last couple seasons.
•Ottawa Sun writer Bruch Garrioch has one “high-profile agent” basically accusing NHL teams of collusion.
•Some Toronto fans are putting together a petition to bring back the logo the Maple Leafs won in their glory years more than four decades ago.
•Condolences go out to Ottawa forward Nick Foligno and his family after the death of his mother Janis.
•Ottawa director of hockey operations Brent Flahr has left to become the assistant general manager in Minnesota.
The Providence Bruins, the Boston Bruins’ AHL affiliate, today released their preseason schedule for this fall. Here it is:
Date, Opponent, Location, Time
Wed., Sept. 23, Springfield Falcons, N.E. Sports Center (Marlboro, Mass.), 7:05 p.m.
Thurs.., Sept. 24, Lowell Devils, Iorio Arena (Walpole, Mass.), 6:05 p.m.
Sat., Sept. 26. Springfield Falcons. MassMutual Center (Springfield, Mass.), 7:00 p.m.
Well, there won’t be as many Stuart brother battles as I had hoped now, but instead the Boston Bruins might get six looks at their former center, Wayne Primeau, after not facing him all that often during his time in Calgary.
The Toronto Maple Leafs yesterday acquired the former piece of Joe Thornton bounty from the Flames for a package that included Colin Stuart, the brother of Bruins defenseman Mark Stuart. (more…)
Axelsson
Long-time Boston Bruins forward P.J. Axelsson, who became an unrestricted free agent July 1, has decided to return home to play for the Frölunda Indians, according to that team’s Web site. Axelsson signed a four-year deal.
“Frölunda club is in my heart,” said Axelsson in a loosely translated quote on the team’s Web site. “I always wanted to come back here. Now (I’ll) fit (in) well and I look forward to see nice things again with the team.”
Axelsson will be tough for Boston to replace because of his penalty-killing, his hockey sense and willingness to sacrifice his body and his ego to fill any role. Along with Stephane Yelle, who will also not be re-signed, Axelsson aided the Bruins meteoric improvement while shorthanded last season.
In 797 career regular season games with Boston, Axelsson put up 103-184-287 totals. He was the longest tenured Bruins player, having entered the NHL in 1997. His departure leaves Tim Thomas as the Bruins player with the longest amount of uninterupted (other than the lockout) service time.
Morris
A veteran of almost 800 NHL regular season games, defenseman Derek Morris admitted today during a conference call that he had other offers, including some multi-year contracts, to consider before signing a one-year deal with the Boston Bruins. But in the end, he couldnt’ resist that “Original Six” allure.
“Obviously, (signing a one-year deal) is a bit humbling, maybe. Obviously you think going into it, you think high of yourself as a player. … And I thought going it we would get a long-term deal,” said the 30-year-old right-handed shot. “There were some opportunities out there. … But when Boston approached me, I looked at it and talked it over with my wife and I just felt, ‘you know what? As a player, you dream of going to a team like that, an organization, a city like Boston, to have an opportunity to play – whether it might be one year, might be five years.”
Chiarelli
In a conference call to confirm the Boston Bruins’ signing of free agent defenseman Derek Morris to a one-year deal today, general manager Peter Chiarelli assessed his new-look defense corps this way:
“I feel we’ve upgraded it to the tune of a little more mobile, when you talk about Andrew (Ference) and Matt Hunwick in the mix. And the physical responsibilities that we might have lost (with the departure of Aaron Ward and Shane Hnidy), Derek’s a tremendous competitor, he can handle those things. (Mark Stuart’s) going to handle those things. And, of course, we’ve got Zdeno (Chara) there. So I don’t feel that we’ve lost any of that when we made these changes.” (more…)
In light of the Bruins bringing in Derek Morris, I have to ask:
Loading ...Morris
As of about 90 minutes ago, TSN.ca reports the Boston Bruins have signed free agent defenseman Derek Morris to replace Aaron Ward, who was dealt to Carolina earlier today.
TSN reports the deal is for one year at $3.3 million. There has been no confirmation of this move by the Bruins as of yet.
If this deal is true, the Bruins will be right back where they started cap-wise before the Ward deal. Last season with Phoenix and the New York Rangers, Morris — a right-handed shot — had five goals and 15 assists and is an upgrade in the puck-moving department on Ward. But he won’t bring the same grit or shot-blocking.
Ward is back in his favorite uniform.
Former Boston Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward, traded today to Carolina, quickly defused the issue of his being teammates with archrival Scott Walker during a conference call today to discuss the deal today.
“I still have practice. I can get him back in practice,” said Ward with a laugh, before noting that the sucker-punch incident from last spring’s playoffs was “water under the bridge” and that he plans to shake Walker’s hand when they first cross paths now that they’ll be wearing the same sweater. (more…)
