Chiarelli

WILMINGTON, Mass. — The San Jose Sharks were  going back and forth with the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the NHL for the better part of the last three months until both were recently passed by the Detroit Red Wings.

The Sharks’ victory slowdown precipitated a 90-minute organizational meeting — with front-office personnel, coaches and players — earlier this week, and the club actually went out earned two points against a desperate Nashville team last night.

Although the Bruins haven’t done anything that dramatic, Boston general  manager Peter Chiarelli said his organization is taking steps to rectify a situation that has had the Bruins on the wrong end of seven of their last 10 games.

“We’ve had those meetings this week, unbeknownst to you,” Chiarelli told a small gaggle of reporters as his team practiced at Ristuccia Arena this morning. “I have exchanged notes with (Sharks general manager) Doug Wilson, actually. There’s nothing magic to it guys. … We know we can perform at a level that will produce great results in this league. We’ve got to get back to it. There’s an element of complacency. The players know it.

“It may be that they’re 98 percent ready to go and that two percent (they’re not), but you have to be at 100 percent.” (more…)

Chiarelli

BOSTON — In the immediate aftermath of the Boston Bruins’ 4-3 overtime loss to at TD Banknorth Garden today to Washington — a team the Bruins could see down the road in the postseason and a club that won the season series from Boston — general manager Peter Chiarelli said he wasn’t altering his mindset heading toward Wednesday’s trade deadline just because of one defeat.

“This was a game, obviously it was two of the top teams in the conference,” Chiarelli said. “Was it a statement game? I don’t know. I thought we played well in the third to come back. And as far as, does it change my plans going into the trade deadline? No. We take a look at the whole year and the team as a whole.”

Chiarelli stuck to his guns as far as not commenting on trade speculation when asked about one internet report that had the Bruins and Anaheim agreeing in principle to a deal involving Chris Pronger.

Chiarelli

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was part of a series of NHL conference calls today to talk about the March 4 trade deadline.

Along the way, he revealed something that had nothing to do with wheeling and dealing. When asked if he received good news about winger Michael Ryder, Chiarelli responded: “My guess is that – and it’s a guess right now, but it’s an educated guess – is that he’ll be in the line-up for tomorrow.”

Ryder has been out since he was high sticked Feb. 5 and then had facial surgery Feb. 9. He’s been skating with the team for more than a week.

Chiarelli also fielding the expected questions about his approach to the trade deadline. With the conference-leading Bruins enduring their worst stretch of the season with losses in six of their last seven games, one might think the urgency to make a deal has intensified. But Chiarelli is taking a calm approach.

“Well, it hasn’t changed our approach (to deal),” he said. “We’re at some point going to struggle, and we were prepared for it. Part of it is the young guys hitting a bit of a wall. They look like they’re coming out of it a bit. It’s part of a long year.

“Our approach and strategy hasn’t changed with respect to the deadline. It just goes … the players of interest to us are still of interest to us, and we’re still pursuing those players.” (more…)

Chiarelli

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was a guest on WEEI here in Boston with the Dale & Holley Show, and he concluded his interview by saying that the odds of him making a trade before the March 4 deadline is “60 to 75 percent.”

Chiarelli also acknowledged that he has around $4 million in cap room to work with because of winger Marco Sturm’s LTIR status while he’s out for the season after knee surgery.

But Chiarelli’s best revelation came when he was asked about re-signing one of his goaltenders — upcoming unrestricted free agents Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez.

“I’m not going to comment on negotiations, but generally speaking, it would be prudent if I did (re-sign one of them). But I don’t comment publicly on negotiations,” Chiarelli explained.

MK: Of course, from what he didn’t say you can deduce what he would’ve said had someone slipped him some truth serum — he’s working on signing one of his goaltenders. And it’s widely accepted that the one the Bruins want to stay more is Thomas.

Starting with Fernandez’s continued inability to stay healthy over a season and continuing on to Thomas’ history as a goaltender that’s accepting of sharing time (which would mean a tandem with Tuukka Rask next season), it’s the only move that makes sense. Let’s face it, even if a deal gets done before the season ends, the Bruins wouldn’t dare let it leak out and risk offending Fernandez.

Chiarelli

BOSTON — With the exception of last Thursday’s game at Ottawa, the Boston Bruins have been playing a proverbial playoff contender every night. Tonight at TD Banknorth Garden, the schedule goes to the next level — as the San Jose Sharks visit for a possible Stanley Cup final preview.

Beyond the hoopla that comes with Joe Thornton’s return, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is looking forward to seeing how his club matches up with the best the West has to offer, especially in light of how the Bruins have fared against the best in the East.

“The way I look at this last couple of weeks – because we played three or four teams that are big, strong teams, which includes San Jose – so I think it’s a good test. Obviously, they’re the best record in the West and we’re the best in the East, so from that viewpoint it’s going to be a good game,” Chiarelli said during his team’s optional morning skate. “But I just look at Washington, New Jersey, Philly and San Jose, how we match up against them. Because that’s going to be like playoff hockey against those types of teams. So this is going to be another test in that respect.”

Against those Eastern Conference powers, plus potential playoff participants Montreal and New York, the Bruins have plowed through with a 4-0-2 record over the last couple weeks — a strong enough showing to please Chiarelli.

“I think our record speaks for itself in that time. Losing leads, you never like to lose leads. But that stuff happens; lucky bounces happen for us or against us and the other day they happened against us,” he said.

Chiarelli

The master chef who has provided Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien the ingredients that have thrust the Bruins to the top of the Eastern Conference is enjoying the view from the upper stratosphere of the NHL.

“It’s obviously better than losing. It’s good,” Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli told thebruinsblog.net today while his 21-5-4 team practiced at the TD Banknorth Garden in front of a generous showing of season-ticket holders. “This is what we strive to do, to win, in this business. It’s good to see the things that we had projected come true and so, at this point of the year it’s good to compile wins and it’s good.”

One of the Bruins’ projections for this season was that they had the requisite amount of depth. Nowhere has that been tested more than on the blue line,  with two of the club’s top four (Andrew Ference and Aaron Ward) having missed significant time the last couple of weeks. But the reinforcements from Providence (AHL) — Matt Hunwick, Matt Lashoff and, for one game, Johnny Boychuk — have filled in admirably. While flaunting the skill that was evident when the Bruins brought them aboard in the first place, they’ve all shown the type of poise and maturity that can make it hard to remember they’re rookies in their early 20s.

“They’ve made rookie mistakes before so they’ve had chances through experience from last year,” Chiarelli said. “And part of it is obviously coaching – good coaching at this level, a system where you can plug in parts, and good coaching at the minor-league level. And these guys, they have hockey sense. And that’s important in this game, now with the new rules, you really have to be a smart player.”

Chiarelli admitted that he receives fewer phone calls from his fellow GMs when his team is winning. With the holiday roster freeze approaching Dec. 19, he said there could be a deal or two around the league.

“But the economy, teams close to the cap, it’s still relatively early – all those things put together you’re probably not going to see a lot of deals,” he added.

As for his own team, Chiarelli said the flames aren’t really burning hot for a deal — especially with Ference nearing a return that could serve as a boost to his back line.

“We’re not really looking right now. We’ve got a couple things that we’re looking at, but we’re not proactively looking.”