You can almost see the end of the dog days of August just ahead.

Bruins players will be trickling into the Boston area over the next couple weeks in preparation for the Sept. 17 start of camp. The Bruins’ rookies will take on the New York Islanders’ rookies in the days before that.

So with hockey season within grasp, it’s time for another mailbag. Submit your questions by clicking here, and I’ll answer them hopefully over the weekend.

 Loading ...

If the game you have circled on your calendar isn’t listed, let me know in the comments section.

Daly

There’s no telling if the league’s third-party investigator will find any wrongdoing or circumvention when it comes to the contracts of Bruins center Marc Savard, or fellow retirement-deal-signers Marian Hossa, Chris Pronger and Roberto Luongo.

All we know is that the league is keeping its options open as far as punishment should there be a need for discipline.

[Read more →]

The Garden

The Bruins today announced that individual game tickets for the 2010-11 season will go on sale Saturday at 11 a.m. at the TD Garden box office and on the team’s Web site.

While as an accredited member of the media I am not affected by the ticket-buying experience, there are still a handful of games that (baby permitting) I’m looking forward to attending more the others. Here’s a look at my seven top home-ice picks, excluding games against Montreal and Toronto — which are always big events.

[Read more →]

Savard/By S. Bradley

So Tomas Kaberle remains a Toronto Maple Leaf just days after general manager Brian Burke lost the race to move the defenseman before his no-trade clause kicked in.

One month from the official opening of Bruins training camp, it appears goaltender Tim Thomas and center Marc Savard will be reporting to Wilmington, Mass., after a summer of trade speculation.

However, the presence of no-trade clauses in all the above-mentioned players’ contracts won’t stop the speculation about potential deals from clogging the airwaves and blogosphere over the next several months. And that’s a situation every card-carrying member of the NHLPA should fight to prevent.

[Read more →]

So The Hockey News had predicted the Bruins will win the Northeast Division and finish third in the Eastern Conference standings.

While training camp is still about five weeks away, I want to know:

 Loading ...

One of the first season-preview magazines for 2010-11 was released over the weekend, and The Hockey News obviously holds the Bruins in high regard.

[Read more →]

Savard/By S. Bradley

Great job by Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun to track down Bruins center Marc Savard and get him on the record about his feelings in regards to this summer’s trade rumors.

“They hurt me a little bit just because I went to Boston and I helped to build that team back up,” Savard told Garrioch Friday for an article posted Saturday night on The Sun’s Web site. “Since I’ve been there, I’ve really tried to work hard with the young guys and being a core player. I was really focused on staying there for the rest of my career. To hear all this stuff this summer bothered me inside more than anything else.”

[Read more →]

Edwards

You didn’t think all that excitement and enthusiasm Jack Edwards exudes during the season as the Bruins’ play-by-play voice on NESN takes the offseason off, did you?

No, Edwards is always as high-strung as he can be away from, and at, the rink 365 days a year. This summer for the first time, he brought all his exuberance to the course of the Pan-Mass Challenge and conquered the more than 190 miles of terrain along with a team of approximately 30 riders representing the Boston Bruins Foundation.

[Read more →]

Seguin/By S. Bradley

Last month the Bruins announced that all of their full-season ticket packages were sold out.

That declaration came just weeks after thousands of people packed the practice rink in Wilmington, Mass., for four days of development camp.

For a team that finished its season in historically awful fashion by blowing a 3-0 lead to Philadelphia in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and a franchise that hasn’t won the Cup in 38 years, the Bruins seem to have sure built up a ton of goodwill heading into 2010-11.

[Read more →]

Gothberg

It’s been a summer of new experiences and great personal on-ice growth for goaltender Zane Gothberg.

And the hope is that at some point in the next several years, the Bruins will reap the rewards.

[Read more →]

Savard/By S. Bradley

Marc Savard showed how much he wanted to stay with the Bruins last December when he re-signed with the club, and the Bruins have seemingly determined they can keep Savard around after a couple months of allegedly shopping him around to clear cap space.

Now it seems there’s a chance the Savard-Bruins marriage could be broken up by a third party, and that might not be the worst thing for the club.

[Read more →]

Rask at Ferncroft CC

MIDDLETON, Mass. – There are a couple schools of thought when talking about Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas both returning as the Bruins’ goaltending tandem for the 2010-11 season.

At least publicly, we now know what Rask’s position is in the matter.

“We had an awesome time last year and it’s a fair competition for both of us,” the 23-year-old said before teeing off at Shawn Thornton’s Putts and Punches for Parkinson’s golf tournament at Ferncroft Country Club. “I think it’s healthy for a team and for us too when nobody takes anything for granted. We liked it and hopefully that continues.”

[Read more →]

Thornton (center) and his golfing partners

MIDDLETON, Mass. – Not too long after he passed on unrestricted free agency and re-signed with the Bruins, Shawn Thornton announced plans to hold the charity golf tournament he’d been dreaming of for a while.

However, after the announcement turned dreams into reality, he suffered some slight nightmares.

“In late June, I was sitting there; we hadn’t really gotten going yet. I lost a couple hours sleep thinking about it, that’s for sure,” said Thornton today when asked about hoping there’d be enough participants to make the first Putts and Punches for Parkinson’s golf tournament a hit. “The support’s been great. Everybody I strong-armed in Charlestown came through.”

[Read more →]

Thomas/By S. Bradley

LOWELL, Mass. – Don’t freak out because Tim Thomas didn’t participate in Milan Lucic’s Rock and Jock Softball game Friday night at LeLacheur Park, the home of the Lowell Spinners.

Thomas is feeling well some 11 weeks removed from hip surgery, but didn’t want to take a chance in competing even in a lighthearted event before his 12 weeks of recovery are completely up.

“Just being super cautious,” the Bruins veteran goaltender explained while taking a break from signing autographs during the game. [Read more →]