Boston Bruins

[MoreCanadianTeams]

Congratulations Bruin faithful on your Cup win and worthy Conn Smythe netminder. Enjoy your summer and next season being referred to as the Stanley Cup Champions.

[4T2]

So, I had a really long article wrote up in MSWord thanking all the contributors to this team for finally bringing the Cup back to Boston. Unfortunately my computer shut down on its own and I lost it.

Anyways, I'm sure the rest of you are still walking on a cloud just like myself. Did any of you make it to the parade?

I will be going to see the Cup when Marchand brings it to Nova Scotia for sure, I'll post some pics then.

Anyways, I will try to offer up as much Bruins off-season coverage as I can. We're in pretty good shape cap wise with only Kaberle, Ryder, Hnidy, Recchi and Marchand not locked up. I'll do a little post later about how each should be handled.

[4T2]

Some pictures of the boys celebrating after the Cup Win:





http://bustedcoverage.com/2011/06/20...oods-intro/#11

You'd think they could have got some better looking women there, I mean, those girls are solid 7s, the boys a pretty drunk so they probably look like 10s. But really, pick out the chicks before you hit the champagne boys. If I'm celebrating a Cup win, I want to do it in style

[4T2]

So Marchand went out and got himself a new tat commemorating the win (story ourtesy Masshole Sports:



C'mon Brad, you could have gotten way better work done back here at home.

[Thieving Giraffe]

I've decided that Ryan Murphy needs to fall to 9th.

[dyzfunctioned]

Haha @ Seguin and Marchand.

Murphy would be a great pick for Boston at #9.

[4T2]

According to Haggs, Chiarelli has tendered an offer to Marchand:

HackswithHaggs Joe Haggerty
Peter Chiarelli confirmed he's tendered Brad Marchand a qualifying offer as an RFA to retain his rights. Marchand doesn't have arb rights

[Sleemans]

I'm very happy that the Bruins were able to land Dougie Hamilton at #9. I was thinking he'd go to one of NYI, WIN, or PHI, but things turned out great for us. The Bruins should be able to grab another quality player at #40 overall tomorrow.

[Thieving Giraffe]

I'm kind of in shock that he fell that far, Chiarelli put it well about not bothering inviting him to Boston after the combine:

"We basically said that we don’t have to bring this fellow in," Chiarelli said. "If he’s there, it’s a no-brainer so we didn’t have to see anything extra on him. That’s how strongly we feel about him."

I believe it. Good size and developing strength, very intelligent, moderately aggressive, responsible defensively, offensive upside. Terrific pick. Don't be surprised if they go after a goaltender with #40. That's really the primary hole in their depth chart (i.e., non-NHL pipeline) right now, though of course "the best player available" is Chiarelli's traditional M.O.

WEEI has a nice little entry with video links about Hamilton here.

[dyzfunctioned]

Yea Hamilton was a phenomenal pick at that point.

[4T2]

Sorry guys for my absence. Here's my take on Boston's free agent signings to date.

Benoit Pouliot- As much as I hate to watch a former Hab pull on the Black and Gold; I don't hate this signing. Pouliot will be a bottom-6 player on this team and has the talent to fill in on the second line when needed.

He is defensively responsible with a positive plus/minus in his last three NHL years. He has decent size and should be a good fit on the third line. If he buys into to Claude's system, this could be a break-out year for him. If he clicks with Peverley or Kelly, the Bruins will once again have a third line that can provide an offensive burst when needed.

$1,100,000 is a great price for a guy who could take his game to the next level this year and is far better than paying $4m to another former Hab.

Anton Khudobin
$875,000 to a young goalie who could very well battle Tuukka for the starting job in a couple of years. Great signing. He will help Providence immensely and is more than capable of playing the back-up role should Thomas or Rask get injured.

In 16 games with the Baby B's last season, he posted a .940 SV% and 2.40 GAA. Not too shabby.

In his 6 NHL appearances, Khudobin has some stellar numbers: .955 SV% and a 1.39 GAA. Granted it's a small sample size, but they indicate he should have what it takes to be at least a successful backup in the NHL.

Here's my bold prediction: Khudobin steals the starting job in Boston from Tuukka Rask in 2013-2014... write that down.

Trent Whitfield- The Providence Bruins captain is back for two more years. Given Boston's got some young talent poised to make the jump to the big leagues, it would take a lot to see Whitfield suit up in the NHL at all this year.

He will be a great mentor to the Bruins prospects though.

Remaining UFAs/RFAs-
The Bruins let Ryder walk, he signed a contract for $3.75m in Dallas. That's fine with us Bruins fans. I have a special place in my heart for Ryder since he hails from Newfoundland and contributed greatly to our playoff success. However, that price tag is too high for his regular season contributions. I would have welcomed him back for $2m or $2.5 though. Best of luck to him in Dallas.

Tomas Kaberle is still without a contract. He never clicked in Boston and played his way all the way down to the third defensive pairing in the Final. That being said, he did contribute and I would welcome him back a greatly reduced rate. If he wants to play in Boston on the cheap and they don't rely too heavily on him on the power-play, by all means bring him back.

The Bruins have allowed Shane Hnidy to walk as UFA. Too bad, I'd love to see the Sheriff mentoring the kids down in Providence.

Last but not least, my boy Brad Marchand. No news yet on them working out a new contract. Hopefully it gets going soon. There is no doubt that he deserves a raise and should get one in the $3m range. He is well worth it.

The Bruins are in a very enviable position. They are the current Stanley Cup Champions and didn't have to blow up their team like the Blackhawks did. With almost everyone returning next year, the 2011-2012 season is one to be excited about.

[Thieving Giraffe]

Thanks for the analysis. Khudobin certainly turned a lot of heads this season. One wild card re: your prediction, though, is that Khudobin's contract expires (UFA) at the end of 2012-13 alongside Tim Thomas'. That should be an interesting situation to say the least. He (TT) will be 39 at that point, but the man gets more joy out of playing than anyone I've ever seen and given the fact that he didn't play a 50-game season until he was 31 (and 40 only twice before that), I could see Khudobin deciding to play for more money/assurance elsewhere in the NHL or K. But if Thomas retires and Khudobin stays, then at the very least he projects as enough of a presence to keep Rask from becoming complacent.

The one other thing I'd add is that the B's have a whopping $11M in cap space left this season, after really being up against the wall last year. Make that $15M if Savard retires... in fact, if that happens, the Bruins will be only $1M over the salary cap floor. Not too shabby for defending champions, with only Marchand, Kaberle/replacement and either Kampher ($825K) or another Hnidy replacement to add to the figure.

It's going to be interesting to see what that cap space really means in the new "high floor" NHL. With a $48.3M salary requirement, will non-contending teams even have space to trade their veterans for prospects and picks? Will the new mantra be trading for prospects/picks/Campbell-types? In a way, the floor could even hamper the ability of non-competitive teams to become competitive if this happens. Not so much a Bruins issue, but it's certainly going to be interesting.

[loco man]

Where does Peverly slot in?

If he is in the top six, I may have to scoop him up. If third line, no PP, then on the waiver pile he stays.

Thanks

[Thieving Giraffe]

After the way he clicked in Horton's place in games six and seven, it's highly likely that Rich Peverley gets at least a cup of coffee in Recchi's spot to start the year. That said, the same versatility that makes him such a valuable real-world asset can turn him into a liability on a fantasy roster. Tyler Seguin's progress (both offensively and defensively) is going to have a lot to do with where Peverley fits in. If the kid can't cut it on a lower line or really starts picking up the points, he'll get at least a shot up top this season. An in-season signing could knock him down a peg, as well.

I'd say you can fairly expect something in the 45-55 range from Peverley, who enjoyed good chemistry with Chris Kelly on the third line as well as up top when needed. But the uncertainty of his situation could drop that as low as 40 (30%) or raise it up as high as 60-65 (10%). Those numbers are gut-instinct, so take them with a grain of salt.

[loco man]

Thanks, TG

Kinda how I see it too. I will wait and see how things look in camp and hope he is not picked up before I can grab him.