Lucic to miss 4 weeks

In a press conference held today, GM Peter Chiarelli announced that Milan Lucic could miss up to four weeks with a high ankle sprain.

Yet another injury to the Bruins, as this is Lucic’s second time getting bit by the injury bug. Expect Vladimir Sobotka to be inserted into the lineup in Lucic’s absence.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Thomas has broken hand

According to TSN, Tim Thomas, who has been battling a “minor” injury, actually has a broken hand. The Bruins are saying the injury is not considered serious and his status is day-to-day.

Practice lines from today

Sturm-Savard-Bitz

Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder

Lucic-Bergeron-Recchi

Paille-Begin/Sobotka-Thornton

PP1: Ryder-Savard-Sturm-Chara-Morris

PP2: Wheeler-Krejci-Recchi-Bergeron-Wideman

These were the lines from this morning’s practice. Marc Savard continues to skate and is expected to play Monday night. While I feel Byron Bitz has played some of his best hockey in the past few games, I do not agree with him being a first line winger.  Right now the Bruins do not have many other options.  Maybe putting Marco Sturm on a line with Savard will get him going and hopefully contributing on a more consistent basis.  As it stands now, it also looks like Sobotka will be the odd man out once again.

Now to the powerplay. Bergeron on the point really is always a risky move.  I like the traditional two defensemen playing the points because of the threat of a shorthanded break against a forward. Matt Hunwick has started to preform like he had last season so I would have liked to see Hunwick kept at the point with Bergeron still up front.

Lineup when fully healthy

With the recent return of Milan Lucic and Marc Savard expected back Monday night, it will be interesting to see what Claude Julien’s lineup will look like. Will Wheeler be moved from the left side and moved up to the top line with Savard? I’m not sure that would be a smart decision, based on how well Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder have been playing together. It is also very apparent Wheeler plays his best hockey on the left wing.  Assuming that line stays intact that leaves Recchi, Lucic, and Sturm as potential forwards to skate on the top line.  As we have seen, Sturm on the right wing just hasn’t worked, which means Recchi will most likely be the top line right wing.  That now either leaves Lucic or Sturm to play the left side with Savard and the other to play on the third with Bergeron.  Now where does that leave Daniel Paille, Byron Bitz, Vladimir Sobotka and Shawn Thornton? Since Paille can only play the left side, he may now be moved to the fourth line and Sobotka’s inconsistent play may push him to the bench. So, going by Claude Julien’s thinking this is how the lineup will look:

Lucic-Savard-Recchi

Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder

Sturm-Bergeron-Bitz

Paille-Begin-Thornton

Now my question is why not give Bergeron a look on Savard’s wing? Recchi obviously isn’t a first line winger and Bergeron has been the Bruins best forward all season long. I know most of you will say, Bergeron has the best faceoff percentage on the team. Well Bergeron often takes faceoffs for other lines then gets off the ice anyway so nothing would change there. Looking back over the past five games, Sobotka, the current third line center, has averaged only 5.8 faceoffs taken per game.  6 faceoffs per game really will not make much of a difference and now with Savard back the Bruins could even throw him out there for the faceoffs then take him off just like they do with Bergeron.  Here is a look at what the lineup could look like

Lucic-Savard-Bergeron

Wheeler-Krejci-Ryder

Sturm-Sobotka-Recchi

Paille-Begin-Thornton

I know it is wishful thinking and will never happen but it might be worth a shot. I really have no confidence in Recchi playing on a top line and really do not think Julien should break up Krejci’s line, which has looked great lately. The top line could also be used to match up against opponents top lines.  Hey if Recchi and Axelsson can get looks on the first line, why not Bergeron?

Friday roundup

The Bruins have assigned Brad Marchand to Providence and placed Trent Whitfield on waivers. If Whitfield is claimed before tomorrow’s noon deadline, the Bruins will be on the hook for $3,375. If Whitfield clears waivers he will be assigned to Providence. 

Tuukka Rask will start tonight while Tim Thomas is still battling a minor injury.

Lucic, Savard activated

The Bruins have activated both Milan Lucic and Marc Savard from LTIR. Lucic is a game time decision for tonight’s game against Atlanta. Savard is not expected to play tonight, with tomorrow night’s game being a possible return date.

The Potential Return for Phil Kessel

We now talk about how great the Phil Kessel deal was, trading him for what now seems to be at least a top 3 pick.  At the time, the deal was assumed to be for top mid round 1st picks (10-17) and a mid 2nd rounder (38-45).  Assuming the Maple Leafs did fall into these projections as a middle of the road team, we are looking at this as the talent we’d most likely get.  Since 1999 here are the mid round picks (10-17) and a mid second rounder.  Listed are ones who had any sort of impact in the NHL as a consistent player.

1999 1st round

Oleg Saprykin
David Tanabe
Barret Jackman

1999 2nd round

Alex Auld
Mike Commodore
Jordan Leopold

2000 1st round

Ron Hainsey

2000 2nd round

Kurtis Foster
Matt Pettinger
Ilya Bryzgalov

2001 1st round

Fredrick Sjostrom
Dan Hamhuis
Ales Hemsky
Chuck Kobasew
RJ Umberger

2001 2nd round

Fedor Tyutin

2002 1st round

Keith Ballard
Steve Eminger
Alexander Semin
Chris Higgins

2002 2nd round

Trevor Daley
Matt Greene

2003 1st round

Andrei Kostitsyn
Jeff Carter
Dustin Brown
Brent Seabrook
Steve Bernier
Zach Parise
Robert Nilsson

2003 2nd round

Patrice Bergeron

2004 1st round

Boris Valabik
Drew Stafford
Alexander Radulov
Petteri Nokelainen

2004 2nd round

None

2005 1st round

Anze Kopitar
Marc Staal
Martin Hanzal

2005 2nd round

Ondrej Pavelec
Justin Abdelkader
Paul Stastny
Guillaume Latendresse

2006 1st round

Michael Frolik
Bryan Little
Jiri Tlustly

2006 2nd round

Nikolai Kulemin

Anything past this draft is hard to account for, as not many mid picks have yet to crack the NHL.  Based on this formula (NHLers/Total Picks), the Bruins have a 40% chance of grabbing a steady NHLer with one of those 1st round picks, and a 20.8% of grabbing a steady NHLer with a 2nd round pick.  Overall, they have a 60.8% chance of grabbing a steady NHLer in a 2010 draft.  But, if we are talking All-Star caliber players, the Bruins have around a 6.5% chance (depending on what you qualify as a All-Star caliber player) of getting one of those type of players in the 2010 draft with Toronto’s picks.  I then note, in the first round, they have around a 10% chance of grabbing All-Star talent.  So overall, the chances of getting GOOD talent are not in the favor of the Bruins.  But all this is at the time of the trade.

Now we project the Leafs as a bottom 3 team, so here is the data for that.  Since 1999, these are the busts/players who haven’t lived up to hype that have been selected in the top 3:

Patrik Stefan
Rick DiPietro
Alexander Svitov
Kari Lehtonen
Nathan Horton
Cam Barker
Jack Johnson
Kyle Turris

Based on this formula (100-busts/picks), the Bruins have a 66.7% chance of selecting a top 3 guy who will live up to the hype aka a franchise player.

Now on to the second round, here are the top 3 2nd round picks since 1999 who have turned into something.

Nick Shultz
Derek Roy
Loui Eriksson
Dave Bolland
James Neal

Based on this formula (100-players/picks), the Bruins have a 20.8% chance of selecting a solid NHLer with this 2nd round pick.

Now none of this is a perfect science, as different teams scout differently, and this data is only from 1999-2007, and players selected from more recent drafts may end up something one day.  But, this is a somewhat telling stat how risky the Phil Kessel deal is, even if the Leafs finish in the top 3.

 

Savard Extension Update

According to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, Marc Savard is set to sign a 7 year deal worth around 32 million (4.7 per season).

An Internet report this afternoon had No. 1 Bruins center Marc Savard poised to extend his deal for another seven seasons, beginning in 2010-’11, worth a total possibly as high as $39 million (about a $5.6 million cap hit).

According to a source familiar with the ongoing contract talks, the signing is not imminent and the total payout is not likely to be as high as reported today.

Savard, who will turn 33 years old next July, is closing in on a seven-year pact worth closer to $32 million (cap hit: approximately $4.7 million).

A typical payout for this kind of deal, made popular by the Red Wings and Flyers, would see Savard pull in, say, all but $3-4 million over the first five years.

Entering year No. 6 of the deal, Savard would be 38 years old. If his skills were diminished by then, the Bruins coud buy out the final two years of the deal at one-third discount, with the total amount due paid over four years.

The Globe reported on Sunday that Savard’s new deal probably would be finalized in the days around Thanksgiving.

 

Savard to sign seven year deal?

According to RDS, Marc Savard is on the verge of signing an extension with the Bruins. The deal is rumored to be 39 million over 7 years for an annual cap hit of $5.57 million.

 At the completion of this contract Savard will be 40 years old, so I’m not sure what to make of this deal.  If the deal is front loaded with lower salaries at the end of the contract then it would be a good deal. Low salaries at the end of a contract will allow the Bruins to buyout the final year or two if necessary.

Phil Kessel Update

5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points, 7 games played.

We could use a player like that….

3

3 is always an important number to me in hockey.  3 is the middle number for both goals per game and goals allowed per game.  If you allow less than 3 goals per game on average, you should win.  If you score more than 3, you should win.  These numbers may be off by one or so, but I think they are accurate.

The Bruins record when scoring 3 or more goals:  7-1

The Bruins record when scoring less than 3 goals:  1-11

The Bruins record when allowing less than 3 goals: 5-6

The Bruins record when allowing 3 or more goals: 1-8

The Bruins record when scoring 3 or more goals, and allowing 3 or more goals: 1-1

The Bruins record when scoring 3 or more goals, and allowing less than 3 goals: 6-0

The Bruins record when scoring less than 3 goals, and allowing less than 3 goals: 1-5

The Bruins record when scoring less than 3 goals, and allowing 3 or more goals: 0-6

The Bruins overall record is 8-12.

As you can see, based on these stats, the offense is the issue.  A 5-6 record when allowing less than 3 goals is ridiculous, that record should be at least 8-3.  When this team scores, it wins, as seen with a 7-1 (could be 8-0), record when scoring 3 or more goals in a game.  The sad thing is, in 20 games, only 8 times have they scoring 3 or more goals, and that is including shootout wins, so it’s more like 7, and only 4 times, including shootouts, they have scored 4 or more goals.  6 of their losses have been by 1 goal.  Say what you want about this team, unless someone emerges as a consistent scorer, which this team does not have, then this season is going nowhere.

How Long can this Last?

I’ve watched the Bruins for a long time, and I know the difference between a good team and a bad team.  This team is starting to lean toward a bad team.  Now if you want to say this year’s team is almost the same as last year, well you are wrong.

While guys like Shane Hnidy and Steve Montador are not top four defenseman, they were there to provide depth on the back end, and as bad as sheriff Hnidy was at handling the puck, he did make some good defensive zone plays from time to time and was always sticking up for teammates.  This year, Johnny Boychuk is our 7th defenseman, and while he has shown some promise in limited time, he is an unproven commodity.

The Bruins decided to upgrade the mobility on the back end, and traded Aaron Ward to Carolina and signed Derek Morris.  Morris has shown to be a great move, and has arguably been our most consistent defender.  I think Ward was the wrong guy to jet out.  Wardo was a team leader, and really held that locker room together.  He blocked a lot of shots and rarely was out of position.  Andrew Ference would have been the guy I traded, but Wards salary and injury history was a deciding factor.

Face-off and penalty kill specialist Stephane Yelle was replaced with Steve Begin, and I think we can all agree that was good move, as Begin, along with Shawn Thornton and Byron Bitz have proven to be our most consistent line and one of the best 4th lines in all the NHL.

The team’s leading sniper, Phil Kessel, was traded to Toronto and was not replaced.

Long time Swede PJ Axlesson signed on in Sweden, and the penalty kill really suffered in his absence.  The Bruins record with and without Axelsson showed how important he was defensively, even if he couldn’t score on a soccer net.

Because of losing Axelsson, gritty winger Chuck Kobasew was traded to Minnesota, and Daniel Paille was then acquired from Buffalo.  Paille has been great on the PK and is a very speedy winger.

Tuukka Rask replaced Manny Fernandez as the backup goalie.

Marco Sturm was returning after missing almost all of last season with a torn ACL.  Patrice Bergeron was also healthy for the first time in two years.

Now, no one could have predicted the injuries to Savard and Lucic, but that is not an excuse for the lack of goal scoring on this team.  Now this isn’t going to be a Kessel article, but the absence of his speed and shot has really hurt the offense.  Even with all the changes on the back end, the defense has not been an issue for this season, they have been letting up around 2 goals a game, the offense is killing us.  There is no one of this team that poses any sort of threat to score.  David Krejci is slumping, but he is a playmaker anyways.  Michael Ryder and Marco Sturm are streaky scorers, and will go on tears and then go ice cold.  Blake Wheeler is still extremely young, and may emerge as a perennial scorer, but that won’t be for some time.  Lucic is a banger, not a scorer.  Bergeron, see Krejci.  Savard is a playmaker.  Recchi is a screener, deflector, really isn’t suited as a top 6 forward.  Paille is a grinder.  There is no one on this team the defense has to worry about, and with the injuries, the depth isn’t there.  Last year, these guys were suited to their roles, now without a sniper, they are forced to do more than they should, which is why we are struggling.

You can see this in the gameplay.  The team can’t keep possession, and dumps the puck all the time.  Remember last year all those transition goals?  This NHL isn’t suited for dump and run, big bodied guys.  You need speed and transition.

Now we can sit here and try and take positives from each game, like Pittsburgh we scored 5 goals.  To Florida we didn’t allow a goal.  It doesn’t matter when you lose.  This team is inconsistent, and to sit here and pick a positive out of each game is useless when you can’t score or win.  You can take a positive out of any game.  We are a quarter way through the season, looking out from a playoff spot, and this team has yet to find their identity.  Something needs to happen quickly.  I don’t know if a trade is the answer, but I think it may be the only thing to turn this ship around.  If this season is a failure, this offseason a move needs to be made to get a franchise offensive guy.  What was the last cup team since the lockout to win without a top franchise forward?  Carolina had Staal, Anaheim had Getzlaf, Perry, Kunitz, Selanne, Niedermayer and Pronger.  Detroit had Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and others.  Pittsburgh had Malkin and Crosby.

So as much as we credit depth, it isn’t necessarily the case.  Unless you’re the Penguins, with two of the three top players in the world, then you need a combination of elite players and role players.  The Bruins are right now neither.

Forsberg to play in Sweden

According to TSN, there will be no sweepstakes for Peter Forsberg. Instead he will play this season in Sweden for Modo of the Swedish Elite League. Unfortunately news for Forsberg as it is apparent he is not confident in his often injured foot. He will attempt another comeback in the 2010-2011 season but at this point we may have seen the last of Forsberg in the NHL. Imagine the numbers he could have put up if he had a healthy career in the NHL? I’m a little disappointed because I wanted to see him in a Bruins uniform especially because he would have done wonders for a struggling powerplay.

Why We Don’t Have a Franchise Forward

This Bruins team has lacked a franchise forward, well since, the days of Cam Neely and Adam Oates.

This organization, for one reason or another, has lacked a franchise forward, or failed to keep one since the early-mid 90s.

Adam Oates was on pace for another spectacular season during the 1996-97 season, but was traded to Washington along with Bill Ranford and Rick Tocchet for Anson Carter, Jim Carey, Jason Allison and a 3rd round pick (Lee Goren).  This deal was understandable, as Carey was supposed to be the next Hasek and be a staple behind this franchise for the next decade.  He didn’t pan out.  Carter became a solid top six forward, until he was dealt because of contract issues and his return netted Bill Guerin.  Allison became a force during his time here, eventually becoming captain.

Jason Allison was becoming a dominant force in the NHL, coming off of 83, 76, and 95 point seasons.  The Bruins refused to meet his contract demands, and traded the captain to Los Angeles along with Mikko Eloranta for Glen Murray and Jozef Stumpel.  Muzz went on to be a great sniper for a few seasons before injuries cost him his career.  Stumpel had a solid season in Boston before being dealt back to LA for a 4th and 2nd round pick (Martins Karsums).

Bill Guerin came in from the Anson Carter trade.  Him along with Joe Thornton had great chemistry, and Guerin potted 69 goals in 142 games with the Bruins.  Like Allison, the Bruins refused to meet him contract demands, and let him walk to Dallas for a lucrative deal.  Luckily Glen Murray replaced Guerin as the new sniper.

In 1997, the Bruins had the 1st overall pick and selected Joe Thornton.  Thornton had shown the talent he had, and had come off of a 1oo point season, and a 73 point season before the lockout.  He was heading into his prime at the age of 26 and was clearly on pace for a 100 plus points.  He was the franchise.  For some reason, the Bruins traded him just 23 games into the season in one of the worst trades in NHL history, to San Jose for Brad Stuart, Marco Sturm and Wayne Primeau.  Thornton went on to win MVP that season finishing with 96 assists and 125 points.  This trade somehow “led” to the signings of Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara.  Although Thornton struggled in the playoffs, he is still a guy who is a top 5 or 10 player in this league.  The return for the deal was awful and set this franchise back three years.

Phil Kessel was the 5th overall pick in in the 2005 NHL draft, and was once considered to be better than Sidney Crosby.  His first few years were nothing great, but he showed glimpses of talent.  In his third year, at only 21, he scored 36 goals.  As an RFA, Kessel was upset with the organization and refused to sign.  He was traded to Toronto for 2 1st round picks and a 2nd.  These picks were projected to be middle 1st rounders.  Kessel then signed a 4 year deal worth 5.4 million per season.  Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli went on to say he wasn’t a Bruins type of player.

Everyone but Kessel was not under the current regime, but as you can see, the Bruins have traded away all of their potential franchise forwards, and have failed to get a fair return.  So when you look at this team struggling and wonder where is are sniper, well he was traded, just like our former all-star forwards.

 

Malkin back tonight

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Evgeni Malkin will return to the Penguins lineup tonight. Not good news for the Bruins who have struggled to score goals all season long. Malkin is expected to start the game playing left wing on a line with Sidney Crosby and Ruslan Fedotenko.  Having both play on the same line may actually work in favor of Claude Julien, who can match Zdeno Chara up against them on most shifts.  While I do agree defensive pairings matched up against other team’s top lines is an important part of the game, I hate seeing forward line matching especially when playing a tough opponent on the road.

Marchand back in; Whitfield scratched

According to Matt Kalman of ESPNBoston.com, Brad Marchand will play tonight over veteran center Trent Whitfield. Marchand was benched last game after taking two penalties late in the third period against Buffalo on Saturday night. Marchand is expected to play the right side on a line with Vladimir Sobotka and Daniel Paille.

Bruins interested in Forsberg

According to both ESPN.com and The Boston Herald the Bruins have been in talks with the agent of injury prone forward Petr Forsberg.  According to Stephen Harris of the Herald

Oft-injured former MVP Peter Forsberg is attempting yet another comeback, and his agent says the Bruins are interested.

Yesterday, at the first day of general managers’ meetings in Toronto, agent Don Baizley said the Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers have all publicly confirmed their interest.

Here is the entry from ESPN.com:

I’ve had some discussions with Don Baizley on him and we had people scouting him last week,” Chiarelli told ESPN.com, confirming his interest in Forsberg. “It’s something that we certainly would look at exploring.

While Forsberg’s health will always be a question mark, would bringing him in be worth a shot? It would cost the Bruins nothing to acquire him, meaning they do not have to give up a player or a pick. If he comes here plays a few games and reinjures himself, the Bruins can simply put him on LTI, save his money and then invest it in another player come trade deadline. To further break it down, if the Bruins do sign Forsberg he either a.) plays for the Bruins at XX cap hit, or, b.) plays and re-injures himself, gets paid while on LTI but the money has no affect on the current cap. If all it is going to cost is Jeremy Jacob’s money then the Bruins should definitely take a long look at Forsberg.

Krejci returns, Ryder missing

David Krejci returned to practice today but Michael Ryder was not present. Excellent news that Krejci is practicing already and could be able to return possibly tomorrow night against Pittsburgh. No reason has been given on Ryder’s absence. Here are the rest of the lines from practice:

Sturm-Bergeron-Recchi

Sobotka-Krejci-Wheeler

Paille-Whitfield-Marchand

Thornton-Begin-Bitz

Positives from Injury Bug

Obviously without Milan Lucic, Marc Savard, and David Krejci, the scoring has gone down, with only 3 goals in a 4 game span including 2 shutouts.  The Bruins got back on track last night, win a 4-2 win over the Northeast leading Buffalo Sabres.  But even during this time when the Bruins are lacking their firepower, there have been many positives to look at.

Patrice Bergeron- This guy is ever so close to being the pre-concussion Patrice Bergeron.  When he is on the ice, he is clearly their best player, and has 10 points in 16 games this season, projected for 26 goals and 52 points.  Maybe it’s a combination of player with players other than Mark Recchi and Chuck Kobasew, who are not pure goal scorers.  He is now playing with Marco Sturm, who he has had great chemistry with, and Mark Recchi.  He has really stepped up his game and it is clear that Bergy is coming around.  It’s good to see the old Bergy.

Vladimir Sobotka- I haven’t really been a Sobotka fan, but after watching him the past few games, I really like what I see.  He has shown to be a gritty center who can create a good amount of chances.  If not for the depth of the Bruins forward core, Sobotka would have been here out of training camp.  He is the future 3rd/4th line center and has shown he does belong in the NHL.

Brad Marchand- I thought Marchand was more a pure goal scorer based on what I saw in the pre-season, but he has been a great gritty in your face forward.  He has a good shot and has had plenty of chances, like Sobotka, is a bottom 6 forward and should be on this team for the long haul.  He has really impressed and has great chemistry with Sobotoka.

Daniel Paille- The new Axe?  This guy has been a PK machine and has turned around the PK.  He has had a lot of scoring chances and has great speed.  I think he is a better replacement over Kobasew because of his PK ability and breakaway speed.

When everyone is back, there will be a logjam of forwards, which could spell trade or just make everyone play better because there is someone behind them to play if they don’t play well.

Lucic-Savard-Wheeler
Paille-Krejci-Ryder
Sturm-Bergeron-Recchi
Thornton-Begin-Bitz
Sobotka
Marchand

Bruins – Canadiens 3 up 3 down

UP

1. Blake Wheeler- The past few games Wheeler has been using his size and speed to generate scoring opportunities.  Wheeler is clearly more comfortable playing the left side and played with confidence all night long. His line was probably the most effective offensive line on the ice tonight.

2. Derek Morris. Morris’ ability to get pucks at the net is one of his most valuable assets. When a team is struggling to score goals, they’re going to need all the help they can get. Having Morris throwing pucks at the goal all night long will hopefully lead to some garbage goals.

3. Matt Hunwick. Played well at times tonight especially when it came to pinching in. He almost scored a goal in the first when he jumped in to cause a 2 on 1 with Brad Marchand. He also made some very nice plays keeping pucks in at the blueline.  Hunwick has had his ups and downs this season but his timing and awareness of when to jump up is coming back slowly. 

Downs

1. Mark Recchi. Although the “official” stats have Recchi with only one give away, I can remember at least 3 or 4 occasions when he made lazy passes which were intercepted and cleared out of the offensive zone. To make things worse 3 of those were when the Bruins had the powerplay. If Recchi is handling the puck, then the Bruins are in trouble. He should be sitting in front of the net and nothing else.

2. Dennis Wideman. If he stepped up like he originally planned to he still would have gotten beat wide.  I have no idea what he was trying to do on that play. Overall, just a bad decision which cost the Bruins the first goal.

3. Claude Julien. Putting the fourth line on the ice with under 3:00 remaining especially while losing 1-0 does nothing to help them generate any potential type of scoring threat. It eats 45 seconds off the clock. If the fourth line was the line we saw at the beginning of the season then it is a different story. But this is a line made up of Trent Whitfield and Mikko Lehtonen both of whom should be in the AHL.

Rask signs 2 year extension

Tuukka Rask has signed a two year extension through the 2012 season. He will receive an average anual cap hit of around $1.3 million dollars, according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe.  Rask will still be a restricted free agent following the completion of this deal.

Excellent signing by Peter Chiarelli. By getting this deal done early it eliminates any uncertainty for both the club and the player going forward. If Rask had a solid season and was allowed to reach the RFA market, another team could have come in with a potential offer sheet, driving up his current value.  Additionally, a $1.3 million dollar cap hit is excellent value for a potential number one goaltender.

Krejci diagnosed with H1N1

David Krejci has been disagnosed with H1N1 virus and will miss tonight’s game against Montreal. Krejci started feeling the symptoms after losing to Detroit Tuesday night.  Detroit had two players miss the game due to flu-like symptoms.  With Krejci out of the lineup, Mikko Lehtonen is expected to dress. Another possibility would be to play either Matt Hunwick or Johnny Boychuk at forward. Additionally, expect Vladimir Sobotka to see increased ice time, most likely on the second line in Krejci’s spot.

Lehtonen Recalled

The Bruins have announced that Mikko Lehtonen has been recalled on an emergency basis. Since his recall is termed emergency basis, an injury must have occurred to another Bruins forward in the previous game.

Where Chiarelli Went Wrong This Offseason

Obviously, this coincides with the recent struggles, but Chiarelli has really screwed up this offseason.

Going back to the deadline, he knew this team was going to have cap issues, so last year was a good year to load up and go for it, but instead, he balked at the deadline on names like Chris Pronger, Erik Cole, Keith Tkachuk and settled on Mark Recchi, who was a good pickup.

Now, with the Kessel situation, this was partly his fault.  Once it got to the point where Kessel said, “I don’t wanna be here.” it was over.  But, when Kessel went on a tear early in the season, it may have been a good idea to try and re-sign him to a decent contract, as he was a 5th overall pick and supposed to be a core member of the franchise.

He bought out Peter Schaefer for no season.  He then let sheriff Shane Hnidy walk to Minnesota, while not a big loss, he was a good depth guy.  Steve Montador walked for big money in Buffalo, fine.  He replaced Stephane Yelle with Steve Begin, which has shown to be a good move.  He let Axe go, which was a mistake.  As much as we shat on Axe, he was invaluable on the PK and the Bruins record showed when he played vs when he didn’t.  He then traded Ward, a team leader and shot blocking machine, to Carolina for nothing, subsequently boughtout Patrick Eaves, and then signed Derek Morris to a more expensive deal than Ward’s contract, hindering the team’s cap space.

Chiarelli did not upgrade his team at all, while Philadelphia, who is always in cap hell, managed to acquire Chris Pronger.  Washington added Knuble, the Rags added Gaborik, Montreal reloaded.  The Bruins are a worse team than last year, and it doesn’t help that half the team is going through a sophmore slump.

He then dealt Chuck Kobasew, a 20 goal scorer, for some picks to Minny, and then acquired Daniel Paille, who has never scored more than 19.

Now this team has injuries to Lucic and Savard, so they are without their top line and have a bunch of bottom 6 forwards player top minutes.  You can’t expect Sturm to replace the goals of Lucic and Kessel.  This team was supposed to be deep, but now Trent bleepin’ Whitfield is the 3rd line center…