Bruins Blogs

TSN: Bruins buying out Peter Schaefer

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:21 GMT

TSN, The Sports Network of Canada, website has reported that the Boston Bruins have put LW Peter Schaefer on waivers for the purpose of buying out the final year of his contract, worth $2.1 million/year.

Kessel: What now?

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:47 GMT

It would seem, in this era of broken molds, that Phil Kessel could re-sign, put up 44-37-81 totals, and this trade for Tomas Kaberle that fell apart on the draft floor Friday night over a misunderstanding of which team was tossing in a first-round pick would fade in memory. Kessel would go on with the business of scoring goals for the Boston Bruins and tell us reporters that he's just trying to help his teammates. Forty-one games in, if everything's going like it did in 2008-09, people would just stop talking about it, and Kessel's fan club would breathe a sigh of relief.

But getting into that gear is tricky now the cat is out of the bag that GM Peter Chiarelli did, according to TSN and all but confirmed by a synthesis of comments in the aftermath, try to trade his leading goal scorer to get that missing link: a veteran defenseman who skates and handles the puck as fluidly as the quarterbacks anchoring the rosters of the last several Stanley Cup champions. Kaberle may not be among the top-10 all-around defensemen in hockey, but at age 31 his overall game is more than good enough to justify adding his elite-level skills to Boston's heretofore system-dependent transition game. There are players whose names have been thrown around who do not match Kaberle's all-around ability to be a reliable 5-on-5 competitor. He's not a superstar like Scott Niedermayer was (the was was intentional -- Niedermayer's skating noticeably faded this past season, and Anaheim plus Whitney minus Pronger has no shot), but Kaberle hasn't played in the favorable circumstances that Brian Rafalski has, so how much better he gets in a second-pairing situation with Boston's forward depth and power-play hands-eyes is a question Rink Rap would love to get an answer to. The younger brother of Frantisek (Frank) Kaberle, whose hand-eye was a major factor in Carolina's Cup win of 2006 (and may have saved the Canes in Game 7 against the resurgent Bruins) is a better player than his older brother.

Getting Kaberle (or a player like him) would have been the right thing to do even the way Toronto GM Brian Burke had it structured (with Boston's 2010 first-round pick going to the Leafs). Chiarelli agrees with the popular belief that the window to win in the salary-cap era is much shorter and necessarily, to paraphrase, puts a little Neil Smith into the most-patient of GMs. The days of no pressure on a good young team showing much promise are over, primarily because of early free agency and, resulting effect, the manner in which young building-block players earn market-worth money several years before it used to happen. Only exhorbitant arbitration awards used to bring market-level money to restricted free agents, who had to wait for age 31 to bolt (except in rare cases like Marty Lapointe's, where he was 28 and earning less than the NHL average when Mike O'Connell signed him away from Detroit).

In the words of Darryl Sutter, I'm "getting way off topic."

When evaluating Kessel, how important he is to the Bruins' win/loss ratio -- is he more than the aggregate total of his goal production? Does he change how teams defend? Is there a hole in the Boston attack without this game-breaking presence? There are implied yes's in there with two asterisks: 1. Kessel has one way of making it happen; 2. Kessel has bad habits in his game.

For instance, Kessel and former Bruin Andy Hilbert (now an Islander) have an ironic thing in common when it comes to making selfish plays.

Kessel has a high shooting percentage because he goes for location so much he often misses the net, the result of which is a dangerous carom for the breakout the other way. The system would say put the puck on net, make the goalie give up the juicy rebound and give a forward a chance to be a net presence. He rarely does that, always looking to beat the goalie clean and always at the risk of giving up an odd-man rush. Bruins' neutral-zone system play saved him many times so, the notion implied in a recent thread that Claude Julien somehow holds him back is erroneous, not only in terms of this forgiveness he gets for this mistake in tactic but also the enabling to continue with it.
Onto Hilbert: While playing for the Providence Bruins during the 2004-05 lockout season, Hilbert would often be at the end of a shift, his linemates going to the bench and expecting their teammate to launch a soft dump into the far corner, which would give the fresh legs the window to jump into the forecheck by the time retrieval is made. But Hilbert, somewhere between the top of the circle and the blue line, fired high right at the goalie, who routinely gloved down the puck for immediate transition forward. It was no mystery here when the O'Connell/Sullivan team decided not to bring him back when he was RFA(!).

There's a lot more to be said on this topic, and it will be said when there's resolution. As much as the Bruins could use a physical forward -- ideally a younger version of Bill Guerin (anyone else notice he's taking this team in an OConnell-like direction? ... I'm still convinced Chiarelli will sign Chris Neil in UFA and, once that's done, tell his other UFAs like Mark Recchi his intentions; P.J. Axelsson is unfortunately a goner).

Over and out for now.

Bruins fill needs with draft picks

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:00 GMT

MONTREAL — There wasn't a whole lot sexy about the 2009 draft for the Bruins. The much ballyhooed Phil Kessel trade never materialized. There wasn't even any off-loading of salaries in an attempt to sign the young sniper.

Fading opportunity

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:20 GMT

However the Bruins could have structured a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs at the cost of Phil Kessel -- the reward bring defenseman Tomas Kaberle -- they should have made it happen.

KESSEL: Yes, he led the Bruins with 36 goals in 70 games, then tied Marc Savard for team lead in the playoffs with 6 goals in 11 GP. These are outstanding numbers. The Bruins haven't had a 40-goal scorer since Glen Murray was still tooling around in his old CCM Tacks with the white plastic ankle guard (same as Mike Modano). But Kessel's a pure scorer, great release, easy skating power, a real belief in his own skills, which is necessary to get players through the rougher patches of the season. At 21, Kessel has his whole career ahead of him, so many fans are relunctant to see the Bruins trade him when he's on his way to becoming one of the rare pure scorers in hockey.

KABERLE: He's what the Bruins missed against Carolina and what they need to contend for the Stanley Cup. At age 31, Kaberle can skate the puck and pass it out of his zone with efficiency in the 10 years since the Bruins had Ray Bourque playing the QB's role. Kaberle, whose older brother Frank was the brains of the speedy Carolina defense that won the Cup in 2006, has never gone deep into the playoffs. With Boston, the younger Kaberle would have a chance to do so, and he'd probably play 3-4 years younger just because he'd be rejuvinated toward the ultimate prize.

We've beaten this drum all along: No team contends for the Cup without an above-average speed culture on the blue line and at least one elite pair of hands/wheels (i.e. the Bruins need a Niedermayer to go with their Pronger). Well, the Flyers have Pronger now, and Kimmo Timmonen is a very good two-way blueliner. The acquisition shows how much Eastern Conference teams envy the Bruins for Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara. But Philly made that move without giving up its talent (Timmonen) or its speed culture (Braydon Coburn and Keith Jones).

The Bruins have a full complement coming back, assuming Matt Hunwick re-signs and Andrew Ference returns to form after missing much of the playoffs and undergoing surgery at season's end. But those are second-year and supplemental players. Kaberle is a smooth talent at his position. Up front, Marco Sturm is coming back for another year, and his straightaway speed is formidable.

Maybe the Northeast Division (Adams) rivals can still swing a trade, but TSN.ca reported a communications breakdown that resulted in Boston's piqued interest in a deal that would land the Bruins Kaberle and Toronto's first pick Friday night, which came seventh overall. As it turned out, the deal was meant for the Bruins to also send a pick (not their first in this year's draft) to the Leafs to get a Kessel-for-Kaberle deal done.

Balk.

The immediate result is the Bruins retain the rights to their 2008-09 leading goal scorer, who can field offer sheets beginning July 1 (Bruins have the right to match or accept a compensation package of draft picks based directly on the new salary -- chances are, the only way Kessel signs and the Bruins don't match is if the annual salary on the offer sheet exceeds $5 million). The Bruins would obviously be wise -- and have been before in the case of Patrice Bergeron and, more recently, David Krejci -- to make a preemptive strike and tie up Kessel at a number satisfactory to both sides. The fact the Bruins' brass went to Montreal without a deal with Kessel necessarily means there's a significant gap between the sides.

Today's another day, and the draft isn't over yet. Nor is the trade market, especially with July 1 looming.

At the end of the day, though, no trade, just a draft pick. Here's the Bruins' release on RW Jordan Caron, who played in a power-forward-type rol for Rimouski (QMJHL).

SELECT FORWARD JORDAN CARON IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE 2009 NHL ENTRY DRAFT

BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has drafted forward Jordan Caron with the 25th overall pick in the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Caron, a 6-2, 202-pound forward has spent the past three seasons playing with the Rimouski Oceanics in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2008-2009 Caron was his team’s leading scorer, notching 36 goals and 31 assists for 67 points in 56 regular season games. His 36
goals ranked him 11th overall in scoring in the QMJHL. From October 6-October 12, Caron scored five goals, including two game-winners and was named the QMJHL offensive player of the week.

The 18-year old Sayabec, Quebec native played in 16 playoff games for Rimouski in 2009, scoring six goals and tallying five assists for 11 points. Caron’s six goals were good enough for second on his team in postseason scoring.

He played in 183 total games during his three years with Rimouski, recording 83-82-165 totals.

In 2008 Caron represented the QMJHL at the Canada/Russia Challenge and was selected to participate in the 2009 CHL Top Prospects game.

Rounds two through seven of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft commence Saturday, June 27th at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Bruins have three picks on day two, in the fourth round (112th overall), sixth round (176th overall) and seventh round (206th overall).

No more wascally wabbit...

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:03 GMT

Kirk Luedeke posted via his Twitter account earlier today that Wacey
Rabbit was not qualified by the Bruins, making him a free agent.

We all had a secret desire to see his name on the back of a B's
sweater at least once, just for the novelty of it.

Wacey came advertised as a high energy, disruptive player who had
speed to burn and a higher offensive upside. Unfortunately he never
lived up to that billing coming out of juniors, at one point he was
even sent to the ECHL and then back to juniors, before heading back to
Providence on a full-time basis.

The chatter is out there - Kessel on the way out?

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:05 GMT

The rumours have escalated to a level where the REAL media is starting
to talk about them, and we all know that when there's smoke, blah blah
blah

TSN.ca (and subsequently boston.com) has put out the rumour that the
B's are talking with the Leafs about trading Kessel to the Leafs for
Kaberle and the #7 pick. On the one hand, this makes no sense, because
Kessel is NOT a Burke kinda player, and Kaberle's salary of $4.25/per
is something the B's aren't willing to give Kessel. On the other hand,
Kaberle's salary for a player of his experience and play is pretty
darn good in today's NHL, and netting the #7 pick in a draft
top-loaded with talent is pretty tempting. Then of course, there's the
whole inter-division thing.

Spector's also had a blurb about the B's potentially going after
Heatley or Hossa; Heatley would be a trade with Ottawa and Hossa would
be a UFA signing. I don't see either of those as realistic
possibilities with the amount of salary the Bruins have right now.
There'd have to be a number of guys headed out to make either of those
work.

But the Kessel rumour.... if anything were to happen, I think that one
has legs. They might be short and stumpy and not able to keep up with
the pack, but still....

2009 Draft Preview

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:47 GMT

The Boston Bruins scouting department hardly ever gets enough credit during the NHL season, but it's a different story on a certain weekend in June. The scouting department is just as important to a NHL organization as the general manager, coach and its players. Their past track record only holds true to how important they are. Current Bruins Mark Stuart, Patrice Bergeron and Byron Bitz were all picked in the 2003 draft. Center David Krejci and defenseman Matt Hunwick were selected in 2004. The second round seems to be the Bruins' draft strong point. Krejci and Bergeron were both selected in the second round. Milan Lucic joined the second round bunch in 2006. Here's a recap of where the Bruins will be picking in the 2009 draft. The numbered picks are as follows: First Round 25 Second Round (56 traded to NY Islanders) Third Round (81 is conditional to Boston from Philadelphia*) 86 Fourth Round (112 is conditional to Boston from Philadelphia*) (116 traded to Minnesota) Fifth Round (146 traded to Ottawa) Sixth Round 176 Seventh Round 206 * Based on the conditions of the Andrew Alberts trade, the Flyers will send either Pick 81 or Pick 112 to the Bruins. It's ironic the Bruins have no picks in the second round this year. I am positive the Bruins will somehow end up with more picks than listed here. I hope it turns out to be a strong draft for the Bruins. They always seem to turn out that way. The first round airs tomorrow night on Versus. The rest of the draft will be on the NHL Network on Saturday.

Wheelin' and Dealin'?

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:09 GMT

With the draft nearly upon us, all the chitter chatter about potential
deals is heating up. The biggest name on the market right now is Dany
Heatley, who supposedly has Boston on his wish list. He's a great
offensive threat, plays D with less heart than Kessel, and on a
personal level, I think it's pretty shoddy of him to be asking for
another "new start". With his name being tossed around, the talk about
Kessel has died off... somewhat.

Here's what we DO know - Kessel was tendered his RFA offer, which
means the Bruins retain his rights. Phil does not yet have arbitration
rights, so things could go in a lot of directions from here. His agent
has stated there's been no demand for a $5M/per contract like some
people had rumoured about, and Phil's priority is to remain in Boston.

That being said, there's ALWAYS a chance Phil gets sent off, if the
Bruins are absolutely positive they can't/won't meet his contract
demands. MY opinion is, if the B's refused to deal him at the last two
deadlines, and with the way his play has ramped up, you get him
signed. You trade a Sturm or a Ryder before you move Kessel, hands
down, in order to gain cap space.

Moving off of my opinion... it's entirely possible the Bruins are
looking at a lot of options right now, including moving him. Kirk
Leudeke wrote in an article over at the New England Hockey Journal
(http://www.hockeyjournal.com) that there's the *potential* for a
blockbuster deal that sees both Kessel AND Rask dealt in a blockbuster
package, which would do a number of things - give the B's some relief
under the cap, effectively end the Bruins issues with Rask and his
impatience to play full time in the NHL (let's face it, he's not going
to do a full platoon with Thomas), and would also potentially give the
Bruins a top pick in this year's draft.

The logical side of me likes a move like this, because it addresses
and solves a number of issues. The emotional side of me hates this
type of move with a passion, because it sends off the 2 best young
prospects the team has, aside from Krejci.

The bottom line is this - there WILL have to be some player movement
with the way the cap stands to either stay the same or come down. At
this point, it's a matter of who goes, and when. Like I mentioned, I'd
much rather it be someone OTHER than Kessel (and Bergy too, I think
this coming season he'll be 100% back to his old self), but the fact
stands that there's going to have to be some roster shuffling, no
matter what. And with the draft tomorrow night, and Chiarelli on
record that he wants more picks... we shall see.

Bruins: Deals are talk of NHL draft

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:00 GMT

The NHL amateur draft begins Friday night, but Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Tuesday he's smelling a lot of trade smoke in Montreal.

BC hockey to play at Fenway in New Year’s Day Winter Classic

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:53 GMT

Metro’s Jeff Howe reports that Boston College will be the first college hockey team to participate in the NHL’s Winter Classic, set for Fenway Park on New Year’s Day, when the Bruins will also face either the Flyers (most likely) or the Capitals. BC’s opponent has not been determined, but Boston University has been mentioned as [...]

NHL Awards Recap

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:19 GMT

The Boston Bruins seemed to steal the show at the NHL Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday. The only award that wasn’t a surprise was the William Jennings Trophy that was set to go to the Bruins’ goaltenders. Former Bruins goaltenders Reggie Lemelin and Andy Moog presented the award to Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez. Thomas and Fernandez combined for the fewest goals allowed during the regular season. Thomas appeared in 54 games and Fernandez appeared in 28. They edged out the Minnesota Wild by a difference of four goals. Thomas had one of the memorable lines of the night during the acceptance speech when he asked Fernandez if he wanted him to thank his wife too. It was Fernandez’s second Jennings Trophy of his career. His first was in 2007 with the Wild. The Bruins were nominated for three individual awards, Jack Adams Trophy, James Norris Trophy and Vezina Trophy. Head coach Claude Julien was nominated for the Adams Trophy along with Todd McLellan (Sharks) and Andy Murray (Blues). Former Bruins coach Pat Burns, a three-time Adams Trophy winner, was there to present the award to his good friend Julien. Julien led the Bruins to the Eastern Conference top record, 53-19-10 for 116 points, the third-highest total in franchise history. It was a 22-point increase over their 2007-2008 finish. The Bruins hit the 30-win mark in their 41st game of the season (30-7-4) on January 8th, the fastest they have reached 30 wins since 1929-30 (30-4-1). It was Julien’s first Adams Trophy win. Julien edged out McLellan by 89 points and received 35 first-place votes. Burns was the last Bruins coach to win the Adams Trophy in 1998. Nominated for the Vezina Trophy were Thomas, Steve Mason and Nicklas Backstrom. Mason kicked off the Awards Ceremony when he won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. Thomas won his first Vezina Trophy. He was named on 29 of 30 ballots and collected 127 points. Mason, who finished second in the Vezina Trophy, had 33 points. Thomas led the NHL in goals against average (2.10) and save percentage (.933) while posting a career-high 36 wins. He won a career-best seven straight decisions from Dec. 4-30 and closed the regular season by winning his last six starts. Thomas gave a memorable and humble speech saying, “I've been more worried about getting my name on a roster than getting my name on the Vezina Trophy.” Last but certainly not least was the Norris Trophy awarded to the defenseman demonstrating “the greatest all-around ability in the position.” Chara, Mike Green and Nicklas Lidstrom were nominated and Chara won the first Norris Trophy of his career. He finished runner-up in 2004 when Scott Niedermayer won, and third place in 2008 behind award winner Lidstrom and Dion Phaneuf. Chara received 68 of 133 first-place votes and 1,034 points to edge out Green, also nominated for the Calder Trophy, who received 58 first-place votes and 982 points. Chara ranked sixth in the NHL in average ice time (26:04), was 12th among all defensemen in scoring with 50 points (19 goals, 31 assists) and posted a +23 rating. Chara thanked his wife, Tatiana, in his acceptance speech saying, “After those bad games, when I come home, you are the one who has listen to me talk about how I could play the puck differently.” Thomas and Chara finished 7th and 8th, respectively, in Hart Trophy voting. Thomas had 13 fifth-place votes and 100 points, and Chara had two first-place votes and 79 points. Marc Savard also made the list with one fifth-place vote. Despite not being nominated, there were other Bruins players who earned points on individual awards. Dennis Wideman placed 11th in the Norris Trophy voting earning 24 points. He had two third-place votes. David Krejci was named in Frank Selke Trophy voting, holding 6th place with 109 points. Also in the Selke Trophy voting were P.J. Axelsson, Marc Savard, Blake Wheeler and Stephane Yelle. Axelsson had 17 points, Savard had one first-place vote and 12 points, Wheeler had one second-place vote and 11 points, and Yelle had one-fifth place vote for 1 point. Wheeler was voted 6th place in Calder Trophy voting with 157 points. Matt Hunwick, also in the Calder Trophy voting, had one fourth-place and one fifth-place vote for four points. In Lady Byng voting, Phil Kessel, Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Axelsson, Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder are listed. Kessel had the higher ranking of the six with 49 points. Krejci had 21 points, Bergeron had seven points, Axelsson had six points, Recchi had one third-place vote for five points, and Ryder had one point. Other Awards: Alex Ovechkin became the first repeat winner of the Hart Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in over a decade. Pavel Datsyuk was a multiple winner for the second consecutive year, capturing the Lady Byng Trophy and the Frank Selke Trophy. Evgeni Malkin won his first career Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's regular-season scoring leader. First All-Star Team: Thomas, Chara, Green, Ovechkin, Malkin and Jarome Iginla Second All-Star Team: Mason, Lidstrom, Dan Boyle, Datsyuk, Marian Hossa and Zach Parise All-Rookie Team: Mason, Drew Doughty, Luke Schenn, Patrik Berglund, Bobby Ryan and Kris Versteeg

B's pick up some hardware and accolades

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:32 GMT

Congrats to Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas, Manny Fernandez, and Claude
Julien for picking up some year end awards last night in Vegas!

I'm sure each of them would GLADLY trade in their awards to hold the
Stanley Cup instead, however it was definitely nice to see the B's get
recognized by the league.

Chara took home the Norris, the first B to do so since RB. Thomas took
home the Vezina as best goaltender, an award who's significance was
NOT lost on the guy who was barely in the NHL a few short years ago.
Julien won the Jack Adams award as top coach, and Thomas and Fernandez
shared the Jennings Trophy as the goaltending duo with the lowest
goals against in the NHL. Fitting to see it was awarded to them by
Andy MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG and Rejean Lemelin.

Does winning the awards take away the sting of missing out on at
chance at the Cup? Of course not. But any time a player is recognized
by the league, it's an honor and I'm sure the guys are thrilled.
Congrats to them all... now let's get ready for the draft!!!

Bruins: Hat trick at NHL Awards, as Chara, Julien and Thomas come away winners

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Tim Thomas was nervous. As he headed out to the pool area at the Palms Casino and Resort at mid-day yesterday with his wife, Melissa, the Bruins goalie was preoccupied with what lay ahead at the NHL's glitzy awards show.

Bruins earned their Vegas hat trick

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:33 GMT

The Boston Bruins had too good a 2008-09 season not to be able to celebrate it somehow, and that opportunity came Thursday night in Las Vegas, where all three Bruins up for season-ending awards won the hardware. Tim Thomas got the Vezina Trophy (and Manny Fernandez, in his final act as a Bruin, joined him to collect the Jennings for fewest goals against). Zdeno Chara won his first Norris Trophy as best defenseman, and Claude Julien was voted Jack Adams award as coach of the year.

As a PHWA member, I voted for Chara last season and this season; I don't get a vote on the Adams (broadcasters) or the Vezina (GMs). But I agree with the outcome because all three best embodied the heart of each award.

In Thomas' case, he was post-to-post (no pun intended) the best in the NHL, holding and finishing with the league lead in GAA and SP. He even held high levels in the playoffs, though the vote is based on regular-season performance. It is great to see him get his due for the great goalie he's been all these years. By far, the thing holding back from this moment was opportunity. Sure, he's fine-tuned his game over the years including recent ones, but the Bruins got better around him, and that makes a big difference on how easy a goalie makes it look.

In Chara's case, he is a defenseman, no ifs, ands and buts about it. If they're ever going to invent another defenseman's award, it shouldn't go to the best "defensive defenseman" but the highest-scoring defenseman, and it should be called the Bobby Orr Trophy. Not that Orr wasn't all-world in any facet of the game he needed to be on any given night -- he was so talented he rewrote the rules of the position for all generations. That's another subject, but I digress so as not to paint him as a specialist or an O-ffenseman. Chara, BTW, obviously doesn't know his Bruins history too well, given his comment that it's impossible to focus on all the facets of his position and total 70 points. But we'll forgive him his short-sightedness. In an ironic way, that's what makes Chara so valuable. He plays within a belief system that is uncompromising in its approach. It's what made him the right captain for a team caught in a three-year whirlwind, and Chara's been their rock, which is what a Norris Trophy winner should be, regardless of whether he's also a dynamo like Orr or Ray Bourque or even Brad Park, who was overlooked for this award in 1977-78. Chara's size and strength would not be the great qualities they are if he wasn't narrow-minded in the good and productive way that allows him to persevere toward excellence at his craft unhindered by the temptations to play beyond his means.

In Julien's case, he's a coach who not only discussed structure but implemented one that calmed the Bruins into playing the game in a confident manner, one that allowed the players to depend on each other and, at the same time, lessen the pressure on one another. The team game really has been one, and Julien strengthened it in his second year with Boston so that players could use the platform of reliable system play to build out their offensive games and maximize their talents. There are a lot of excellent coaches competing against Julien and under him who helped him win that Adams Trophy. But no one coach has influenced a team over the long haul of the past two seasons as Julien has the Bruins.

When you add up what's been right about the Bruins in their two most-recent seasons that produced an eighth-place conference finish and a first, these past two seasons, it starts with the stopper Thomas, connects to the linchpin Chara, and feeds into their minds and those around them with the consistent influence of Julien and his staff. It's been a trifecta of top-shelf personnel that GM Peter Chiarelli has been able to build upon into a team capable of 53 wins and 116 points.

Without this hat trick of personnel bonanzas, it would have been impossible for the Bruins to shake off the ordeal that Patrice Bergeron encountered, develop Phil Kessel so faithfully and bring back Manny Fernandez to the high level of game he played in 2008-09. Without them, it would have been much more difficult to make some talented offensive players Kessel, Marc Savard and Marco Sturm believers in burning up their grit in the defensive end of the rink.

Skillsets and widgetry are fun to comtemplate when thinking about offseason personnel moves and fix-it plans for hockey teams, but Andrew Ference was right when he said how a player fits into a team personality-wise is of far greater importance than how he fits in hockey-wise. The Bruins have created a new era in which they won't be looking to emulate other teams nearly as much as other teams will be making acquisitions in offseason attempts to emulate the Bruins.

B’S Clean Up in Las Vegas

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 21:10 GMT

The Bruins may have to clear out some space at the Garden, for they have a lot of hardware coming back from Sin City following the 2009 NHL Awards.

Tim Thomas was named the Vezina Trophy Winner, recognizing him as the top netminder in the league. He also captured the William Jennings Trophy earlier in the night (along with outgoing back-up Manny Fernandez) as the goaltenders for the club finishing the regular season having surrendered the fewest goals (196).Thomas is just the second Bruins goalie in 50 years to snare the coveted Vezina, which is awarded “to the goalkeeper adjudged to be the best at his position.”

Also picking up hardware was captain Zdeno Chara, winning his first Norris Trophy, awarded "to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position” Chara beat out six-time Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wingd, and Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green. Chara is the third different Bruin to capture the Norris, joining legends Ray Bourque who won the award five times and Bobby Orr, generally considered the greatest hockey player of all time, who won the award eight times.

Rounding out the hat-trick was Bruins coach Claude Julien, who won a well-deserved Jack Adams Award, which is awarded “to the head coach who has contributed the most to his team’s success.” In a nice touch, Julien was presented the award by former Bruins coach Pat Burns, who himself won the award on three different occasions, once with the Bruins, and prior to that with Toronto and Montreal.

While this probably didn’t cross anyone’s mind in the desert, shouldn’t some credit go to Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli for locking up Tim Thomas to a multi-year deal earlier this year? Surely, the price would have been steeper for a Vezina Trophy winner.

LOOSE PUCKS:
It was great to see Pat Burns amidst the hockey people. The former coach has been battling lung cancer, and this most recent battle came after fighting colon cancer, and then liver cancer…Former Bruin Kris Versteeg, traded for the immortal Brandon Bochenski, was a runner-up for the Rooke of the Year Award…Former Bruins goalies Reggie Lemelin and Andy Moog were also among the presenters, handing Thomas and Fernandez the Jennings awards. Lemelin and Moog won it back in 1990.