No budge in Bruins, Boynton

It has been 15 days since the Bruins signed No. 1 goalie Andrew Raycroft to a contract. That day, defenseman Nick Boynton said he was optimistic a deal for him was right around the corner. Instead, opening night is right around the corner -- Wednesday against the Montreal Canadiens at the TD Banknorth Garden -- and Boynton remains home in Ontario without a contract.

''I guess I'm still optimistic," said Boynton yesterday with a rueful laugh. ''I don't really want this to carry on any longer. I sound like a broken record, but in the next couple of days or so I'll know something and I'll just get going again."

The Bruins have offered $1.75 million for this season and Boynton's agent, Anton Thun, said if the team would pay Boynton the equivalent of the $1.9 million option it elected not to pick up, they would have an agreement. The Bruins haven't said, 'Take it or leave it,' but in the big picture, $150,000 is short money not to have their No. 2 defenseman in the fold.

''For me, it's pretty close to being done," said Boynton. ''I've got no hard feelings or anything like that. I just felt my option should have been picked up and we wouldn't be in this position. I felt it could have been done a lot easier than this. Having said that, it's their team, it's their business, and they're allowed to do things the way they want to do them, and I respect that. At the same time, I think they have to see where I'm coming from as well."

Boynton still feels a deal is close, whether that means the team ups its offer, he accepts the $1.75 million, or something in between.

''I think a lot of stuff is going to happen in the next couple of days," he said. ''I just felt that was the way it should have been right from the get-go."

Boynton said he wasn't insulted that the Bruins didn't pick up the option, just surprised and disappointed. He was eligible to file for arbitration but decided against it. In hindsight, he said that might have been a mistake. However, with a new collective bargaining agreement, he wasn't familiar with the landscape and didn't want to be a guinea pig.

''Why didn't I file? That's a good question," he said. ''I guess you could turn around and ask them why they didn't take me to arbitration as well if they were so sure I wasn't worth [what he was asking].

''With the new rules, I think I probably would have been the first arbitration case and I really didn't want to [risk] having a point made. My comparables [the team would have used] are guys who I really don't think are my comparables. They're guys who have probably played the same number of games as me but aren't quite the same player as me. I just think the way the new system has gone, it would have been an interesting case. Having said that, maybe I should have gone to arbitration. Who knows? To be honest, I really didn't think it would get to this point. I didn't think they'd take such a hard line."

He said this is a far cry from 1997, when he was drafted by the Washington Capitals but never signed. He went back into the draft two years later and was selected by Boston at No. 21 overall.

''It wasn't like I chose to go back in the draft," he said. ''Washington kind of told me they didn't think I'd ever play, and there wasn't a contract on the table. It's not like that's something I wanted to do. Just like sitting out. It's not something I wanted to do, but I was disappointed because I thought I wouldn't have to worry about a contract negotiation and I'd just kind of be there and get a full training camp in for the first time in a couple of years and be good to go. So I guess I was disappointed when it didn't happen."

During the lockout, Boynton played nine games in England, but the loss of a year from his NHL career has made this situation more difficult.

''I'm pretty confident in my abilities and the type of player I am," he said. ''I really want to be in Boston. At the same time, with the new system and the way things are going, if I do something that's not right for me, it sets the bar for people along the line as well. Even though we haven't talked, I respect the Bruins and I respect what they have to do and I hope they feel the same way about me even though we're at this impasse right now."

Boynton vehemently said that he doesn't want to leave the Bruins but just as adamantly believes he should be paid according to his worth to the team. However, he also said there will be a time when he won't allow himself to be in limbo anymore.

''There's going to be a point," he said. ''Definitely."

But, like Boynton himself, it hasn't yet arrived.