New Leaf looks forward to fresh start
As the Bruins sank deeper and deeper in the Eastern Conference basement last spring, the writing was on the wall that there would be sweeping changes in the organization.
Veteran defenseman Hal Gill, who had spent all eight of his NHL seasons with his hometown team in Boston, knew he'd be suiting up elsewhere, as was the case with many of his now-ex-teammates. On the first day of free agency, July 1, Gill landed a three-year, $6.3 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. One week earlier, at the NHL draft in Vancouver, the Bruins sent goaltender Andrew Raycroft to the Leafs for netminding prospect Tuukka Rask.
At least Gill will have one familiar face in the dressing room.
``Both of us will be trying to figure it out, after being in the same organization for a long time," said Gill. ``We're going to learn together how to adapt to another organization. I think it will be helpful."
Gill, his wife Anne, and daughter Isabelle have spent plenty of time in Boston this offseason, and Gill has been skating in a pickup league with friends. He plans to head to Toronto this week to find a place to live and then will return to start working out with other NHL players at Boston University as training camp nears.
He believes Toronto will provide a fresh start.
``I knew [general manager John Ferguson Jr.] because he was a Providence College guy, so I knew him from before," said Gill. ``I've always been pretty impressed with him. He's very professional. But he's also a nice guy. He's approachable and I like him.
``I don't know much about [coach] Paul Maurice other than talking to him briefly on the phone. He seems goal-driven and excited about everything and wants to make everything go the right way. It will be a little different, but I think it's going to be a fun experience."
The Maple Leafs weren't the only suitors who came calling.
``There were a few other teams in the mix," said Gill. ``It just happened so fast. I just sat there waiting to hear from other teams and Toronto seemed to be the most interested, and we had a deal we were happy with.
``There's debate whether I could've waited to get more money or wait to see what else was going on, but we were happy with Toronto and thought it was a good fit and that's the way we went. It was kind of an easy decision in the end."
In some ways, Gill said, he feels like a rookie again because everything will be so new.
``Now that I'm moving and everything, it's hard leaving," said Gill. ``It's always been my home. As far as my career goes, it's a great thing. I'm excited to have a change of scenery. It's kind of a nervousness that I haven't had for a while, that excitement for a change to something totally different. I'm out of my comfort zone a little bit."
Gill was asked about leaving the pressure cooker of playing in your hometown to the pressure cooker of playing in a town that treats its hockey players the way Boston fans treat the Red Sox.
``It's great if you're winning, which I hope we do," he said. ``Then, of course, it's going to be tough if we lose. Just the atmosphere overall is that people care a lot about hockey and I think that will be fun to play in. They're excited about it.
``We'll see how it goes. I'm just excited to go to the rink and everyone is into it all the time. Sometimes in Boston, we'd have a great first West Coast swing and we'd win a bunch of games and no one would care. Then we'd come back and it would come and go. The fans are great, but they'd kind of let you slide once in a while, and from what I can see, they don't do that in Toronto."
The fans rarely let Gill slide last year. He was a lightning rod for their ire and was heckled frequently. He acknowledged that was another incentive to get out of Dodge.
``I don't know what the reasons were," said Gill. ``There were times when I thought I was playing well and they came down on me hard, and sometimes you can't understand it. But when a team is not winning, they're going to find something to point a finger at, so I thought I handled it well and it didn't get to me that much.
``But I guess it was just kind of another reason that it was good for a change. I don't think it affected me all that much but it definitely wasn't a fun thing to have people on you."
He doesn't believe going to a division rival will make much difference, given how much turnover there has been on the Bruins' roster.
``I was just laughing about it," he said. ``I think Glen Murray and P.J. Axelsson are the only ones who have been there over a year who are still left. There's Patrice [Bergeron] and a handful of guys who I know, and then the rest of the guys I don't really know at all.
``So of course it's going to be a different thing, but it's not like I'm coming back to [face] all my old teammates. It's kind of a weird situation and it definitely will be a different experience playing against the Bruins rather than playing for them, for sure."
Gill's first trip back to Boston in an enemy uniform will be Nov. 9. Asked if it were possible that he could be booed in Boston any more than he already has, he laughed.
``No, I don't think so," he said. ``I'll feel right at home when I get there."
``I was surprised when I heard that," said Boyes, when asked about the Chara signing. ``I think it was awesome. The guy is a monster and one of the top defensemen in the league, one of the most coveted. I was definitely excited. I've looking forward to going to camp and seeing the new faces of the team."
He got used to facing the former Ottawa blue liner, but he knows less about Savard, who racked up 97 points with the Thrashers last season.
``I don't know him at all, just from playing against him," he said. ``That was another big signing. He had great points and great assists [69] in the last year. It'll be good. It'll be interesting to see how he does and how he fits in. Those two guys were huge signings for us and I'm excited to see how we look."
Boyes has not met new coach Dave Lewis but he's asked around.
``I've talked to a couple of people about it and apparently he's a really good guy and a good coach," said Boyes. ``So far, it's all positive. The [associate] coach, Marc Habscheid, I know him from the World Championships and the World Junior [tournament], which is good. He's an awesome guy and a good hockey guy, too.
``From what I hear, both of them should do well and both have had a lot of success, so they bring that to the table, too."
As enthusiastic as he is about the new faces, he said he'll miss coach Mike Sullivan, who was a casualty of Boston's terrible season.
``For me, he definitely gave me a chance and I really enjoyed playing for him," said Boyes. ``He was really good to me and taught me a lot about earning ice time and a lot of stuff like that, working hard, and a lot of little things.
``It was tough and too bad to see him go, but it's part of the business and part of hockey and you've got to kind of move on. He was put in a tough spot and he was one of those guys who took a lot of the fall for things. He'll do well wherever he goes and hopefully he'll get something. I have nothing but good things to say about him."
