Meeting of minds may bring a trade

PHILADELPHIA -- With 30 general managers gathered in one location -- Naples, Fla., site of the three-day GM meetings -- it's a given that they are assembling the frameworks for deals to be made prior to next Tuesday's trade deadline.

"The timing of this thing is great," Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said of the meetings, which conclude tomorrow. "We're all under one roof, so things can happen a lot more quickly because you know where somebody is."

Chiarelli didn't tip his hand on whether he wanted to make more deals before Tuesday. Marco Sturm, the lone ex-Shark remaining on the roster following the departures of Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau, is the likeliest candidate to be shipped out of town because of his impending free agency.

Chiarelli, however, didn't rule out re-signing the left wing, who'll be looking for a raise on his current $2.1 million salary.

"It's very high on the priority list," Chiarelli said of retaining Sturm. "Marco's a good player that we're very familiar with. He's familiar with our organization. I'm not going to comment on any negotiations, but he's a player we'd like to keep."

Lately, Sturm has performed like a player expecting a salary hike. Since missing two games with a concussion, he has 6 points in his last six outings. Sturm scored a power-play goal in last night's 6-3 win over the Flyers.

Aside from trade talk, Chiarelli said there was lots of chatter yesterday about the instigator rule. Chiarelli said he falls into the camp that's still evaluating the penalty, which calls for a player who receives three instigator calls in one season (Paul Mara currently has two) to be suspended for two games. "One of the things that we have to decide as a group is where we want to go with it," said Chiarelli. "I enjoyed hockey without the instigator rule, and I've seen a big change with the instigator rule. It's still evolving." Other topics of conversation included low hits and goaltender interference.

At 11:47 a.m. yesterday, approximately 20 minutes after his teammates kicked off the morning skate, Patrice Bergeron hit the ice at the Wachovia Center.

After several slow circles around the ice and a brief stretch, Bergeron picked up the pace, skating hard on his own with and without the puck. But Bergeron, with the counsel of trainer Don DelNegro, concluded that he didn't feel good enough to play last night.

As he had for the previous two games, Phil Kessel skated in Bergeron's spot as the No. 2 center.

"It's getting better," said Bergeron, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury. "I'm hoping every day that it will be all right, but it's just not there. Talking to Donny and the staff, it might be better to wait another day."

Coach Dave Lewis said the plan was for Bergeron to skate again this morning in Toronto prior to tonight's match against the Maple Leafs. But based on Bergeron's condition yesterday, Lewis wasn't optimistic.

"We're going to try him in the morning," said Lewis. "But I seriously doubt he'd be able to play."

The injury has come at an rotten time for both Bergeron and the Bruins, who also lost Glen Murray to a lower-body injury last night. Bergeron (18-36--54 in 55 games) has at least a point in each of his last four games.

"It is killing me," the center said of being out. "It's pretty frustrating right now, especially when we're trying to climb in the standings. I'd like to be out there helping the guys."

Mark Stuart, a healthy scratch for the first two legs of the six-day trip, saw action last night. Stuart was recalled from Providence last Tuesday. He skated 14 shifts for 9:02 of ice time, starting the play that led to P.J. Axelsson's second-period goal, although he wasn't credited with an assist. Stuart replaced Jason York, who Lewis said would return to the lineup tonight. "I support whatever the coaches do here," said York. "They're trying to do the best job they can. If they think this will help us, then I'm all for it." . . . Tim Thomas started his ninth straight game. Last week, Lewis said he wanted to start Hannu Toivonen either last night or tonight. But Lewis said there was no guarantee that Toivonen would start against the Leafs . . . According to Lewis, Chuck Kobasew has already sold his house in Calgary and is currently skating with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, his former junior team. Chiarelli said Kobasew has been receiving treatment on his fractured elbow from a Calgary-based specialist and has been progressing well. Chiarelli said he expects Kobasew to arrive in Boston by the end of this week.

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com