Case of clock management

The time is now for Bruins GM Chiarelli

July 1, 2007

Desperate to kick-start his moribund Bruins, general manager Peter Chiarelli as of noon today will oversee his first Unrestricted Free Agency Day, what has become an annual event that far surpasses the late-season trading deadline.

In terms of shaping Boston's 2007-08 roster, Chiarelli's boldest play came two weeks ago when he abruptly discharged coaches Dave Lewis and Marc Habscheid. If he's got the right coach now in Claude Julien, then today, while hardly window dressing, can't come close to matching the pop/impact of getting an existing roster (holes and all) to play with purpose and passion -- two virtues that again were totally missing in 2006-07.

Remember the days when the Black and Gold played with power, confidence, urgency, and mission? All those once were givens on Causeway Street. It has been so long now, we've become so accustomed to the decaffeinated blend of Bruins, it's hard to imagine a product that would rattle and hum like a full mug of espresso. The first-year makeover did nothing to reintroduce us to the brand of hockey we once loved. Now it's Julien's turn to make a city believe again, or at least care.

If Chiarelli's got the wrong coach, then today will be his first and last as the Bruins' No. 1 deal maker on UFA Day. Chiarelli has got to get it done with Julien, or the owner will get him gone.

For the record, that is not what Jeremy Jacobs is saying. In fact, in a recent conversation, the owner stated to the contrary, noting that it is important to assess a manager in times both good and bad.

"He's never been off the clock," said Jacobs, when posed with the supposition that his new GM, having canned Lewis and Habscheid, now was truly "on the clock" for righting the franchise.

But the underlying truth is that the job must get done before the fan base, already eroded to an embarrassing low, becomes nonexistent. Jacobs, better than anyone, knows the cost of patience. When it all began to turn bad here in the mid-'90s, rather than force change through loyal lieutenant Harry Sinden, Jacobs patiently allowed the franchise to plod on, slipping into near dormancy.

It took until March 2006 for Jacobs to realize the cost and carnage, leading him to kick Sinden to the curb with his infamous line, "Statistics tell me that men over 70 don't live as long as men over 40. I'm not looking for him to go anywhere, but he's looking at the clock -- same as everyone. He can tell time, like everyone."

The necessary changes, added Jacobs, would come "with" Sinden or "around" him.

At the same time, the owner's son, Charlie, extolled the virtues of assistant GM Jeff Gorton, who moved to the interim GM job when Mike O'Connell was canned.

"Our turning to Jeff," said the junior Jacobs at the time, "is based on his impressive performance."

Tuesday night, according to a number of sources, it was the junior Jacobs who informed Gorton, 38, he was no longer employed as the assistant GM. By noon the next day, Gorton had cleaned out his desk. At approximately 1 p.m. Wednesday, after three times telling a Globe reporter that Gorton had not been dismissed, Chiarelli confirmed the firing, along with that of veteran scout Daniel Dore.

GMs lie to the media every day. Not just in hockey, but all sports. At least most of them do. Some do it so often that it's almost funny. The media don't go away, because it's their job to work around the obfuscation, ferret out the sources who aren't, shall we say, factually challenged. But when fans feel lied to -- be it by broken promises or false expectations -- they stop being customers. No telling how many empty Garden seats, as well as lost TV viewers and radio listeners, represent those particular former customers.

Today's UFA market is chock-full of names able to help the Bruins, as well as the 29 other clubs, a good number of them with far more money to spend than Chiarelli.

The 2007-08 cap figure, released Friday, is $50.3 million. Clubs are allowed to exceed that figure by 10 percent, to $55.33 million, up until opening the season in October. Technically, that leaves Chiarelli & Co. with $13.23 million to spend, but it would put him in the tricky position of having to unload deals over the next three months.

Unless he can unload a big deal (specifically Glen Murray, due $8.3 million over the next two seasons), Chiarelli isn't likely to spend more than $6 million in these next few days. Of the three key forwards available, that might bring Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, or Daniel Briere. Or it could bring one of the prized defensemen, including Brian Rafalski, Mathieu Schneider, or Sheldon Souray. There isn't a UFA goalie of their ilk.

Whatever Boston's money brings, it had better be part of the solution, and not just another ill-fitting tile in a disjointed mosaic. One year after the do-over, the truth is, it's time for results.

Chara begins with a ‘C’

Incoming Bruins coach Claude Julien expects Zdeno Chara to sport the captain's "C" again in 2007-08, although he leaves open a slight chance he'll make a change.

In a lengthy telephone interview, the chatty Julien remained silent for an extra second when a Globe reporter raised the point that Chara didn't have a single fight in a Bruins uniform last season.

"And you are waiting for my comment?" said Julien, following a light chuckle.

"Look, you don't want him to have too much time in the [penalty] box," Julien added. "It was a tough year for everyone, but I am convinced that he is going to bounce back and have a great year. He is one of our key guys, and I am sure with structure in place he will be an even better player."

Based on what he observed and subsequently heard, Julien feels Chara may have been guilty of trying to do (or being asked to do?) too much in his first season with the Bruins.

"I think it's important that we don't make an opinion on this guy in one year," Julien said. "He has great leadership qualities, if they fall into place. And let's face it, all issues get magnified in tough times. For some reason, it's a big question, 'Should he be captain?' Well, if for any reason he was better off without it, and I sensed that, I would do what's right for the team. But seeing him in Ottawa, no one doubts his leadership. If anything, he tries to do too much sometimes, but that's OK. I'd rather have to pull the reins back on a guy than have to kick him."

Neely likely to be drafted for expanded role with Bruins

Bruins icon Cam Neely was front and center when the team chose fellow British Columbian Zach Hamill No. 8 (Neely's retired number, by the way) in the NHL draft at Columbus, Ohio.

By midweek, following the abrupt dismissal of assistant general manager Jeff Gorton (along with veteran scout Daniel Dore), word circulated around the Hub of Hockey that Neely soon will assume a prominent front office role with the Bruins -- one to exceed the "ambassador" position he has held the last couple of years.

According to Neely, he was in Columbus at the invitation of GM Peter Chiarelli, and the two have discussed the possibility of the Hall of Fame right winger getting more involved in day-to-day operations.

"As you know, I've always been very passionate about the Bruins, and being a Bruin," said Neely, reached by telephone at the start of the weekend. "If I can help out in any way, I'd like to help. Nothing has been laid out, or whatever, but if I can do something that makes sense for everyone, then great."

Also in the wake of Gorton's firing, the name Laurence Gilman, the ex-assistant GM in Phoenix, surfaced as a potential newcomer to the Black and Gold offices. Gilman, his age listed at 41 in last season's Phoenix media guide, was fired when club ownership cleaned out the front office at the end of the season.

According to one source, Gilman might be hired here to aid Chiarelli in negotiating contracts and to manage the salary cap -- not nearly as complex in the NHL as it is in the NFL and NBA.

Etc.

The Ducks will head into today's free agent jamboree not knowing if Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer will retire. "I told 'em both," said general manager Brian Burke, " 'Look, I can't replace either one of you, so take as long as you want.' " The better bet is that Selanne, who turns 37 Tuesday, will call it quits. Niedermayer, 34 in August, has an incentive to return -- younger brother Rob, 32, still has two years left on his deal.

Look no farther than the GM's office for the growing sense of optimism in Chicago, according to Blackhawks assistant GM Rick Dudley. "Obviously, I'm more than a little biased here, because the guy's my boss," said Dudley, "but [GM] Dale Tallon did a masterful job overhauling our roster the last couple of months." Tallon, said Dudley, orchestrated the key deals that moved the pricey Adrian Aucoin (to Calgary) and Jassen Cullimore (to Montreal) off the books, and it was the Cullimore move that brought in ex-Bruins star Sergei Samsonov from the Habs. "I think Sergei will have a bounce-back year here," said Dudley. "Just having him over there on the left side adds some comfort and excitement."

On Wednesday, the Coyotes placed former Bruin Nick Boynton and onetime Boston first-round pick Kevyn Adams on waivers, ostensibly to set the stage for their buyouts. Boynton, on the books for two more years at $2.95 million per, would receive $984,000 each of the next four seasons. Adams, obtained from the Hurricanes last season after winning a Cup a year ago, had a deal in place for $650,000 (buyout figure: $217,000 each of the next two years). All buyouts must be finalized before the start of free agency today at noon.

Michael Peca, his one-year run in Toronto cut short last season when he fractured a tibia, figures he won't be back in Leaf land in 2007-08. That fact was underscored when the Leafs assumed forward Mark Bell's contract in the swap with San Jose that also brought goalie Vesa Toskala to Toronto. Peca, who earned $2.5 million in 2006-07, figures he still has untapped potential upside, even at age 33. He told Fan 590 radio in Toronto last week that he sacrificed offense over the years to adopt and refine his valued role as a defensive center. "I kind of quit on myself as far as what I can do offensively," he said. "Why I did that, I have no idea."

Of the four players named to the Hall of Fame Thursday -- Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Al MacInnis, and Scott Stevens -- Cam Neely's biggest battles were with Stevens. "He was very difficult to play against," said Neely, also one of the game's toughest customers. "Any time I was on the ice, generally he was out there, too. I admired him because he played the game the way it should be played, and for the most part well within the rules of the game -- legal, but very, very physical." Neely, four years younger than Messier (46), was a rookie in Vancouver when Messier and the Oilers were hitting full stride. "Yeah, I was at the end of the bench in Vancouver, getting a good look at those guys play," Neely recalled. "Couldn't beat it -- an unobstructed view."

Amid far pricier signings around the league last week, the Leafs took an inexpensive flyer on Simon Gamache, ex- of Atlanta, Nashville, and St. Louis. He spent last season in Switzerland (Bern), where he went a league-leading 20-46--66 in 44 games. If he's a bust, the 26-year-old pivot won't cost the Leafs more than $600,000 over the next two seasons. And if he lights it up, he won't bank more than $975,000 . . . Ex-Bruin Dan LaCouture on his hope to return to the Hub of Hockey this season: "All I'm looking for is an opportunity, and if I get it, I guarantee I'll make the most of it." LaCouture played 55 games with Mike Sullivan's Bruins in 2005-06 and showed flashes of spunk, sticking up for teammates, which was desperately needed last season . . . No doubt the Lords of the Boards just relished the sight of the NHL Players Association consulting last week with Donald Fehr, who presides over the Major League Baseball Players Association. The NHL's "Just Say No Players" Association, oh, by the way, is looking for all new leadership again, after recently booting Ted Saskin. Baseball, in large part because of Fehr and predecessor Marvin Miller, is the only major sport unable to implement a salary cap. Hockey players, in the summer of 2009, reserve the right to opt out of the collective bargaining agreement, and if they do, it will be for the express purpose of getting rid of the cap . . . The NHL minimum salary, set at $450,000 the past two years, increases to $475,000 for the upcoming season . . . When the Panthers dealt for Nashville's Tomas Vokoun last week in Columbus, it led to two more goalies getting flushed into the market. Florida cut ties with Ed Belfour and Alex Auld, with the latter opting not to extend a qualifying offer that would have preserved the club's right to trade him. GM Jacques Martin subsequently cut a two-year deal with much-traveled Craig Anderson, who spent a dozen days on the Boston roster in January 2006 before he was claimed by the Devils . . . Yet another hard-working and loyal soul has left the TD Banknorth Gallows. Chris "Mugsy" Aldrich, one of the Bruins' longtime assistant equipment managers, has accepted a similar job with the AHL's Portland Pirates. Aldrich is a human hat trick -- faithful, competent, and gregarious.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.