Edwards gets all calls on NESN
Arnold bumped off home games
NESN announced yesterday that Jack Edwards will become the Bruins' full-time play-by-play announcer in 2007-08, taking over home games from Dale Arnold.
Edwards had called all road games the past two years alongside analyst Andy Brickley, who will continue to provide commentary for every Bruins contest. Edwards has also performed play-by-play and studio duties for Versus's national broadcasts.
"Jack is a very talented broadcaster who has done a terrific job the past two seasons on our road telecasts," Joel Feld, NESN's vice president of programming and executive producer, said in a statement. "We are unifying our Bruins broadcast team. This approach has been very effective in enhancing our Red Sox telecasts and our fans' experience."
Arnold was offered another position during Bruins telecasts, but declined because of commitments to WEEI. Arnold had been the home play-by-play announcer since 1995.
According to a NESN source, the network informed Arnold several weeks ago. After some hesitation from Bruins officials, according to the source, NESN offered to reassign Arnold within the telecasts but he turned down the offer.
Allen, 28, a Hull native who resides in Scituate during the offseason, re-signed with the Bruins, giving the club some depth on defense. Allen signed a one-year, two-way contract that will pay him $500,000 if he plays in the NHL.
"Bobby's been a good soldier for us," said general manager Peter Chiarelli. "We agreed that Bobby earned the chance to go out and see what the landscape was. He circled back and we got a deal done."
In 2007-08, Allen will reunite with former coach Claude Julien. Allen served as an alternate captain for Julien when the former Boston College defenseman played for the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs in 2002-03.
According to Jay Fee, Allen's agent, the defenseman had several other two-way offers.
"He just felt he had unfinished business here and had a good past experience with Claude when he played for him in Hamilton as an assistant captain," Fee wrote in an e-mail. "He likes how Claude plays his D and he felt a strong fit with his game."
Last season, Allen was recalled from Providence Jan. 16. He played 31 games for the Bruins, scoring 3 points. He recorded 32 hits and 34 blocked shots while averaging 13 minutes 2 seconds of ice time.
The Bruins also signed forward prospect Byron Bitz to a two-year, entry-level deal. The 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound Bitz, the Bruins' fourth-round pick in 2003, signed a two-way contract worth a big league average of $525,000 per year and $62,500 if he dresses for Providence. Bitz also receives an annual $125,000 signing bonus.
"He's very good at cycling and puck possession," said Chiarelli of Bitz, who scored 88 points in 124 games at Cornell. "He played the point on the power play, so he's a versatile player. We're looking to upgrade our size, so we're happy to have him in the mix."
Bitz will participate in the team's development camp, which starts Monday at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington.
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at FShinzawa@globe.com. 
