New job fits his career path

Tom Fitzgerald wasn't waiting for the hockey jobs hot line to ring. Quite the contrary. He enjoyed his work as a NESN commentator during Bruins broadcasts. Ditto for his role as assistant coach at UMass-Lowell.

Best of all, perhaps, he had his family settled in the Boston 'burbs -- a cherished benefit after a 1,097-game playing career that encompassed seven cities and untold thousands of cardboard moving boxes.

"No, no plans to move again," he said. "Had enough of that, thank you."

Last month, Ray Shero, general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, rang up the ex-Bruin forward to gauge his interest in becoming the club's director of player development. Remember, this is the club with MVP Sidney Crosby now on track to be player of this decade and maybe the next one, too. The Penguins also have another budding superstar in Evgeni Malkin, along with a bundle of other young talent, both on the varsity roster and in the pipeline.

"And out of the blue, Ray calls and says, 'I'd like to talk to you about his job . . . I think you'd be great at it,' " recalled the 38-year-old Fitzgerald. "And I was like, 'OK . . .' In the back of my mind, to be honest, I always thought coaching or player development would be a way for me to go, you know, when the point came that I had to go back to work, or if I got sick of being Mr. Mom, which wasn't the case, but . . ."

Nearly a month went by after Shero's first contact, and the more Fitzgerald thought about the job, analyzed the possibilities, the more excited he became. The more excited he became, the longer the telephone didn't ring.

"And I'm thinking, 'What's going on here?' " he recalled. "I was getting a little nervous, you know?"

Finally, just after the July 4 holiday, Fitzgerald put in his own call to the Penguins' office. He and Shero, who declined an offer to become Bruins GM in June 2006, go way back. Shero was Nashville's assistant GM during Fitzgerald's four seasons with the Predators. They also knew each other from the days when Shero was a Boston-based player agent. They also shared a college bond, too. Mike McShane was Shero's coach at St. Lawrence, and later Fitzgerald's coach at Providence College. The job offer itself, along with his friendship and respect for Shero, had Fitzgerald eager to begin a new chapter in his life.

Less than a week after his call back to Shero, Fitzgerald was signed and sealed to his new gig. From here on in, he is responsible for grooming Penguin prospects -- be they in North American junior leagues, US colleges, or Europe -- for smooth entry into the pro life. He loves the job description, almost as much as he enjoys the fact that he and his family can remain in the house they've called home the last three years.

"It will mean trips to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton once a month," said Fitzgerald, noting his need to visit the Penguins' top minor league affiliate in Pennsylvania. "And it will mean looking after kids at BC, BU, Northeastern, Dartmouth, and kids in the Quebec League -- those will be my puppies, right there. I will follow them, help them, coach them on an individual basis."

One of Pittsburgh's prime teenage prospects is Angelo Esposito, whom the Penguins selected 20th overall in last month's draft. Once prized as the possible top pick in the draft, dating to 2005, Esposito is considered a potential elite NHL forward, and part of Fitzgerald's job will be to work on the ice with Esposito on a one-on-one basis.

"In a situation like that, Patrick Roy runs the show up there [Quebec Remparts], and I'd go to Patrick first and ask if it's OK for me to get out there after practice," said Fitzgerald. "And something like that is perfect. We can go over faceoffs, breakouts . . . whatever facet of the game might need improvement. It's the kind of job where you can be a coach, be a shrink -- do whatever you feel is necessary to get these kids ready to deal with the rigors of a full NHL season."

Shero also said he would like Fitzgerald to get acquainted with front-office decision-making, become a voice in player personnel decisions.

"Who to sign . . . who to let go," said Fitzgerald. "That could be an invaluable learning process for me. Michel Therrien [Pittsburgh's coach] said he'd like my input on coaching decisions, too. I've got to close one chapter in my life -- the NESN work and the coaching in Lowell -- and now I get to write a new chapter. I'm really excited, but at the same time a little nervous, too."

Some of that anxiety can be assuaged, noted Fitzgerald, by thinking where all this might lead. With Crosby the franchise centerpiece, the Penguins in short order could become annual favorites to become league champs.

"Funny how life happens, isn't it?" said Fitzgerald. "Hockey's all I've ever known, really. I've done it half my life -- heck, more than half my life. And now to be with Pittsburgh, with all the rich talent there, it's very exciting. And let's be honest . . . this might be the best chance I'll ever have to get a Stanley Cup ring."

Again the Hub, if stars align

Prior to becoming a workhorse with the Wild, Manny Fernandez played 33 games over a stretch of five seasons, 1994-2000, with the Dallas Stars. The new Bruins backstop has heard that Boston isn't the Hub of Hockey it once was, but his time in Dallas proved to him that anything is possible.

"What I know about Boston is mostly from what I've watched on TV," said Fernandez, in town last week to visit the team's medical staff and do some house shopping. "TV tells you about the rivalries and all that, but [it doesn't] tell you how many people are in the stands. I'll get a feel for that now, I guess. When pro teams have a hard time, that's the way it is, fans come and go.

"But look at Dallas. When I was first there, there were no fans, and no media attention. None. But then we won the Cup [in 1999 with Fernandez as Eddie Belfour's understudy], and it really took off. Arenas were built everywhere. Kids who had no interest took up hockey. It took off like crazy."

Further evidence for a possible resurgence, noted Fernandez, is Detroit, for so long known as the Dead Wings until the arrival of Steve Yzerman, coinciding with the deep pockets of club owner Mike Ilitch.

"Now it's Hockeytown," said Fernandez. "That's the way it is."

The Fernandezes headed into the weekend still uncertain whether they want to live in the city or pick a spot in the suburbs with easy access to the Garden, the Wilmington practice facility, and civil air terminal in Bedford (for team charter flights). Offseasons in Minnesota always had the family headed home to Montreal for the summers. Boston's proximity to Quebec, said Fernandez, might dictate year-round living here.

"It could change our thinking," he said. "Being in Minnesota, it was just too far. We don't want to keep the kids [Mathys and Leanne] from their grandparents. It's better for the kids to have that sense of family."

Schaefer believes he can dress up his scoring totals

All the management changes in Ottawa, where John Muckler was dismissed as GM after the loss to Anaheim in the Cup finals, left Peter Schaefer "feeling in my heart that I wouldn't be back there again."

Some six weeks after the Cup clincher, Schaefer was dealt last week to the Bruins for Shean Donovan, whose junior days were spent playing for Brian Kilrea's Ottawa 67's.

Schaefer was cast as mainly a checker by then-Ottawa coach Bryan Murray [Muckler's successor as GM], which didn't help the left winger post impressive offensive numbers.

"Most of all, I tried to be strong along the boards," Schaefer said, "and do my best to have the puck in the other team's end for longer stretches. But I'd like to score more myself."

Considered among the game's most stylish dressers off the ice, the 30-year-old Schaefer spends the summers in Vancouver, his wife's hometown. The couple also owns a condominium in Kaanapali, among Hawaii's most beautiful sections.

"But we've rented it out the last few years," said Schaefer. "You know, it can be tough to find ice time in Hawaii."

Etc.

Deal with the Devils
Devils boss Lou Lamoriello wanted to hire Brent Sutter last season, but the long-successful junior coach didn't want to leave Red Deer, Alberta. But with his son, Brandon, selected in the first round of this year's draft (No. 11 by the Hurricanes), Sutter finally felt comfortable enough to return to the NHL for the first time since retiring at age 36 from the Blackhawks (with 829 points in 1,111 games) in 1998. Sutter was known to his brothers as "Pukey" back home on the farm in Viking, Alberta.

They seem wild about Harry
The Toronto Star broke word last weekend that Bruins icon Harry Sinden, who will turn 75 in September, was approached, but not directly, about taking over the Maple Leaf operation, essentially as adviser to general manager John Ferguson Jr. Sources here in the Hub of Hockey confirm that word indeed reached Sinden from Toronto, and that the approach from his hometown team left him feeling flattered. Earlier, the Leafs offered the Good Shepherd gig to Scotty Bowman, 74 in September, but he turned it down. One source claims Bowman wanted the right to dismiss Ferguson, if he so chose, but was denied that authority. Prior to Sinden's name bubbling to the surface, the Leafs also spoke to ex-Senators boss John Muckler, who will be 74 next April. No telling where this goes, folks. Sinden, technically still a consultant/adviser to Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs, no longer influences day-to-day decisions on Causeway Street. Ownership's intentions to nudge Sinden out the door were made clear in recent weeks with increasing staff dismissals, including the one that sent his longtime aide, Joe Curnane, out the door. A new job would offer Sinden a gracious out from an increasingly sad, uncomfortable situation.

Broadway show
Look for aging winger Brendan Shanahan, now that he has re-upped with the Rangers, to be put on a line, at least initially, with Chris Drury in the middle and Jaromir Jagr on the right. Shanahan came to contract terms on a deal that could bring him $5.3 million in 2007-08, but only $2.5 million is guaranteed. The "overage," if the Rangers were to exceed the salary cap of $50.3 million this season, would be carried over as a cap liability on the Rangers' 2008-09 payroll. Just another of the cap's quirks we learn in the new cost-certainty world.

The down-in-the-dumps Oilers, who saw Michael Nylander exit stage left for a deal in Washington that paid him millions less than the Oilers offered, finally got someone to say yes when ex-Habs blue liner Sheldon Souray signed on for a five-year pact that will pay $27 million ($12.5 million in the first two seasons). Nylander allegedly bolted back to D.C. when his wife claimed she couldn't stomach the Northern Alberta winters. It's the same case Chris Pronger's wife made, leading the prized defenseman to be dealt to Anaheim last summer. Souray might have been an intriguing fit in Boston, especially manning the point, but at a $5.5 million cap charge, the Bruins would have had to move Glen Murray and P.J. Axelsson. The Wild had interest in Axelsson, but that disappeared when they acquired Petr Kalus in the Manny Fernandez swap.

Lost in the shuffle: Acton-Boxboro's Ian Moran, who spent last season between Anaheim and Portland (AHL), hooked on with the Devils with a two-way contract. And one of his neighbors, Brad Norton, did the same with Jumbo Joe Thornton's San Jose Sharks. If they can stick on their respective NHL rosters, they'll make the NHL minimum $475,000 . . . Word around Causeway Street is that Jeremy Roenick, widely assumed to be retiring after a disappointing run last season with Phoenix, would have accepted the league minimum to be on the 2007-08 Bruins roster, but the front office had no interest in the former Thayer Academy star. Imagine what kind of hockey chatter we would have enjoyed had the Bruins put Mike Milbury behind the same bench that had Roenick on it. Nightly game accounts might have failed to mention the score . . . Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon said last week he had "no interest" in offering Roenick another run in Chicago . . . Peter Schaefer played junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings, whose defense included none other than Johnathan Aitken, whom the Bruins selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 1996 draft. Aitken, who played in only 44 NHL games, spent last season playing in Klagenfurt, Austria . . . Fernandez spent amateur days with the Laval Titans, where Daniel Goneau, drafted No. 47 overall by the Bruins in 1994, played left wing. Goneau spent 2006-07 with the United Hockey League's Fort Wayne Komets. His last NHL taste was a one-game cup of coffee with the 1999-2000 Blueshirts . . . Petr Nedved, who will turn 36 in December, signed with Sparta, the elite Prague club, for 2007-08. He spent the lockout there in 2004-05, and then posted two lackluster NHL seasons with three clubs (Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Edmonton), collecting only 37 points in 93 games. Tantalizingly skilled, Nedved sprinkled an impressive season here and there (Vancouver, Pittsburgh, and the Rangers), but he never fulfilled his Hall of Fame billing . . . The Bruins will announce their preseason schedule this week, and it's likely to include a pair of Garden games that will be required buys for season ticket-holders . . . Oct. 10, Bruins at Ducks. It's the home opener for the Quacks, who begin the season in London against the Kings (royalty, don't you know?), at the O2 Arena. The Bruins have the pleasure of watching the Ducks raise the Stanley Cup banner that night.

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.