Retool time for Bruins

In other words, amid the migraine of a disappointing postseason just completed, how does general manager Peter Chiarelli go about securing and repositioning assets for 2009-10?

"I've said all along that I'd like to add some size up front," Chiarelli said Friday, less than 24 hours after Scott Walker's overtime tap-in shot out the lights at the Garden, and shattered the dreams of a rebuilt Black-and-Gold fan base.

Ideally, that size up front would come in the form of a strapping center, someone with Eric Staal's frame and game. But let's face it, Vinny Lecavalier will not come walking down Causeway. That's probably a good thing, given that a shrinking cap number is not going to make it easy for anyone - other than perhaps the K-mart Canadiens - to handle his 11-year no-trade deal, worth $85 million, that kicks in July 1.

If by next July 1 the cap number for 2010-11 has slipped back to, say, the $48 million-$52 million range, it's going to make for some very difficult payroll fits. Exhibit A, the Rangers, who carry a $27.8 million cap number for Mssrs. Wade Redden, Henrik Lundqvist, Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury.

If the league nut drops to $48 million amid North America's shrinking economy, the Blueshirts will need to work 15 other guys into the mix for around $15 million, factoring in Michal Rozsival's $5 million. If so, they'll be the pale Blueshirts.

The Bruins need size up front, for sure, specifically at center, where their diminutive pivots shrunk even more as the Carolina series played out. But in defense of Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Stephane Yelle, all centers, like all forwards, tend to shrink when the defensemen are so flummoxed with the puck. Boston's defensemen too often handled the biscuit as if it were a 12-pound chunk of granite, which, to be fair to that struggling group, might have been mitigated if any of Boston's meaty wingers had drifted back to lend support.

Too often, when the Boston defensemen put in a call for help, their forwards (yes, the centers, too) were operating in a different area code. It became quite a sight in Boston's back end. Too bad the forwards weren't fitted for binoculars so they could see it.

Chiarelli's critical work right now must center on his two young forwards, Krejci and Phil Kessel, both of whom become restricted free agents July 1. Left unsigned, they are both eligible to be slapped with offer sheets as of July 1. Not going to happen.

Look for Chiarelli to get Krejci signed first - even if slightly above market - and relatively quickly (i.e. days ahead of the June 26-27 draft in Montreal). Once Krejci is secured, Chiarelli then can: 1. sign Kessel at a reasonable number; 2. deal him around the draft; 3. entertain the prospect of someone overpaying Kessel as a free agent, and ultimately decide whether he wants to match the overpayment or take the compensation (first-round draft picks).

What Chiarelli can't do, and won't do, is to be left with both of his high-end RFAs exposed to offer sheets. That's a GM's worst nightmare, putting himself in a position to allow his 29 "brothers" to dictate his payroll. Two summers ago, Buffalo GM Darcy Regier did that in Buffalo. Kevin Lowe walked in from Edmonton, slapped a huge offer sheet ($7.143 million average) on Thomas Vanek, and forced Regier to match.

In the two years leading up to Edmonton's offer sheet, Vanek, then 23 years old, totaled 68 goals and 132 points. Kessel, 21 years old, has collected 55 goals and 97 points over the last two seasons. No one is likely to hand him Vanek money, but someone might come close, because GMs are as goofy for goal scorers as teenagers are for text messages.

Of the eight other free agents on the Boston roster, only winger Byron Bitz (a mule on the wall and in the corners) and defenseman Matt Hunwick (dearly missed in the Canes series) are certain to be signed. The likes of P.J. Axelsson, Shane Hnidy, Steve Montador, Mark Recchi, and Yelle - their average cap hit just over $1.1 million - are all tweeners, either to be offered work at fairly short money or replaced by prospects or other tweeners. Goaltender Manny Fernandez (18-10-3 in two seasons, cap hit $4.33 million) will hand his locker stall over to Tuukka Rask.

With Glen Murray's $1.3 million buyout still a cap "add-on," Chiarelli has eight forwards, five defensemen, and two goalies on the books for about $45 million in cap money, with the league's nut next season estimated to be in the $53 million-$55 million range. To retain both Kessel and Krejci, it likely will add $7 million-$8 million. The math makes it almost impossible, unless Chiarelli were to move either Michael Ryder ($4 million) or Bergeron ($4.75 million).

All of which makes for an interesting few weeks while fan psyche remains in the recovery room. Size at center. Mobility at the back. Precious few dollars to bring in either one.

This Capital idea didn't work

The Capitals were atrocious in their Game 7, wiped out by the Penguins, 6-2, which left far too much blame pointed at rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov (yanked early in the second period). Sure, the 21-year-old stopper could have been sharper, but the Caps' overall attack, from start to finish, was a damn-the-torpedoes approach that lacked bench intelligence.

Forget about yanking Varlamov. How about pulling back on the likes of Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, and getting the blue line crew to close down the defensive zone? Jordan Staal's goal at 11:37 of the second period made it 5-0, by which time Washington forwards must have turned the puck over at least 15 times. Horror show.

Bruce Boudreau, who took over the Washington bench in November 2007, has had a lot of success since succeeding Glen Hanlon. But if he's going to move his slick bunch beyond first- or second-round KOs, he's going to have to install a defensive template that even his high-end trapeze artists can adhere to and still perform. There was no safety net in Game 7. Or at least no one paid attention to it. Either way, there's a problem.

Could the Caps already have outgrown their let-it-all-hang-out-there coach? It might sound crazy, given how they've delivered during the regular season under Boudreau. But keep in mind, for different reasons the Penguins were asking themselves similar questions last June after Michel Therrien led them to the Cup finals. For all their success, they looked as if they needed something, or someone, more. Late in the season, GM Ray Shero finally ditched Therrien and now the Penguins are back in the Eastern Conference finals - having found clear passage around those Washington torpedoes.

Etc.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.