Chiarelli has some operating to do

By Kevin Paul Dupont  |  May 24, 2009

The knife fell first on Phil Kessel, the speedy winger undergoing shoulder surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital last week, which should prevent the Bruins' top goal scorer from participating in the US Olympic camp in August.

Of course, we don't know whether Kessel will still be a Bruin by then, which in part is what will make this offseason, especially these next 4-6 weeks, perhaps the most exciting and defining in Peter Chiarelli's regime as Boston's general manager.

We do know that there are more surgeries to follow, which is about all we know about the offseason at this hour.

David Krejci soon will have an ailing hip repaired. Andrew Ference has a torn groin and a hernia that must be remedied, but the veteran defenseman said last week that surgery will have to wait a month, in order for swelling to subside.

Zdeno Chara (shoulder and more), Chuck Kobasew (rib), and Byron Bitz (rib) are expected to recover without a trip "up the hill" to the MGH operating rooms, where anyone with a Spoked-B speed pass is eligible for 24-7 drive-thru service.

One must wonder, had the Bruins slipped by the Hurricanes and made it to Round 3, might they have had to forfeit the conference finals because of a lack of available bodies? All teams get banged up in the playoffs, even the mighty, mighty Red Wings, but the scope and severity of Boston's injuries bordered on the catastrophic, even for a franchise with a rich and disappointing history of crucial physical setbacks, including the likes of Mssrs. Bobby Orr, Gord Kluzak, Cam Neely, Normand Leveille, and more.

For his part, Chiarelli said he is satisfied that his staff is doing enough to try to prevent injury. In some cases, he noted, the injuries simply were not preventable, noting, for instance, that Krejci's hip problem is "more congenital." Kessel's torn-up shoulder? Matt Hunwick's ruptured spleen? By the GM's eye, all part of the caveat emptor attached to the skate-and-shoot business.

"I don't know how you prevent a torn labrum and rotator cuff," said Chiarelli, referring specifically to Kessel's injuries. "Obviously, bodies have to be better built-up, and I think we are prudent in that. At the same time, I guess, you can always improve on it, but I don't think [the number of injuries] is that unusual, if you look at other teams and other playoff series."

Both Krejci and Kessel, said the GM, have been reminded repeatedly that "they have to get stronger." Muscle alone isn't a guaranteed prophylactic, but Krejci and Kessel are among the smaller NHL forwards. To be perennially effective at this level, and to ward off further injuries, each might benefit immensely by adding 8-10 pounds of muscle (as long as they steer clear of the Brandon Bochenski 12-Steps-to-Popeye program).

While the bodies get patched up, Chiarelli must patch together a lineup and payroll for 2009-10, and like all GMs, he still is missing a critical piece of guidance from the league office. No one knows the cap number for next season, and it won't be computed for approximately another three weeks, simply because '09 playoff revenue (factoring about $2 million per game) is a critical part of the brew. The last Stanley Cup game is slated to be played no later than June 16, which will keep next year's cap number out of GMs' hands until the third or fourth week of June.

If the cap comes in as expected, around $55 million, only a slight cut from this season's $56.7 million, Chiarelli will have some $10 million to sign his four restricted free agents: Kessel, Krejci, Bitz, and Hunwick. But keep in mind - and this could be critical over the next four months - GMs are allowed to run their budgets 10 percent over the cap number until opening night of the season. Rather than risk losing Kessel to the open market via an offer sheet come July 1, Chiarelli could opt to sign him at a figure he knows will push him over the cap, then take all summer to massage the math (i.e. exit other contracts or deal Kessel).

Two other points to factor: 1. Glen Murray's arbitration hearings ended Wednesday. If the ex-right winger is made whole on his $4.15 million salary, Chiarelli's obligations for next season increase by $1.4 million; 2. Peter Schaefer, ditched to the AHL at the start of 2008-09, is on the books for another year at $2.1 million. If the Bruins decide to buy him out - which could be linked to Murray's payout - then some $700,000 would be added to Boston's cap figure for each of the next two seasons.

Lots of variables. Lots of bodies to heal and holes to fill. And when opening night arrives, the roster of Chiarelli's three-plus years on the job should stand not as finished product (is it ever finished?) but as full statement of what he wants in a team. He will have shaped it and paid. Now, will it deliver?

US Olympic pool expected to be crowded

No telling yet how many Bruins get invited to the US Olympic camp (Aug. 16-20) in Woodridge, Ill.

Phil Kessel and Tim Thomas, based on their 2008-09 performances, should be locks to suit up for the Yanks in Vancouver in February 2010. Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler could get a call for the August camp, but would project more for 2014 in Sochi, Russia, provided the next CBA allows for working holidays in Olympus for the rank-and-file.

A half-dozen NHL general managers - Brian Burke, Don Waddell, Paul Holmgren, Ray Shero, David Poile, and Dean Lombardi - will sit down between Games 3-4 of the Stanley Cup finals (tentative date: June 5) to sort out the red-white-and-blue August invite list.

"I think some people will be shocked over the names that aren't on the list," noted Burke, the Team USA GM, reached last week at his Maple Leaf office. "And frankly, it's because we've improved as a country. That's the good news.

"When we won the World Cup, we had guys call up the training staff and request their sweater numbers. It was a great group of warriors - guys like Tony Amonte, Keith Tkachuk, Brian Leetch, Mike Modano, Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios - but really no competition for jobs. It was only a core group of about 12 guys to be considered for work. Now the blessing, and the curse, is that we've got a much bigger player pool."

That said, it's likely the Yanks will bring a group of 30-36 to the August camp.

Etc.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said he expects free agent contracts to be shorter in term this offseason, in large part because of the struggling worldwide economy.

But as he noted later, that still points to three- or four-year deals, rather than five, six, or more.

Even with the bleaker fiscal picture, a few teams likely will bid aggressively on a small number of players. A sampling of GMs, speaking off the record, pointed to:

Jay Bouwmeester (D) - The star backliner, whom Florida refused to deal at the March deadline, will turn 26 in September. With great wheels and size (6-4/212), he might squeeze out six years and upward of $40 million.

Henrik and Daniel Sedin (F) - The twins, who make up the core of Vancouver's attack, probably can land five-year deals and each average between $5 million and $6 million. The Canucks may have no choice but to pay it, provided the Sedins are willing to stay. If not, Montreal, Los Angeles, perhaps even the Wild (sans Marian Gaborik) could be bidders.

Marian Hossa (F) - He was offered huge money over eight years or more last summer by the Oilers, but he went for a one-year deal with the Winged Wheels. Now he goes to market at age 30. Still has enough pedigree for someone to pay $7 million-$8 million for the next five years, but drive the average down by spreading it across, say, eight years.

Manny Fernandez is telling friends that he has been informed he won't be asked back to Boston now that his deal has expired. No surprise. His slot will be filled by Tuukka Rask, with Tim Thomas ($20 million/five years) expected to shoulder most of the load for the next 2-3 years, allowing the 22-year-old Rask a comfortable on-the-job-training environment. "Manny still wants to play," said Chiarelli, who would not confirm that the goalie's departure is a fait accompli. "He hurt his back [in the second half of the season] and his game didn't recover. But prior to that, he was really good for us, and he gave us what we needed for Timmy to get his requisite number of games." And to make Thomas very rich in the process.

Yes, there will be a sheet of ice in Fenway Park for a Jan. 1 Winter Classic. It's a done deal, Bruins vs. either the Capitals or Flyers. The league will make it official at the start of July, with a splashy media event in the old ballpark. NHL free agency begins July 1, which grabs headlines around league cities (except for Phoenix, of course) for 2-3 days. The Sox play at home July 3-12. If the league wants the day for full media attention, it likely will wait for July 13-14 to make official all details, including how to purchase tickets.

Team Canada, perhaps with Marc Savard aboard for the first time, will hold its summer Olympic camp in Calgary Aug. 24-28. When Savard was picking his new NHL city in the summer of 2006, the Flames came close to getting him to pick Calgary over Boston. He spent three-plus seasons there (1999-2002) before he was shipped to Atlanta. "If they ask me, it would be great to play for Canada," said Savard. "You always want to play for your country." Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic also could be on the Canada watch list. Team Maple Leaf has yet to announce its coaching staff.

Byron Bitz could get a look at center with the Bruins when he returns for training camp in September. "Yeah, it's an option," said Chiarelli. "We're not ruling it out. But with his speed and his play on the wall, he's probably better suited for wing." . . . The Bruins are keeping a light on for Russian defenseman Yuri Alexandrov and strapping Swedish center Carl Soderberg, in hopes that they'll be at camp in September. Alexandrov required extensive surgery on a shoulder during the season. Soderberg, acquired in the deal that sent Hannu Toivonen to St. Louis, will be a restricted free agent July 1. All options are possible with Soderberg, said Chiarelli, including the possibility that the Bruins will trade his rights . . . How bad are things with the Detroit economy? According to a source with direct connections to the Red Wings box office, the Winged Wheels gave out some 2,000 comp tickets for Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. Meanwhile, in Chicago, the Blackhawks limited their players to only two tickets for Game 3 and 4. "They could have sold out the United Center twice over," said the same source . . . Meanwhile, amid the dog-and-pony show in Phoenix/Glendale, a source familiar with a number of parties involved in the saga reports that would-be Coyotes owner Jerry Reinsdorf has lost considerable interest in buying the Desert Dogs. His White Sox recently agreed to set up spring training in Glendale with the Dodgers, not far from Jobing.com Arena. Given hockey's huge popularity again in Chicago, wouldn't it make the most sense for Reinsdorf just to bring the Coyotes to the Windy City as a second NHL team? Now there's a nightmare scenario that even Jim Balsillie couldn't conjure . . . By the way, the lease the Coyotes have with Glendale calls for them to pay $700,000,000 (yes, $700 million) if they skip town prior to 2025.

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.