Bruins reward GM Chiarelli with extension
Claude Julien, Zdeno Chara, and Tim Thomas might be claiming some trophies Thursday night in Las Vegas for their 2008-09 accomplishments. Yesterday, the general manager who brought Julien and Chara to Boston and locked up Thomas on a four-year extension received his own prize: a new deal.
Peter Chiarelli, named NHL Executive of the Year by Sporting News, signed a multiyear extension. Chiarelli would have entered the fourth and final season of his contract in the upcoming season.
Julien is up for coach of the year, Chara may win the Norris Trophy, and Thomas has a shot at the Vezina Trophy.
Chiarelli, hired May 26, 2006, saw the 2008-09 Bruins post a 53-19-10 record to lead the Eastern Conference. The team's 116 points were the club's third-best total ever, as the team fulfilled Chiarelli's vision of its identity - full of character, hard to play against, and willing to compete.
Under Julien, hired June 21, 2007, to replace Dave Lewis (a hire that became Chiarelli's most regrettable move), the Bruins advanced to the second round of the playoffs before losing to Carolina in seven games. Some of the players Chiarelli signed as free agents played significant roles, including Chara, Marc Savard, Michael Ryder, and Blake Wheeler. Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference, Aaron Ward, Chuck Kobasew, and Mark Recchi, players acquired by Chiarelli via trades, also served as core contributors.
Most recently, Chiarelli signed David Krejci to a three-year, $11.25 million extension, considered a team-friendly number around the league. Because the salary cap, currently at $56.7 million, is expected to remain the same or decline in 2009-10, Chiarelli is facing one of his most significant challenges as a Bruin: re-signing young stars such as Phil Kessel at reasonable numbers while addressing roster depth, which was one of the primary reasons the 2008-09 Bruins were successful.
If Chiarelli can't come to terms with Kessel for a Krejci-type deal, he could be forced to trade the 36-goal scorer or move other contracts to clear cap space for the 21-year-old wing.
Chiarelli and executive vice president Charlie Jacobs will comment on the extension today at TD Banknorth Garden.
