Sobotka assigned

what took so long? they have been off since saturady... why didnt they send him down then?

Probably wanted to make sure Kobasew would be healthy enough to go Thursday.

Probably awaiting to see whether or not Kosabew would be playing....

Because the P-Bruins were on Western road trip; their last game of that swing was Saturday in San Antonio. They're not going to put him on a plane to Texas for one game. .

The Baby B's have three games this weekend; it'll be a good chance for Sobotka to get some real playing time.

What will have changed after the weekend, I wonder? To play Devil's Advocate (always hated that term - as if the Devil needs one!) but with Manny, now, officially the Leagues' most expensive back-up goalie and with Kobasew back, there are some spare parts. Yes. there will be injuries to fill, but there are also some needs to fill especially if the Bruins plan to keep pace with the Mighty Canadiens. The chemistry is looking pretty good, but it is really tempting to entertain the idea of a trade that could make this team even better.

I agree with Turk on this one... There is clearly some depth, and I don't know where all the pieces fit in this puzzle... Might be a good chance to start entertaining some offers. I'm not saying the Bruins _need_ to make a move, but if they can agree to something that makes sense, then go for it.

I have a feeeling that if Kobasew is healthy and can stay in the lineup that Sobotka comes back up and yelle is released.

Yelle has been subpar on faceoffs and doesn't do anything else well enough to stick in my mind.

WHeeler stays up with the big boys. he is on pace for a 22 goal rookie season.

AK I love that idea. Yelle has been underwhelming; in other words, exactly what I expected out of him. Sobokta is an excellent talent and is a lot of fun to watch, rather than a warm body to chew up minutes.

I would love to see a trade. The candidates are few. Fernandez is a disappointment. He had an unfortunate injury and needs to see more playing time to find his game again. The Bruins don't have a couple games to give him to learn. Savard is a worthy candidate for trade if one can get reasonable return like Bouwmeester or a legitmate number 2 defenseman. Krejci is ready for more work at center. Certainly a couple young players would have to included. This is all very poor decision making though if one considers the recent team chemistry!!! So we will have to wait until February to really make a trade. Fernandez could be a target of other teams at that point. Sabotka will have to wait in line until there is an opening. It is too bad because he is an energy guy.

I think the Bruins are missing another big time goal scorer and seem to have young players that teams maybe interested in trading for. They should try and package a deal involving Sobotka, Nokelainen and Hunwick to a team such as the Thrashers or Wild for some top talent such as Ilya Kovalchuk (Thrashers) or Marian Gaborik (Wild).

Lineup:
Gaborik/Kovalchuk Savard Ryder
Sturm Bergeron Kessel
Lucic Krejci Wheeler/Kobasew
Axelsson Yelle Thorton

Ugh - enough with the Savard trading .... he's not, nor should he be, going anywhere. He leads the team in scoring for gods sake. And this right after a game where he was the first player to come to the defense of Lucic ... Savard is a core player on this team and trading him would be a big mistake. Also as much as I think of J-Bo ... he's logged a whopping 3 assists this year. I'd love him on this team, but this team isn't as good with him instead of Savard, bottom line.

Who wouldn't love to trade Manny? Which is exactly why PC won't be able to - there's no market for him ... even with Brodeur out for the majority of the season its unlikely the Devils would even consider Fernandez.

Also in regards to Yelle, that 4th line has been tremendous the past 4 games. Yelle hasn't been spectacular, but were you really expecting him to be? He's a 4th liner, the team as a whole has begun to get better on the PK so its hard to single him out.

If anything I think I could see them showcasing Kobasew for a couple games to generate some trade interest. I'm not that keen on moving him as I like his game alot but right now he seems to be a good candidate if that is the route the B's go and they decide an improvement to the top 4 d is in order.

Nothings happening this weekend. Sobtka is only going down to play games. He'll be back when the P Bruins don't have games around here again (callup takes less 60 mins to travel if he's needed). You can't trade any of the forwards. We're like Buffalo of 2-3 years ago. We're running 3 numer one lines 1a 1b 1c. Can't trade savard because the centers are the anchors of all the lines. The wings seem to change everytime someone isn't pulling the weight, the only constant are the centers. Also if we trade a forward, wait until 2-3 injuries happen at the same time, and then you'll regret the trade. Do you really want to see schaffer back up here if we trade a forward and two people go down? We seem deep until we have a rash of injuries.

"Sobotka, Nokelainen and Hunwick to a team such as the Thrashers or Wild for some top talent such as Ilya Kovalchuk (Thrashers) or Marian Gaborik (Wild)"

Yes, cause the Wild or Thrashers are going to take the pupu platter for their best player... that really makes sense! No way either of those players is leaving without major compensation... I am talking Kessel, Wheeler AND Lucic or a similar package to pry one of those away. Not gonna happen and nor should it.

According to an NHL team executive, Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough has been actively shopping Gaborik around the league and over the weekend offered Gaborik to his team in a trade.

The executive said he was not interested.

"Gaborik, 26, who can become an unrestricted free agent next summer, has rejected multiple contract extension offers from the Wild, and the team has come to the realization that it's doubtful it will be able to sign him, sources say.

Negotiations have stalled, and the two sides haven't spoken in two weeks -- something Risebrough and agent Ron Salcer confirmed over the weekend."
-Star Tribune

I was just using Sobotka, Nokelainen and Hunwick as a START of a package that would hopefully land a player such a Gaborik since he is obviously not happy playing in Minnesota. The reason I used Kovalchuk is because he is only signed on for one more year and if the Thrashers continue to not improve as a team around him and dont become a contender for the cup Kovalchuk will probably want out by the time his contract is up, if not sooner, similar to Hossa last year.

Pip,
I understand that both Gaborik and Kovalchuk are on the block... what hockey fan doesn't? My point is, why would we want to mortgage our future for a rental player? I don't see either of these players re-upping with Boston and both franchises would demand large amounts of talent in return. Are you willing to sacrifice the Bruins' future by giving up premier young talent (Lucic, Kessel, Wheeler, Krejci... 3 of the 4) to get a scorer who can't play defense to save his life? I don't see Julien being too pleased with that and I definitely don't think that is worth it!

Gaborik will not be coming to the Bruins and I hope he doesn't, the guy clearly is just interested in money even after he said he wants to stay in Minnesota. There is no point to trading for a player who is likely to leave in the off season because there is no way the Bruins can afford Gaborik or Kovalchuk

As for Manny, being an Avs fan since back to the Quebec days, I am calling for Chiarelli to ship him to the Avs since clearly Budaj and Raycroft can not stop a puck. Send Budaj to the B's and he can be a solid back up to Thomas at 1/5 of the price from Fernandez

Gaborik is on IR right now. Also has a"questionable" past with injuries. Better Options out there. Kovalchuk is a nice name and puts up points but he's not a bruins style of player. In just over 6 seasons he's put up 475 points and he's a career -76. Not a great combo. Plus, we'd have to give up way to much (Kessel and Hunwick or Lashoff at least) for him. Not worth it either.
The Bruins are god team right now, but they aren't winning a cup this year, but have the pices in place for the future. They need to deal Manny, but if they can't, then get themselves ready for free agency this off season (Hossa maybe and/or a big time D-man).

Mike, Manny to he Avs is actually sensible! Budaj could be a good backup while Tukka gets the reps need in Providence.

Sure Manny to the Avs is great .... for us ... but why in the world would the Avs do it?? Is a Manny/Rayzor tandem that much more appealing for twice the cap hit?? I doubt it. That said I would be more than happy with a Thomas/Budaj tandem.

Why are you wanting another forward when we have too many already. We have one real need and that is a good affordable puck moving defenceman. We are playing a very defensive style with all 5 players below the circle in the defensive end. When playing like that it is almost impossible to generate offence without good puck moving defensivemen.

Rockstar being an Avs fan also and seeing Fernandez in Minnesota I know he is capable and with the awful goaltending display that Budaj/Raycroft have put up this year I would take anything. I am willing to bet we will see some goalie movement soon especially with Brodeur out 3-4 months now too.

I would not want Kovulchuk. Not only is his cap # too high, i suspect he'd have a negative affect on team chemistry. Just watching Savard play Atlanta is enough to make it a dicey idea. I'd rather have Semin, Brown, or someone like that. I think our chances of getting Semin though are only slightly better than getting Ovie...