Hunwick files for arbitration

Interesting. Didn't realize he was eligible. NHLSCAP.com has failed me.

Hmmm let us wait for the team to be assembled by the end of summer? Hunwick is a very important piece to the puzzle, a puck moving defenseman. Arbitration has the Bruins looking poorly in these eyes. The Schaeffer deal was an omen of what this organization is planning for the future IMO. JJ is not part of the picture some say in these circles. I politely disagree. Not signing Kessel and not getting a puck moving defenseman is a sign of being not aggressive but conseravative. Chicago means business.... up against the cap and they signed Hossa. Chiarelli is looking a bit like the 1990s Sinden. I hope I am wrong...

@ Islamorada,

Chicago is kinda screwed. They have four forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie signed for 2010-2011. That's it. And those 8 players are taking up over 30 million dollars. Not only that, but NOT among those 8 are Kane, Toews, and Keith. Take a look, Chicago's "aggressiveness" in signing Campbell and Huet last year to big contracts and signing Hossa this year to a big contract may come back and haunt them. (They actually got a good deal for Hossa, but overpaid for Huet and Campbell big time IMO)

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/team.php?team=CHI

islamorada,
// Not signing Kessel and not getting a puck moving defenseman is a sign of being not aggressive but conseravative//
Contraire ! how can you be aggressive with not much space on your cap ?
There's knowbody else that makes sense being traded to free up cap space;
With what $$$ are you going sign this puck moving defense ?
Until Kessel and Hunwick are signed or gone then you can pass judgment.
What the Hawks did is agressive ... but not very smart. I love to see them next year when Cane, Toews, Duncan become RFA's and they demand 4mill plus ! HAHA.
Don't forget Eager, Barker and Versteeg this year are still not signed. At least two out of the three will not settle less than 3mill .
Also no number 1 goalie , please , DON'T use them as examples. That's mis-management.
On Hunwick, I thought today was the day, anyways when is his hearing ?
Some interesting names on that list that can become free agents UFA's.
Wellwood, Zherdev, Zajac and Colby Armstrong.

Chicago also didn't resign Havlat, Pahlson, Khabbibulin and still has to resign Cam Barker, Versteeg and others that were such a huge part of their run this season. That's where they were able to find the room to sign Hossa (a no show in the finals), by losing three of their best players. Let's hold off on comparing Chiarelli to one of the worst GM's of the 90's for the time being.

Oh for god's sake, dude, get off it. This is a formality and has nothing to do with your Jacobs obsession.

Oh, for heaven's sake, islamorada, this is not unusual. There are 20 RFA's who filed for arbitration, and as Fluto notes, the two sides in this case are close "("It will work out.") and will probably have a deal within days. All filing for arbitration does is give the sides more time to negotiate. This is what happend with Dennis Wideman last year; it never reached a hearing.

As for "Chicago means business" - yeah, they're also being investigated for possible improper tendering of their RFAs. Wow, really good business. Oh, and they had an RFA file for arbitration as well - Aaron Johnson. Other filers include Juri Hudler (does Detroit not know what they're doing either?) Tuomo Ruutu, Colby Armstrong, and Nikolai Zherdev.

It's best to do some research and know what you're talking about before posting comments.

//On Hunwick, I thought today was the day, anyways when is his hearing ?//

Today is simply the deadline day for filing the paperwork for arbitration. Hearings are to be scheduled for July 20 - Aug. 4, as Fluto noted, but I doubt it'll get that far with Hunwick.

There are some names on that list I wouldn't mind seeing in Black & Gold:
Colby Armstrong, Jiri Hudler, Travis Zajac, Nikolai Zherdev.... But i'd rather have Hunwick signed for a nice three year deal at 2, 2, and 3.

Hunwick or someone with his skillset _and_ work ethic are key to getting anywhere in the playoffs.

Ok then explain why a contract was not hammered out for Hunwick my eager scribers? Arbitration reads incorrectly to the player. Conservative means not acting, Wideman did not show great game in this playoff run for a number two defenseman. Help is needed. If you sign Recchi (42 years of age) you are definitely placing yourself in a cap trouble. Good bye Kessel... that is not aggressive. The Thomas signing was aggressive but on a guy who is 35. I will stand by the philosophy the contract buy out of Schaefer is conservative and with the above forementioned comments a sign of conservative deallings of the JJ / Sinden fiasco of the 90s. BTW Chicago was up against the cap until it flubbed up the status of Barker and Versteeg that includes the ones who left. What are they being investigated for .... clerical stupidity? I will grant you times have changed but Hunwick? Kessel? not signed..... wow.... get out your JJ bobble doll.

Where's all the hate for this guy like with Kessel...? Is it because KPD hasn't singled him out for abuse like Kessel....Come on...you guys can do better than this! Kessel doesn't do this...he doesn't do that....Hunwick played 20 games and breaks his spleen when somebody runs into him.....but let's get rid of Kessel becasue KPD says so......

b&g I respect your comments but nothing over 2mill a year. He merely played one year and looks promising but cannot be in the 2mill status yet.

Havlat and Khabby were unrestricted FA's who left regardless of the mess-up Chicago's management had. That cleared 6-8 million from the cap. The mess-up means that instead of being restricted free-agents, Barker, Versteeg and the others could potentially become unrestricted and sign with whoever. Chicago lost their top point scorer in the reg. season and playoffs and their #1 goalie because, as you say, they were "aggressive" and signed Hossa. Nice.
And I don't know how anyone can compare this regime with Chiarelli to Sinden's. Everything in the 90's was a nightmare, and so far, most things with Chiarelli have been very positive. Obviously I want to have Kessel back, but I'd rather have Krejci signed and Savard and Thomas in place than sign Kes for 5 mill. Keep believing everyone else is against this team and waving around their JJ dolls. Some people actually have faith that this team will do some good.

islamorda, I have to ask - is English your second language? I can barely understand your convoluted reasoning. But to put it simply, when you work within a salary cap, you can't just sign a guy without maintaining this thing called "balance." Everyone's cap hit affects everyone else. Hunwick will be signed (just as Wideman was last year) before the hearings, and then we'll see what happens with Kessel. If someone offers Kes a ridiculous contract, the Bruins will let him go and take the compensation. If not, they'll re-sign him.

Being "aggresive" in this market is not looking all that wise. Bob Gainey's being "aggressive," and I doubt the Canadiens make the playoffs this year. At least he has the excuse of half a team of UFAs. There is no reason for the Bruins to go crazy; with the team they had last year mostly coming back, and with valuable experience, they'll be back in contention once gain. They have a great foundation on which to build; now is certainly not the time to start tearing it apart just because some fans want the GM to be "aggressive." .

Hey duinne, do you start out degrading to make yourself feel better. Nomenclature aside, answer the questions. Why not sign Kessel and Hunwick then leave Recchi off of the books? What has been done is to make it known that the Bruins are going to make a trade. Kessel looks like the person, I hope not. The second question, why buy out Schaefer? Since you are so a wonderful written scholar in these illustrious literary circles, what term would be honorable do describe those actions? Brilliant I suppose!

Kessel will not be a Bruin my friends. And that's going to suit both sides. Understood?

Move on!!!

B's Legion;
It's market value for him. Look at Jordan Leopold as a reasonable comparison.

Both are left hand shots, official height is within an inch of each other, and JL has 7lbs on MH. JL is slightly older.
in 83 games JL had 24 pts and was a -15 in 53 games MH had 27 pts. and was +15.
Sure you can attribute some of Hunwicks success to being on a team that dominated most of the regular season. But Leopold wasn't on a shabby team either, they (Calgary) finished with 46 wins last season.

Hunwick had slightly more hits per game, and Leopold had a few more blocked shots.

islamorada , why sign Recchi ?? yes he's 42 but brings somethng to the table that every team needs. He was only signed for 1mill. Did you see what Guerin got with the Pens ? over 2mil. What I'm trying to say is a team is composed of offensive stars, good D , plumbers, hitters and yes a fighter. You need all these ingredients for a successful team.
Even if they didn't sign Recchi today we would still be in the same situation with Kessel and Hunwick not signed.
Also the buying out of Schaefer is not the reason the Bruins have not signed these two either.
Call it a poker game and wait for the bluff. Then we can judge or comment Chiarelli's decisions.

b&g,
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Leopold have more NHL games under his belt ?
On another note if a team decides to overpay a player it doesn't mean the others have to follow. i.e. Gionta making 5mill a year !!! Then Kessel should get minimum 5mill. I disagree.
Every team has their reasons to overpay. Bruins don't need to. For the difference I'm sure Hunwick would play with the Bruins over the Panthers. We're not talking about a million + being the difference.

Leopold does, but he's now on his fourth NHL team, and the most he's ever produced in a single season was 33 points in the 03-04 season.

Hunwick looks like he's have more upside than Leopold, already knows the system AND with the lack of useful two way dmen in the UFA class, would probably get two on the open market. I suspect that the team is aiming for about 1.4-7 and Hunwick/his agent are aiming in the 1.85 to 2 range.

Bottom line is that the Bruins need someone with Hunwicks skill set, and there are none at or above his level that will come cheaper than the 2 range, and still be playing in 3 years at a top four D quality.

Hey duinne, what do you want me to say, if the world is a conundrum the maybe it is you who needs a second language of reasoning. If they were to sign Kessel to a contract and Hunwick to a contract then Recchi would not have been signed. Maybe you need a lesson in humility. Cap numbers are manipulated... NJ knows that sequence. Chiarelli was duped on the trade of Kessel to Toronto deal. Burke was cute with his "oh I never said the number 7" view. Maybe he is duped into thinking Kessel will sign for less. Arbitration for Hunwick could be an issue. Other clubs know the value of Hunwick. Nonetheless, I can be corrected. If there is a master plan it is beyond these spaces including my limited understanding of hockey IQ. But the philosophy of standing still is a matter of repeated past occurrences of the 90s. Maybe the Bruins should finish last for several years to win the cup (Pittsburg). Or maybe we should live with mediocrity. The focus should be on signing Kessel and Hunwick ..... a Queen move on the chess board wins the game, the moving of the pawns is a matter of genius.

"Live with mediocrity." Bwhahahahaaa.

Oh, that made my day.

Some of these fans are just priceless.

b&g you're right on one thing, Bruins don't have much and upcoming D's in their system.
I'm just not bought on Hunwick yet, at least not for a big contract. I feel he still has something to prove , hence the number of games Hunwick played in the NHL.
Anyways , this is a done deal and will be signed soon. Whatever it is I will be happy as it's another step forward.
Once that's done I would not be surprised to see an offer sheet on the table for Kess. Maybe a team will see we don't have much cap space left (approx 3mill) and offer just above that (approx 4mill). In that case I think even if we're over the cap the Bruins can match it and should in my opinion.
They'll have till October 1st to dump a salary.
Hey Fluto, what's this rumor I hear of Kovalev going to Sens, hear anything ?

"Hey duinne, what do you want me to say, if the world is a conundrum the maybe it is you who needs a second language of reasoning."

lolwut?

What did mickey say once ... duinne and Kessel sitting in a tree ...kidding thought I'de add to the drama of the day lol. : ]
b&g,
You're right on // the team is aiming for about 1.4-7 and Hunwick/his agent are aiming in the 1.85 to 2 range. //
I'm with you on that. All along we're talking the same language. Under 2mill is fair.
Our division will be a doozy this year with now Kovalev with Sens ans Beauchemin with Leafs.

Hopefully Hunwick will sign soon, but i am not as optimistic about the #. Im also curious to see how a D corp does digging the puck out of the corner, from behind the net and moving bodies in front of the net when 3 of the 6 are Wideman, Ference & Hunwick.

I'm confused. Is Kessel a pawn or Queen? Hunwick could be a pawn but definitely has Knight or Rook potential. Personally, I win all my chess games without my original Queen and sacrifice her often. She's just too vulnerable. I use my pawns and convert them into Queens. It's easier to win that way. OMG! Kessel IS the Queen!

What? ;)

Firstly, the above analysis by the others on Chicago salary structure is correct. I was incorrect on the cap figure. The number I had was late in the season for 08-09. Secondly, I apologize for my diatribe against Duinne. I am a bit frustrated with Chiarelli. The Hunwick arbitration is not what he has said and done in the past with players. I firmly believe the management / ownership stewardship is far too conservative for the Bruins to advance in the playoffs. Recently, the need for a trade has been more apparent with the signing of Recchi (Spector's Hockey as a resource). I thought I was clear in my first note on this thread. I guess I was not. The following responses I made were not needed and were in response to the "second language" crap. I am a Bruins fan.... I believe the management / ownership should be more aggressive in filling out this team. Lastly, Duinne I read the blogs often. I can say you usually are direct and polite. Enough said....