Recchi re-signs with Bruins

Still waiting for kessel and Hunwick's signings...
Plus, are we loosing Axe?? If so, I guees Sobodka will replace him?

Class Act - good signing

Welcome Back!

(Insert obligatory plea that Hunwick be next. HERE)

Awesome!

Awesome deal. Keeping some much needed grit on the team. Now if the B's can sign Kessel and teach him how to skate into corners, we'll be fine for 2010.

Three good signings under 1 million. in total on those three guys that is $2.5 million. leaving about just over 5 million for Kessel/Hunwick. Sign Hunwick 2 or 3 years 1 million and Kessel for a few years at 4 million. (ideal world why i am not PC) but it could happen once the market settles down.

Hunwick is next for sure!

why?

that's not leaving much room for others (Kess, Hun & PJ). Could be PJ is done in Boston or major trades looming such as Strum or Bergy.

This signing is great news, particularly for Patrice Bergeron. For those who feel that Bergeron is overpaid will see a resurgence in his point production that lead to the 5 million he was signed for.

Awesome signing.
Hunwick should be next.
And a deal of Kessel for Kaberle (or another top 2 pair D) to follow. Hard to picture keeping Kessel with the 9 top 3 line forwards you already have on the roster.
Lucic-Savard-Ryder
Sturm-Krecji-Wheeler
Recchi-Bergeron-Kobasew
Begin-Bitz-Thornton
Sobotka

I like those 4 lines heading into the season - Opposing teams can't focus on one line when you have 3 potent scoring lines.

Wonderful...Recchi still has great game form and is a master at getting in front of the net. Should help Bergy's game immensely.

Great deal for Recchi

I love it, someone who has heart in the NHL still.

This guy scored 60+ points last season and gets a $1 million contract, if he signed with the Rangers he could have gotten $4 million/year hah

All the right moves are being made right now. We need to seriously bolster the blue line, and I think we'll see that is the Bruins next step (or two). As for PJ, are you joking. He makes an undeserving amount of money JUST to be a PK man. Kessel going for a strong D man sounds just fine to me. Look at the beefed up lines "you" posted above....as much promise as he (Kessel) has, the Bruins need D more than forwards.

You've got to love Mr. Kidneystone

Great signing. One can never under estimate the importance of leadership in the locker room. Especially when 1/3 of the team is younger than 25.

Great news, great to have Recchi and Bitz back. Also happy to hear about Boychuk but honestly didn't get to see enough of him this past season to really have an educated opinion.

Not sure about Begin but I wasn't sure about Ryder either.

Still need to improve the D. Big Z can't do it on his own. The O will be fine without Kess but he's a playmaker. I love him and savard together.

The Kaberle/Kessel trade talk is still out there.......and makes sense given the way Toronto stocked up on D yesterday.

Fluto, you hearing anything?

Recchi, 61 pts last year (16pts in 18 games with the B's)....1 million
Gomez signez by the habs, 58pts last year....8 millions

Sign Hunwick, and get another D, maybe sign PJ back (depending on the new D salary) and it's a really tough team to play against!

Great signing!!! The bs have about 4.2 million left to work with. This is going to be a challenge to get both Hunwicj and Kessel under agreement unless they move some money around or make a deal to trade away kessel and or Huwick for a mature puck moving D. Does not have to be Toronto.. Could be Minnesota or other team looking for 2 young players with major upside.. Bs need to win now. This should be interesting. They need another puck moving d other than Wideman. If Bs can find a way to keep kessel and Hunwick I would be pumped. Love Humwick game..

Awesome. For $1 mil, I love this signing. Forget the age, Recchi is a player, and you can't have too many guys who go to the net.

..the only thing missing is Nash (aka Mr. Sunshine) telling us what a horrid signing for a broken down bum this is, and how we all just stupid for drinking the Bruins Kool-aid.

like the signing, but "didn't miss a match"??? This is hockey, not tennis!!

Saavy 91 (#6), Hunwick for $1M? If that happens PC must have some real compromising pictures of him....... Montador got $1.5M/year and i would think Buffalo would have taken Hunwick for same price even with having to give something back as compensation. I fear Hunwick's pay is jumping to $2M with the focus on mobile Dmen, and I really fear some desparate GM may go higher.

Is it made public when a team tenders an offer sheet to an RFA? (cut me some slack i live in CA)

Best signing so far and don't get me wrong Bitzy Cat is a mac!!!
Glad that Boychuk was signed too. He was last years AHL defensemen of the year and I believe he belongs here.
RECCI RULES!!!

I expected this when I read PC's quote about Axie testing the market. Ideally he'd like them both, but Axie must have been asked to take a cut that was significant enough to prompt him to see what his street value is.

Again, PC is showing a pretty methodical hand here. And he's leaving a certain amount to sign Kessel, but only a certain amount.

Sign PJ!!! People will realize his worth next year when we have the worst PK in the league without him on our team!!!

Mr. Recci can play for my Bruins any time.

Worst PK in the league without Axe? Hardly. One player does not a PK make, it's a system. If we lose Axe it's no big deal, a heartbreaker yes but I wouldn't mind seeing some youth on the PK unit. Now we'll need to find someone who can score in shootouts though if he leaves....

SoCal I did put in parethesis "In an Ideal World" to have Hunwick sign for 1 million haha.. I wish he did. reality may be setting in Kessel is done in Boston. we need to make sure he is out of the NorthEast Division.

Kessel = Gone

SoCal, yes it is made public.

Thanks Matt.
Not enough money in the pocket right now to sign Kessel.

Seems to me there is enough money to sign Hunwick & Kessel if a certain multi-million dollar D veteran is moved.

Isn't this a better team with Kessel, Hunwick & PJ signed and Wideman off the payroll? Without Wideman they have $8M to spend on those three. (Kessel $5M, Hunwick $1.8M & PJ $1M, like Recchi)

Or maybe move Ward (although he brings a lot of intangibles, a modest cap hit, and awesome forearm shiver that he needs to teach Mark Stuart)

Wheeler may be just a flash in the pan. I would like to see them keep Kessel, but it shows his worth by other teams not bidding on him. He is pretty much in the same place as Vanek was.

SoCal,

Kessel is in no way deserving of $5mil. Hunwick should probably get 2, and why should PJ take a paycut? Especially what amounts to a 50% pay cut.

And yes, if we could get Wideman gone for a decent return I'd be happy. Ward gone for a prospect would be acceptable since the man can not stay healthy. Stuart has enough tricks of his own for pummeling opponents, and is faster, stronger, and healthier. Kessel and Ward to Minnesota for Burns and a second round pick would satisfy me.

guys wideman is what we've all been saying is valuable---a puck moving d-man. Stop this nonsense about moving wideman. Definitely would love to get hunwick back--big potential. Looks as if PC is trying to trade Kessel and one other d-man. My guess is either ference or ward, because it will give us enough cap space and roster space to add another puck moving d-man. WE HAVE 7 D right now---one of them is going if we make a trade.

Stonewall,

The Bruins have carried 7 D for most or all of any year I can remember. I don't see PC and CJ changing this now.

awesome move Recci has long been a class act. His age and experiance will help this team so much. I noticed it in just the few weeks he was with the Bruins after the trade. He is a strong player even at 42 years old. (and to be a little selfish it is nice to have a Bruin who was born in the same decade as me ) His advise and leadership will go far to bring out the talent that this team has

GREAT MOVE PETER AND CAM

b&gbleeder,

I hope you are right on Kessel getting more like Krecji $$.

PJ signs a 1 yr deal, he takes a paycut to stay and win a cup, not to mention the personal disruption of moving his family (I assume he has one), he wins the Cup, then decides what to do with rest of career. If Kessel is signed closer to the money you are talking, then give PJ some more (btw, you never saw a PJ bashing post from me).

I agree the health of the blueliners is a big concern - a # of them missed a lot of games. They need to carry 7, and have an 8th in Providence ready to go. Keep Boychuk there so he is playing rather than sitting in pressbox and when Ference gets hurt, he can come up and battle whoever #7 is for the opening.

#35, talk of Wideman going is cuz he has value, and it's a matter of keeping Kessel, PJ, Hunwick & Wideman (the math does not work). Trading Ward frees up $1.75M less than trading Wideman. Assumption is Hunwick fills a lot of the role Wideman does. If Hunwick is offered a rich deal elsewhere, so be it and math problem, solved.

Has any team put an offer in front of Kessel?

I love this news! I didn't get to see much of Recchi in his younger years but any time you'd see a Flyers' game, you'd always hear his name frequently called. Now, after seeing him play this past season with the Bruins I wish he could have spent some more years here. Even at his current age, he has incredible energy - this is coming from a fellow late-30-something. He's got such a great release and he always looks sharp on the ice. He just exudes professionalism. It's good to see he'll be an asset here in Boston next season.

I want to keep Axy if for no other reason than because I respect players that have some form of team loyalty.

10 goals in 18 games; sounds like a no-brainer. Recchi can still play great hockey. Hopefully, he'll have a health and successful season.

Please let this be the end of Axelsson,,,PLEASE

This team does not need another defenseman imo. If they can resign Hunwick they are set, with Hunwick here and then Boychuk itching for NHL time we'd be good. Boychuk is the puck moving defensemen we are all talking about

Recci is a leader and has pobb. more experience than any one on the bruins right now to lead them to the CUP. I'm pump.

I know this won't be a well received post, but the B's need to move Wideman...that's all there is to it. Too inconsisent...doesn't play well in the corners, can't clear the front of the net or carry the puck like we need...He is a good passer, but that's as long as he doesn't treat the puck like a grenade. I watched every game during the playoffs and most of the season...I was disappointed (or spoiled by Orr, Park, Bourque in succesion) more often than not. Trade him and Kessel for a 20-something puck-moving D-man. Build from the back and down the middle if you want a championship!

If both sides of the Kessel discussions are smart he'll sign a two year deal at 3-3.5, and wait for the economy to improve in two years to go hunting in the 5mil territory. I won't mind seeing him paid 5 a year if he can consistently produce 35-55 goals a year as pure goal scorer, or if he can do more in other zones. But as Jonathan Cheechoo proves until you have a big season more than once the first time is just a fluke.

As for Kessel in Toronto... if he thinks CJ rides him hard just wait for Burke to get a hold of him, he'd have Brian's footprint embedded on his DNA before things were done.

I wonder if the Bs could get away with a package like say, Kessel/Axelson and Hunwick and a 1st rounder for Heatley and Chris Philips? Does the money work?
Boychuk is gonna make the team this year and If you ask me yeah Hunwick is slick but he has ONE yea under his...so what you sign him to a 3 year 5.5 deal
and he turns out like Jon Rohloff? Please...Lucic/Savard/Heatly/Chara/Philips?

Tom, Wideman IS a "20-something puck-moving D-man," and a highly valued one at that. You may not have a high opinion of him, but you're in the minority on that one amongst hockey observers.

Chiarelli said he's probably going to hold on to most of this (superb) team and he appears to be holding to that. Good signing Recchi. Now get Kes and Hunny signed, wave bye-bye and thanks to Axelsson (Sobotka will step into his spot) and call it a day.

I am so glad to read this. Recchi wanted to be back, and you have to know he sees something here for this to be the one place he wanted to play this year. He is one of the great players of our time and I look forward to seeing him lace them up for a full season.

Let's see if they can get the cup this year

Tom
Wideman can move the puck once he clears the top of the circles, but otherwise you're dead on the mark about him.

Dogmonsta, that's insane. NOBODY wants Heatley. Not to mention that it'd be kind of difficult to trade Axelsson, seeing as he's a UFA.

The end of Axelsson? I know some Bruins fans are very dumb, but this one takes the cake. Axelsson is one of the best 3rd line LWs in hockey and has been for years. That's just asinine. He better not be going anywhere. He's cheap considering what he does. He's also taken discounts earlier in his career. They are on the verge of a legit Cup run, so he better be here.

Duine, that's the brilliance of Dogmonsta's plan. We trade Axe and get someting for really nothing. t's actually a genius plan.

I'd rather put Kessel and Wideman together and ship them to Atlanta for Kovulchuk than get Heatley.
Seriously, Heatley's attitude makes Kessel look like Recchi.

Thank you Pete for saying what I was about to waste 10 minutes typing.

Would do Kessel and Wideman for Kovulchuk in a Boston minute, but it's unlikely Atlanta would part with the only player worth seeing on a terrible team. No matter what happens w/Kessel leaving (and he will leave) he's going to become a lethal 40+ goal scorer elsewhere and that makes me ill. Agree Ward should be jettisoned (nice player, but aging and too much on the books)...I like Wideman's offensive capabilities so I'd hate to see him go....but something's gotta give...I wish PC had tried to move Kessel for a D like Pronger or Bouwmeister (i know--big salaries, but move some other guys off the books, etc.) Still too many holes.

I love Axe but he's gone. More important to sign Kessel and Hunwick. People have to realize that this was the second best team in the league last year. They lost in overtime in game 7. If they won the game who knows what could have happened. Also, key guys (Kessel, Krecji, Ference, Recchi) were all injured bad, not to mention Chara had a sore knee. The Bruins don't need a Heatly or Kovalchuk, not yet anyways. To me the opening night lineup should be:
Lucuc-Savard-Kessel(Recchi is Kessel not signed)
Ryder-Krecji-Wheeler
Sturm-Bergeron-Kobasew
Thornton-Begin-Recchi (Need a centreman I know)
Extra Forwards: Bitz, Marchand
Chara-Ward
Ference-Stuart
Wideman-Hunwick
7th D - Penner or cheap D-man ie. Hnidy

Those are the players I'd want to see.

PS. Yes I know Kessel and Krecji probably won't be ready for opening night. Yes I know Hunwick and Wideman together is scary. Move the lines around as you wish.

Start with this and evaluate in November

If you wanted to get Pronger or Bouwmeester, you'd end up with a hell of a lot more holes.

This is an extremely good, YOUNG team, and keeping them together is (and should be) Chiarelli's highest priority, not selling the future (like Philly) to land an expensive, aging star. The only thing they lacked in the playoffs was experience (and good health). With the maturing of guys like Hunwick, Krejci, Wheeler, Kessel (resign him now!) and Stuart, and the addition of Rask, this is going to be - again - one formidable team.

Bruins fans should be enjoying this era, not complaining about it. Heck, take a look at Montreal for a lesson in how to mess up a franchise. They'll be lucky to make the playoffs.

Gus,

I'd play Bitz over Begin (Bitz is a natural centreman too, but played wing because we already had Yelle). And I would switch up Recchi and Kobasew (Bergeron and Recchi played very well next to eachother).

Boychuck will be the 7th defenseman.

Here's a question for all you brainiacs......How come no one has signed PJ Axelsson?

Think really hard and you might figure it out....but I doubt it

Because everyone expects him to play here or go play in Frolanda.

Not to mention there are guys like let's see:
Sakic, Sundin, Tanguay, Koivu, Biron, Upshall,, and half a dozen other guys of real worth all unsigned.

The New York Islanders have signed goaltender Scott Munroe, winger Jeremy Reich and defenceman Brett Westgarth to one-year contracts.

Reich has played in a total of 99 NHL games, scoring two goals and four assists with the Boston Bruins' organization. Last season for Providence, he had a career-high 21 goals and 13 assists.

b&gbleeder you can't count Sakic on that list, the only reason he is, is because he has not officially announced if he will play another year. You and everyone else knows he'll be back with the Avs if he comes back. Thankfully I've heard that he will be announcing his come back soon and I hope he makes Team Canada too, what a way to retire for him.

Good for Reich. He deserves an NHL job

The Bruins aren't going to trade any of their defenseman for the sake of making room for PJ Axe. How ridiculous. PJ excelled at what he did, but his best days are behind him. The Bruins forwards are strong enough w/out him w/ ample call-ups from Providence. PJ is not a high priority & stays, maybe, if he takes the discount if the offer is still there depending on what shakes out w/ everyone else.

Kessel isn't going to sign any multi-year cap-friendly deal where he is getting well under other 30+ goal scorers. Would any of you? Plus the cap for the Bruins the following year isn't going to get better, especially if the cap decreases & other players coming up as FAs. I think PC is in a good position though b/c if someone offers up too much $$ for Kessel, then the Bruins get alot of high picks as compensation & he may take that if he can't trade him beforehand. If someone doesn't offer alot & fits in the Bruins price range, the compensation isn't as good & then he matches the offer.

If the Bruins move any defensemen, it would be part of some package to get an upgrade. The Bruins defense is the weak link. There is a large drop-off after Chara. Kaberle would have been a perfect #2.
Wideman can move the puck but defensively weak. His play dropped off later in the season. I think he's highly over-rated. For the money he's getting, he should be better defensively.
Hunwick shows good potential to be a top-4 & I think he should be a keeper, but not at $2M yet.
Stuart is young, improving, solid all around and would be a good #4.
Ference is up/down. I think he played best before breaking his leg last year. But overall game I wouldn't consider as a top-4 dman.
Ward is in the last year of his contract I believe & probably doesn't get moved. he can look solid at times, but then look bad. Alot of injuries. He's the type guy you move at the trade deadline if you are going to the playoffs.

I think PC has played this out well, except for the draft day trade falling through. I think he can still use Kessel as trade bait to bring in a quality defenseman.

I doubt PJ or anyone will be signed over the 4th of July weekend.

Anyway, he's said there's only a couple of places he'll play other than Boston, so there's no reason to rush to sign him before the Kessel factor plays out. If Kes takes a walk, we'll probably see PJ back, which is fine with me.

I mean fine to see PJ back, not fine to see Kes walk.

Was listening to AM 640, the radio station that broadcasts Leaf games here in Toronto and TSN personality Bob McKenzie said he's heard the Kessel / Kaberle deal will be revisited. Have any of my friends down in Boston heard anything in this regard or is the deal now off the table?

RHO no word on that, at least in the papers. But there's also been no word on any serious interest in Kessel other than from Burke, so it's not surprising to hear talk of revisiting it.

I've been assuming that his agent would only ask for a number higher than PC would do (if that's indeed what happened) if he had some idea there was interest at that number somewhere else. The number had to come from somewhere.

MM & RHO,

I did see a report that PK denied he was looking for 5mil a year. Assuming that's true, he may have been looking for a deal for 5 mil over two years... which is certainly a reasonable price.

Medford Mickey, b&gbleeder: Thank your for the update. In listening to a lot of the "talking heads" on radio and television up here, you'd think the Kessel / Kaberle deal was already done! Understandably so, Leaf fans are drooling at the thought of a young sniper on the Leaf roster. It is as if Burke lands Kessel, he will be viewed as the second coming of Sam Pollock and PC the next Mike O'Dumbell for making such a trade. If it happens, it happens!

You folks in Boston probably know this already and if so, please ignore this post. For those not aware, today's Toronto Sun has the article "Kessel-to-Leafs deal is off the table." It states Leaf GM Burke "reported yesterday that a deal between the Leafs and the Boston Bruins, which would have seen Toronto defenceman Tomas Kaberle head to Boston for the high-scoring Kessel, is not on the table anymore, at least not at this point." It goes on to say Burke "added that interest in Kaberle's services, once very high, has cooled down." To follow Mickey and b&gbleeder's earlier point, the article mentions Kessel is "reportedly looking for something in the neighbourhood of $5 million US." (It does not mention if that is $5 mill per or over 2 seasons.) It goes on to mention the B's are running out of cap space and would have to deal some players to keep PK. "If not, a trade with the Leafs may again become a possibility." Guess all we can do is see how Kessel's situation plays out.

I don't think a Kessel for Kaberle deal will be straight up. PC wanted the Leafs #1 pick this year to target a solid power forward type prospect that the Sabers snagged at pick 13. Thats probably why the deal fell through and maybe a reason the deal doesn't get done at all.

Kaberle would have been the #2 dman the Bruins desperately needed now that fits under the cap & also get a young power-forward type prospect into the mix to groom in. The Bruins give up next years 1st pick, but so what. Theoretically it should be a pick in the 20s & they already have alot of young players & prospects to move to the next level by then. Sounded good to me.

Kaberle is 31 and making $4.25 -- how do the B's sign him, even if they make the deal?

Frankly, I think this thing plays out to make PC a genius. I don't think the $ Kes presumably wants is out there.