The Bruins traded winger Marco Sturm to the LA Kings for "future considerations." Though Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli described that to mean "nothing." In essence, the Bruins sent Sturm to LA for cap space.
As a Marco Sturm fan, I'm sad to see him go. There are several wingers on the Bruins I'd prefer to be traded for nothing (anyone named Blake, and anyone from Newfoundland). Although those guys will be gone via free agency in the off-season.
Sturm had four 20+ goal seasons with the Bruins, and was an adept power player. He was fast and disciplined enough to earn time in defensive situations, and on the penalty kill. I would've loved to see him play on a line with Seguin and Savard.
I don't like how the Bruins have spent their money on forwards. Ryder collects $4 million this year. But then there's guys like Paille and Caron, who each make $1.1 million. For what? And I'm losing my patience with Bergeron. He's an amazing defensive forward, but he's borderline useless on offense. Or at least useless as far as $4.8 million forwards go.
And I loathe the NHL salary cap. I understand and accept it as a necessity, to keep the likes of Edmonton and Ottawa in the hunt. But when teams that have no fans bring the average revenue of the League down, it brings the cap number down, and just ruins the game for fans in cities that have fan support. Atlanta and Phoenix, for example, have good teams this year, yet are 28th and 30th in attendance, respectively. Dallas lead their division, and are 26th in attendance.
These places don't want hockey, so why is the NHL so adamant that they get hockey? The NHL refuses to consider relocating teams to Winnipeg, Hamilton, or Quebec. And they don't even know what the word "contraction" means.
Before I lose my train of though, Sturm will be missed. He should do well in LA, where they need some help with forwards, and have some talent he can compliment. So Auf wiedersehen, Herr Sturm. Und viel Glück.
The Bruins have come out and announced that despite asking Sturm to waive his no trade clause, and despite talking trade with other teams out there, Marco Sturm is still a member of the Boston Bruins.
Here's what happens. Someone hears something, perhaps a leak from the teams involved, about being very near to trading people. This "source" then conveys the info as a rumor to a "reporter." The reporter passes it along to his news "outlet" as a "report of a trade," not an actual trade, just a report. The "outlet" then uses words like "reportedly," or "sources say."
Then it hits the internet and sports radio. It's never been confirmed or announced as an official fact. It's just a report of a rumor that might be close to being a fact. But people like me (I would have written about it if I didn't have to go to work) report it as a fact, give our opinions on the deal, et cetera. Soon, so many people are reporting this rumor, that it feels like a solid fact. Newspapers write stories on their sites, ESPN, TSN, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, everyone has the story.
But it's still a trade in the works, not a done deal. Actually, it seems to be a trade that died. It's pretty clear that the Bruins are actively shopping Sturm. And it's highly likely he won't be wearing a Bruins uniform when he returns from his injuries. But right now, he's still a member of the Bruins.
It's a shame, because he's one of my favorite players. And I'd love to see him and Seguin together on a speed line. But even if he does get shipped somewhere, my Marco Sturm German Olympic jersey will remain my favorite jersey.
Well I guess the Bruins won't have to figure out how to get under the cap when Marco Sturm returns as he has been reportedly shipped to the LA Kings. There is no word yet what the Bruins are getting in return. We'll keep you up to date when more information becomes available.
***UPDATE***
Rumor is the Bruins only got a conditional draft pick in return, since they are so close to the cap limit.
The Bruins just can't seem to ever have their full team on the ice. Savard just got back, and scored the game winning goal, but now Marco Sturm will be out the rest of the playoffs with a torn ACL and MCL in his right knee. Sturm will undergo surgery in 4-6 weeks. Recovery is expected to take six months.
He battled through a terrible injury last year, and now he is going to have to deal with another one. You have to wonder what he is going to have left in the tank when he does finally come back next year.
Overall the Bruins can't use this as an excuse, as they have had to deal with injuries like this all year, and the Flyers are just as beat up.
An 0-1-1 weekend and I'm a satisfied Bruins fan. No, I'm not happy that the Bruins got that one point. Although, that's nice considering the B's are 2 points behind 6th place, and 1 point ahead of 13th.
No, I'm happy with the way the Bruins played. Maybe it's the poker player in me. The attitude that "I didn't get the cards today, but I played well, didn't lose much, didn't make mistakes, just never got going." It's frustrating when you lose this way, but compared to how the Bruins had been losing, it's a fucking joy.
Firstly, the Bruins played two very good teams this weekend. The Northeast leading Sabres, and the Kings, who are the #4 team in the Western Conference.
Secondly, the Bruins ran in to two outstanding goalies this weekend. Both Ryan Miller and Jon Quick (sounds like a gunfighter) are going to the Olympics. Miller is a Vezina candidate, essentially leading the NHL in GAA (2.03), and SV% (.935).
I'm not making excuses. The Sabres beat the Bruins. The Kings beat the Bruins. But just barely. The Bruins played solid defense in both games, and they looked like a whole new team in the offensive zone.
The returns of Marco Sturm and Marc Savard (Claude Julien, please put these two on a line with Mark Recchi, just so we can call that line 'Marked Men') saw the offense evolve out of the primordial ooze of ABC hockey into a creative and entertaining unit.
What Sturm and Savard can do with the puck is simply fun to watch.
What Blake Wheeler, Michael Ryder and Dennis Wideman do however, is like watching a midget try to piss at a urinal. It's just unfortunate.
Wheeler has all the skills, he just has no brain. He's still a sophomore player, so perhaps he'll learn. But in Saturday's game he had a truly Blake moment. He got the puck at the red line, streaked into the zone, using his speed and size to keep two Kings off the puck. Then he just drove straight into the corner, like a drunk driver with no idea what to do once he got behind the wheel.
But at least he moves the puck, unlike Ryder and Wideman, who play keep away with their teammates and constantly turn it over to the opposition.
But with Sturm and Savard, the Bruins notched a pair of power play goals. Bergeron's looking better, Lucic and Bitz are healthy, and Chara is playing with an inspirational fire.
Bruins host the Capitals in a huge matchup Tuesday night. Are they going to let a shootout loss crush their spirits? Or are they going to build on the positive?
Bergeron to Sturm for the win. Those words will live on in Bruins' fans minds for years, as they witnessed their team's triumph in a truly classic Winter Classic on 01-01-10.
I've got to say that uncharacteristically, the NHL operates this event superbly. The pomp and circumstance of the pregame wasn't boring, and it wasn't overtly commercial like the NFL's pregame ceremonies tend to be. It was cozy, but not corny. Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke as honorary captains, James Taylor singing the Star Spangled Banner, a quiet but impressive B-2 flyover. It was simply whimsical to behold.
Then the post-game was just as enjoyable, a good way to cool down from the thrill of celebrating Sturm's game-winner. Kudos to the NHL for choosing to announce the US Olympic team, and introducing it in such an interesting way. Of course, the icing on the cake was Tim Thomas being introduced for the first time as an Olympian.
Now to the game...
The Bruins irritated the hell out of me for 80% of the contest. The lone Flyers goal beat Thomas because Thomas was beating Hartnell. Hartnell, who is now one of my least favorite players in the NHL, had just crashed in late on Thomas. Sometimes, refs miss these things, other times they just don't care.
I hate the enforcement of rules in the NHL. Refs are strictly literal when it comes to things like free hands and sticks parallel to the ice. But when it comes to the shenaniganry implemented by punks like Hartnell, refs usually let it go.
So the refs didn't police Hartnell, but neither did the Bruins. Both Hunwick and Morris were present in the crease with Hartnell, yet it was Thomas who had to clear him out. What the hell were Hunwick and Morris doing? Their best Hal Gill impression.
I'd been critical of Julien for scratching Hunwick earlier in the season, but now I understand. He is not a good defensive defenseman. And Morris also has his lapses.
For 80% of the game, the Bruins were punked on the boards. "Board Battles Won-Lost" should be a stat kept by the scorekeepers. I'd estimate that Philly won 65% or more of the board battles.
The Bruins shouldn't go out and get a pure goal-scorer of the Phil Kessel ilk. They need some scrappers on the boards. Lucic's return will help alleviate the problem, but I still think the team can get a guy who will win those battles and help out the more "skilled" players. Think Chuck Kobasew.
The Bruins came out hard early, then eased up a bit. Maybe the whole thrill of the event gave them some adrenaline, then it wore off as the game became a game.
But the last 6 minutes of the 3rd was the most exhilarating hockey I've seen from this team all season. They fought and won along the boards. The Flyers had chances to make it 2-0, but the Bruins desperate, flammable, and furious play shut them down. And finally, Morris did something useful, Krejci made a simple pass, and Recchi put it in.
Then there's Marco Sturm. How valuable has he been. I'll never stop reminding my readers that when questions like "Where will Phil Kessel's goals come from now?" were asked, I matter-of-factly answered "Marco Sturm." The German Olympian leads the team with 14 goals.
I was thrilled to see Tim Thomas get this win. He had an excellent game. His only goal allowed was because his defensemen refused to clear out the crease in front of him. He was otherwise stellar, and deserves both the win, and all future Olympic glory.
Back to relative normalcy as the Bruins visit the Rangers on Monday. And I think I speak for a lot of Bruins and hockey fans out there when I say, I cannot wait for this event to return to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I'm going to start saving right now.
The Bruins ended this game in the first 17 mins, as they racked up 3 goals quickly. I would like to give the Bruins all the credit in the world, but the Thrasher simply looked like they didn't want to be there. Boston beat them to every puck, and the Thrashers really didn't even fight to get back on defense throughout most of the game.
The Bruins got 4 goals from 4 different players (Byron Bitz, Marco Sturm, Steve Begin, and Patrice Bergeron). Tuukka Rask stopped all 18 shots he faced for his 2nd shutout of the season. Rask is now 10-3-2 in games he starts, and is looking like he could be one of the better goalies in the NHL. There were rumors that the Bruins could send Wheeler, Rask, and one other player for Ilya Kovalchuk, but right now I wouldn't trade Rask for anyone. It is just that hard to find goalies this good (like good starting pitching in the MLB).
Anyways, the Bruins should be in good shape for the Winter Classic tomorrow (if it doesn't get rained out) against the Flyers.
Believe it or not, the Panthers are decent. They're floating around that 8th spot in the Conference. Beating them on the road is a nice little snack.
Tim Thomas was outstanding. He allowed a weird goal that came off a bad-angle shot and found the .01% of the post side that Thomas didn't have covered. It was a shot meant to create a juicy rebound, but sometimes guys get lucky.
After that, he was like Dominek Hasek out there. I've seen much better outings by him, this year and last, especially in terms of positioning. But his athleticism atoned for those shortcomings in anticipation.
Ryder tipped in the Bruins' first goal, his 10th of the year. Sturm's game-winner was his team-leading 11th. Sturm's speed coupled with Savard's vision and touch will make for a deadly combination once the two spend enough time together to figure everything out.
The Berlin Wall fell and Germany became one country. What has Germany 2.0 given us since 1989?
Mercedes, Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, hot supermodels, Marco Sturm, Sebastian Vollmer, Scheiße porn, great soccer, the best beer in the world, Oktoberfest, David Hasselhoff, astrophysicists, "Du Hast," and a language that makes yelling fun.
Krejci said his rehab is going well. The 23-year-old is coming off a career-best season (22-51-73 totals), for which he earned a three-year, $11.25 million contract in June. Krejci isn’t expected to be ready for the Oct. 1 season opener against Washington, but he’s been encouraged by his recovery.
“The doctors and people I do rehab with say I am on schedule,” Krejci said. “I think I’ll be on the ice in September. I already started working out at the gym and on the bike and stuff like that. I’m getting back in shape. It’s still too early to say when I’m going to be playing exactly (Boston Herald).”
The NHL season is so long that Krecji not being ready for the first couple of games isn't a big deal. From everything I have been reading he seems to be on track for a late October return.
In other news Sturm (who everyone seems to forget about) will be ready to start the season. The big question is Krecji's close friend Kessel. There is nothing new to report on him. I hope he comes back, but I have to admit it seems to be getting less and less likely...
What should've been a day of rejoice, turned into one of great fear, as Patrice Bergeron, who missed most of last season with a concussion, left the game after a scary collision in the 2nd period with the Hurricanes' Dennis Seidenberg. Bergeron was helped from the ice with what appeared to be a head injury. There is not word whether or not he has another concussion, but from what I saw he looked groggy. It was ood since the hit didn't look too bad, but once you have a concussion, you are more likely to get another. It really just sucks, with how well this team has been playing.
Anyways, at least the game went well as the Bruins cruised to their 13th straight home win. Manny Fernandez, who is playing up to what DP preaches, made 32 saves and improved to 10-1-1 in his past 12 starts. Kessel improved his point streak to 17 games, which tied him for 5th longest in franchise history, along with Ray Bourque. He only needs to extend his streak 3 more games to tie Adam Oates for the longest steak in Bruins history.
The game was tied 1-1 till the 3rd, when the Bruins went off scoring 3 goals. The strength of this team is their depth, which will be tested once again with Bergeron looking like he will be on th shelf for awhile, and Sturm who is now out at least 30 days. The good news is the Bruins have such a good record, that even if these injuries affect them, if they can get healthy in a month or so, they will be fine.
Marco Sturm was back on the ice yesterday during an optional practice for the Bruins. Sturm has been battling a neck injury, and it is still up in the air if he will be able to play Thursday against Toronto. My guess is that he won't play, as the Bruins seem to want to take this slowly, so they don't lose him for a longer period of time.
Aaron Ward still seems like he is going to be a week or two away from returning. His ankle is still giving him enough trouble that he has not been able to practice. Since they already tried to bring him back, and he hurt it again, I don't expect to see him on the ice till 2009.
It is amazing that even with players going down left and right for the Bruins, that they are still tearing up the league. Usually, a lot of teams pick up a player or two near the trade deadline to bring new life to the team, but the Bruins might not have to, since they will just keep getting better with their own players returning from injury.
It doesn't happen often, but the Bruins absolutely dominated the Canadians on the way to a 6-1 victory.
The Bruins have been playing great hockey and are now 10-3-3 on the season. Marco Sturm and Stephane Yelle each scored 2 goals, and the Bruins snapped a 12 game (regular season) losing streak against Montreal. DP's boy, Manny Fernandez, was awesome in net as he made 27 saves and is now 4-0-1 in his past 5 starts. If Manny can be this good for the rest of the season the Bruins could be dominate, as Thomas has been unreal so far. I am really impressed with the way the Bruins are playing, and I can't wait to see how far this team can go this season. People need to sit down and give this team a chance...they are fun to watch.
Just because you're not hearing anything about it doesn't mean it won't happen. The Bruins start regular season play Thursday night in Denver against the Avalanche.
The B's are coming off a somewhat successful 07-08 campaign, which saw a first round playoff exit, but only after giving Montreal a run for their fake looking play money. Considering most of the season was played without star center Patrice Bergeron, it was a good year for us dozen or so Bruins fans.
The biggest off-season acquisition was signing winger Michael Ryder, formerly of the Canadiens. Not exactly like the Celtics getting KG a year ago, or the Patriots getting Moss, or the Sox getting Schilling.
HOWEVER, the Bruins will have a healthy Patrice Bergeron this season.
The Bruins lacked explosive scoring potential last year. They scored by grinding out possessions, playing good defense, forcing turnovers in the neutral zone, and cleaning up the garbage in front of the net. But Bergeron is a playmaker. He can create space and generate offensive pressure with the best of them.
I think the B's will build on their moderate success of last year's season, get a decent playoff seeding (4th or 5th), and make a deep run in the postseason. They might even make the Stanley Cup Finals. But whoever wins the East will be demolished by the monstrous Red Wings.
Here's a position-by-position preview:
GOALIES: Tim Thomas stepped up and became the clear #1 last season when Manny Fernandez went down with an injury. Neither Thomas nor Fernandez are the kind of goalies that will stand on their heads and steal games on their own. But they don't screw up, and if the defense in front of them is solid, they'll keep the Bruins in position to win almost every game.
DEFENSE:
Captain Zdeno Chara leads a defense full of familiar faces. The Bruins didn't make any changes to their blue-liners. Chara had career highs in goals, assists, and points. He'll be paired with Dennis Wideman. The 25 year old excelled on the powerplay and was a force on the ice with Chara.
24 year old Mark Stuart will probably pair with 13 year veteran Aaron Ward. The 3rd defensive pairing of Andrew Alberts and Andrew Ference is significantly weaker than the top two, and could be a liability. But the top two groups spend enough time on the ice against the better forwards that it shouldn't be a major problem.
FORWARDS: The Bruins will roll two very talented lines, a 3rd line with the potential to score, and a hard grinding 4th line. Marc Savard was 3rd in the NHL in assists last year. He'll team up with Michael Ryder and PJ Axelsson. Axellsson is best known for his defense. Ryder was once a legitimate scorer, but his last season with Montreal was a failure. Being with Savard should help him return to quality. But if he doesn't, Savard's passing and playmaking will be wasted.
Bergeron, Marco Sturm, and Phil Kessel will be one of the most exciting lines in the NHL. Bergeron has 90 point potential, Sturm has solidly gotten over 25 goals consistently in his career and has the potential for 30+, and 21 year old Kessel has the speed and skill sets to be a top forward in the NHL.
The Bruins power play was a disappointment last season, but it doesn't look like it will be in 08-09. Bergeron, Sturm, Savard, Ryder, and Chara can be put on the ice with a man advantage. That's a lot of firepower there.
The Bruins have a number of young forwards that showed sparks last year. Milan Lucic became a star in the postseason. He's PJ Stock only bigger, much better defensively, and a better scorer.
David Krejci came out of nowhere and amassed 27 points in 56 games.
Chuck Kobasew was 2nd on the team with 22 goals last year.
The enforcer Shawn Thornton averaged a penalty minute about every 6 minutes of ice time he got.
The important thing about this team is that it has character. We saw that in the Montreal series last year, in the overtime win, and the classic 5-4 Game 6 victory. It's not going to be pretty European style hockey like the Canadiens play. It won't be star-studded offensive onslaughts like the Red Wings. It won't be cheap shot goonery like the Flyers. It will be a healthy mix of scrappy, determined physical play with offensive firepower, and stingy defense.
I - for one - am more excited for this season than any Bruins season in recent memory.
A brisk first period (which included a 12 minute stretch of whistle free hockey) ended 1-0 thanks to Marco Sturm, who netted his 26th of the season. David Krejci got the only assist, but Glen Murray deserved a nod as well. Sturm was the trailing man of the three Bruin forwards, and Murray's drive toward the net freed up Sturm on the wing, allowing him to score.
The Leafs came back with a strong second period effort, outshooting the Bruins 18 to 11. Jiri "Spell Check" Tlusty beat Tim Thomas to tie the game at 1-1.
The Bruins kicked it up a notch in the second, creating breakaway after breakaway. Kessel got in behind the defense thanks to some length of the ice passing behind him. All alone with just the goalie to beat, Kessel tapped home the go ahead goal. A few minutes later, Glen Murray added some insurance, making it 3-1.
The Leafs made it interesting when Krejci was called for a bogus hold, and Pavel Kubina scored from the right wing on a shot Thomas could have probably saved. Toronto goalie Vesa Toskola got an assist on the play, his 5th of the season, which I think is just a cool stat for some reason.
But the Bruins responded right away. Twenty-three seconds later, Peter Shaefer's shot deflected past Toskola to make it a 4-2 game.
The Bruins now sit in 7th place, tied in points with the Flyers at 88, but holding the head-to-head tie-breaker. The Senators come to town on Saturday, and the B's fly to Buffalo to play a game on Sunday. With the Capitals also winning Thursday night, the Bruins remain 2 points ahead of the 9th place team.
