- Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: On opening night the Bruins will be able to get salary cap relief by putting Marc Savard on LTIR. They have little room to re-sign Torey Krug and Reilly Smith. It is possible that they can re-sign them without moving any salary, but it would leave them with very little flexibility to trade, sign players or carry extra bodies during the season. GM Peter Chiarelli has said as it stands they will nine defenseman fighting for a roster spots. David Warsofsky is the only one of the nine that doesn’t need to clear waivers.
Locks are Dougie Hamilton, Krug and Zdeno Chara. Dennis Seidenberg has a no-trade clause and is coming off surgery.Adam McQuaid is entering the final year of his deal and doesn’t have a good history of staying healthy. Kevan Miller is a good stay-at-home Dman at a good number, $800,000.
Boychuk will be a UFA at the end of the season and could be looking at Brooks Orpik money. He could bring back a nice return. Boychuk is pretty valuable to the Bruins though, eating over 21 minutes a game last year. Teams like Matt Bartkowski style of play and has a relatively cheap $1.25 million salary. His play can be a bit unpredictable at times. The Bruins would like to make a hockey trade for a right handed right winger to play on the third line. Clearing salary is the main goal though.
One-year contract extensions for Krug and Smith could be the likeliest outcomes at this time. They both have little leverage this year, but next year they would be arbitration eligible. Hamilton and David Krejci will also be looking for new contracts as their deals expire after this season.
- Michael Russo of the Star Tribune: Wild’s Josh Harding is back on the ice and Nik Backstrom is feeling good according to GM Chuck Fletcher. Darcy Kuemper (RFA) is still looking for a deal, and the Wild are working on getting it done. Ilya Bryzgalov would like to return to the Wild according to his agent.
“Ilya would very much like to return to the Wild and further the success the team had down the stretch last year,” agent Ritch Winter said. “It was one of the most satisfying experiences he has had in his career.
“Ilya loved his teammates in Minnesota, loved the city and loved and appreciated the support he received from the coaching staff and Wild fans. He would love to be a part of helping this team to enjoy the success they had together last year.
“He has instructed me to do all I can to facilitate a return to the Twin Cities even if it requires him to compromise somewhat to accommodate the budget issues facing the team if that becomes a possibility.”
- Mike Chambers of the Denver Post: Avs Joe Sakic on RFA Tyson Barrie with regards to training camp that opens on September 18th: “I’m confident he’ll be here.”