glen murray gone

As has been written about here and so many other places, the Bruins have ended their relationship with forward Glen Murray.

A tough decision that apparently neither party enjoyed, the Bruins send Murray to Free Agency and move into the 2008-2009 season a little younger and a little faster.

We will wait to see if they are a little better.

Muzz will be missed.

the ones we've got, and the ones that got away

By now everyone knows that the Bruins' Eastern Conference rivals, the Ottawa Senators, have picked up UFA Jason Smith, who I recommended the B's acquire. The Sens have apparently decided that leadership and proven skill are the attributes they need this year. Huh. Interesting.

For the Bruins, their pre-season development camp continues, and all reports are that Patrice Bergeron and Manny "Four-Game" Fernandez are on the ice, and in full health. This bodes well for the team, given that these two players represent a number one scorer (proven) and number one goalie (debatable) being back in the fold.

In theory, the team can only be better this year than last, right? I mean, that's how it works, yes?

Oh.

free agent update

Unrestricted Free Agents Glen Metropolit and Alex Auld have signed with Philadelphia and Ottawa, respectively, ending their days in the Black, White and Gold. Metropolit was a solid Bruin in his single season here, and Auld proved himself a worthwhile NHL keeper again, after bouncing around between a few clubs. His shutout streak was recognized around the league.

Wish them both well.

In other news, the Bruins missed out on Rozsival, who re-upped with the Rangers. Their One-Two defensive pairing will therefore probably be Rozsival and (former Senator & Chara partner) Wade Redden.

bruins sign michael ryder

A while ago, I was part of a "pre-season training session" with a former NHL player, who will remain nameless. He presently works with the Canadiens, so other people in the training session were asking him about Habs players, and getting his behind-the-scenes input.

When they got to Michael Ryder, the ex-NHLer became very serious and said that he is a gifted, natural sniper, but expects things to come without putting in the work.

I suspect partnering Michael Ryder with Claude Julien, his former coach in junior, the AHL and with the Canadiens, will bring about a change in work ethic. Ryder had his best seasons as a pro under Julien's guidance.

The addition of Ryder strengthens the Bruins' Right Wing, and almost certainly signals the end of Murray's time with the B's.

Personally, I think it is a good acquisition, as the Bruins will benefit from a consistent 30-goals-per-season scorer, AND because I am a big fan of people from Newfoundland.

NOTE: it gives me great pains to carry an image of ANYONE in a Habs sweater on this blog. No Ryder-in-Bruins-Sweater images available yet.

bruins re-up petteri nokelainen

Young forward Petteri Nokelainen has apparently re-signed with the Bruins, according to Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe.

This makes me very happy. Nokelainen is a rangy kid with good hands, that, I think, will be able to use his size to gain space as his game develops. He had a commanding presence during the year, especially in the 7-playoff games against the Habs, playing with a surprising amount of grit.

His numbers weren't great for the 2007-2008 season, but I think he's got a tremendous amount of potential, and also think its a good sign that the Bruins brass recognize his assets-in-the-rough.