Well not much team related news out of the Hub of Hockey today. But in other news, as we stated in our post yesterday, last night some of the Hub Hockey crew attended the 'Bruins Foundation Sunset Harbor Cruise' which was basically a Bruins booze cruise. We had a great time and got to meet and talk with some Bruin alums and legends such as Bob Sweeney, Don Sweeney, Reggie Lemelin, Terry O'Reilly and Rick "Nifty" Middleton. Reggie Lemelin, who is one of my favorite Bruins of all time, got on my bad side though when he admitted to disliking the playing style of my current favorite Bruin, Tim Thomas. But then he made it up to me by taking some pictures with the crew while he was dancing/singing to the great music of Jim Plunkett, whom also has some great pictures from the event over at his website.
On top of that we got to meet the one and only Bruins Ice Girls, leading us to the decision that Alexa and Megan our now Hub Hockey's favorites of the crew. Overall all the Ice Girls were really friendly and great sports about taking pictures too (as you can see in our photo album). So make sure you guys show your appreciation during the season and at events to these unsung heroes of the Bruins organization. The only downfall of the night might have been the $5 beers, but that didn't seem to bother anyone about one hour into the cruise (what happened to the over $100 I brought on the boat with me last night?). Anyways, we had a great time and in the end it was for a good cause with all proceeds going towards the Bruins Foundation Bike Team which will be riding for the third year in a row at the Pan-Mass Challenge. Click on these links for more information on the Bruins Foundation, Pan-Mass Challenge or the Bay State Cruise Company.
The Hub Hockey Crew will be heading out to the Bruins Foundation Sunset Harbor Cruise tonight, which will feature Bruins players and alums. The cruise is to raise money for the 2008 Pan-Massachusetts Challenge which is a great cause and the Bruins are doing a great job showing support and we are proud to be part of it. But in the end its basically a booze cruise with Bruins players from the past and today, with special guest appearance by the Ice Girls. This will be a good chance to relax and hopefully get to talk to a few Bruins players. There will also be raffles and auctions for some great B's collectables too. In the end, we here are basically calling tonight "Operation Bruins Booze Cruise aka Couple of Boilermaker for Seabass & the Fellas".
Anyways, I am just letting you guys now know since we may not be around today since we are going to concentrate on getting ready for the opening of Hub Hockey Gear on Friday before the 6:00 start time tonight. So have a good Tuesday and if any important B's news comes up today, we will be sure to let you know first thing tomorrow morning. Also, look for our pictures from the cruise here tomorrow too.
Starting this week one of Hub Hockey’s favorite websites (Icethetics) is having a new tournament of logos, the “Center Ice Tournament”. The concept of this tournament is to simply find out who in the NHL has the best center ice design. The bracket has the Bruins looking to face-off against the Predators in the first round, which could be a battle since both bring a lot to the table.
In the past Icethetics (at the time going by NHLToL) have held a few different tournaments including “Best NHL Logo”, “Best Vintage Logo”, “Best Secondary Logo” and “Worst NHL Logo... Ever”. Let me ruin the surprise for you, the B’s have never won. But we have only ourselves to blame since in all the tournaments, the reader’s votes decide who moves on in each round. So for this tournament the B’s need you guys to step it up and come out in numbers. We will be posting a link to the voting section whenever it is available and we will also keep you guys posted on the results.
Also, just look around the website itself since it didn’t become one of the best out there for no reason. If you are a fan of the logos and jerseys in the NHL or even just art then this is the place for you since it is the most reliable and best source of information on those subjects out there. Also check out the “rebranding” section, where some talented artists take current NHL logos/jerseys and recreate them with their own touch. So check out the site and remember to check back here to see when voting for the Center Ice Tourney begins.
UPDATE 1:55PM: Icethetics has posted the poll for the first round of its Center Ice Tournament. The B's are already off to a good lead even though the poll just opened, so make sure you head over and cast your vote. Voting officially ends July 31st, this Thursday.
Here is a small preview of the some of the shirt designs we are working on for the August 1st opening of our clothing section. These are just sample designs and could still change before the opening. Also, so far, the pricing on shirts will range between $16 to $21 from what I have seen. We hope you guys enjoy this sneak-peak and start putting some cash aside for your favorite design(s). And don't think we forgot about all the great ladies of the Bruins out there, as we will also be offering female clothing too. So enjoy and keep spreading the Hub Hockey word. (Also, thanks t everyone for the comments. We read them all and appreciate the support.)
Today the Bruins completed the buyout of the final year on Glen Murrays contract. This now means that more than half of Murrays salary is taken off of the B's cap and that Murray is officially an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign with any team he chooses. But don't let the last few days fool you. Even though no teams showed interest in Murray when he was placed on waivers, that doesn't mean that there's no interest out there. A lot of teams could use his veteran leadership and shooting ability but since Murray has been a lower body injury machine lately and came with a hefty price tag, no team wanted to take the risk on the +$4-million contract. But now that his buyout is complete, I see Muzz signing somewhere (L.A. or San Jose?) in the near future for around $2-million.
More news to come on this as GM Peter Chiarelli is scheduled for a conference call today at 3PM.
UPDATE 4:22PM: Chiarelli had a conference call today to discuss the Glen Murray buyout and had the following to say, showing how much Muzz meant to the team and how hard of a decision this truly was for himself and the organization.
"He was one of our captains. Whenever we had to talk to our leadership group, he was part of it. He was a good foil for the players in that room. It was a difficult decision. But that's the cold, hard reality of this salary cap system. It's one of the tools general managers use to get that flexibility. In talking to Muzz, I couldn't give him any comfort in what I said. It's very bleak to cut ties the way we did. But that's the reality of it." -GM Peter Chiarelli
By this afternoon the fate of Glen Murray may be known, as the deadline to claim Muzz off of waivers will have passed. Many sources around the league don't see interest from any teams in going after the one-year, $4.15-million contract that will be owed to Muzz in 2008-2009. This has nothing to do with playing ability but mainly the cap, as many teams struggle to sign a full lineup while still leaving open some cap room. This now setup for a sad day in the Hub since all signs are pointing towards either a buyout or demotion to the AHL.
During a conference call yesterday, as reported by Fluto from Boston.com, Peter Chiarelli expressed his feelings on this difficult decision.
"It was really, really difficult... Muzz is a very good person. He meant a lot to the room. It's something where you have to make hard decisions in this new system... It's not written in stone that he'll be bought out, but it is a step toward that. It's unfortunate but it's part of the game." -GM Peter Chiarelli on Murray
Glen Murray, native of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia was the Bruins 18th overall pick during the 1991 draft. Muzz has played 570 games of his 1,009 game career here in Boston, while splitting the rest between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Last season he appeared in his 1,000 professional game against the Washington Capitals becoming the 9th Bruins to do so. Along with this milestone, Muzz has lead a great career with the B's totaling 206 of his 337 goals and 180 of his 314 assists here. His best season though, which was during 2002-2003, ended with an impressive 92 points and an All-Star selection. Along with these numbers Murray has served as the assistant captain for the B's the last two seasons.
Recently though, the aging Murray has struggled with injuries during the past two seasons that have held his numbers and performance down. Murray is still a great threat though on the ice and would be an asset to any team. So hopefully in the end this deal will benefit both the B's and Murray. First by giving Muzz a second chance with a new team and secondly by clearing some cap space for the Bruins and allowing the opportunity to bring up a prospect.
In the end though as PC said earlier, "it's part of the game". But #27 will be always remembered by me as a true Bruin. And hopefully the rest of Boston will remember Murray for the great and classy player he was during his Bruins tenure. Good luck Muzz, you will be missed!
UPDATE (1:05PM): Murray has passed through waivers without being claimed by any teams, as mostly everyone predicted. This now means the B's can complete the Muzz buyout tomorrow afternoon.
As many of you already know, we reported two days ago that the Bruins have avoided arbitration by signing Dennis Wideman to a 4-year deal worth $15.75-million. At first this deal was denied by the Bruins organization up until now. The Bruins have finally officially announced that they HAVE signed Wideman and the deal will be over 4-year and worth $15.5-million (about $3.875-million per year). Even if newly confirmed, this is old news to Hub Hockey readers so I bring up the more important fact which is that this deal now puts the Bruins more than $1.5-million over the cap. I know for a fact that just at the mention of $3.875-million a year, a Bruins fan favorite word comes to mind, “overpaid”. But I strongly disagree with this, and when you look at the facts you may also join me even if this could turn out to be a costly gamble by PC.
The Player:
When the Bruins received Wideman via a trade with the St. Louis Blue during the 2006-2007 season, many fans once again felt the B’s were moving backwards (ie: Jumbo Joe) since they were trading away a young prospect in Brad Boyes. Even today when looking at the numbers some may still say the Bruins got the short end of the stick. I mean Boyes went on to record 65-points this season and had career highs in goals and ice time.
But everyone quickly overlooks Widemans season which showed a significant improvement since coming to Boston in all aspects of his game. Not only did Wides hit career highs in goals and assists this year, he also averaged about 25 minutes of ice time per game which ranked him within the top 15 defensemen in the league. Also when Chara and Ward went down with injuries, none other than Wides stepped up as the unofficial leader of the defensive core. Not to mention the fact that he is a powerful player with great stick work making him a threat with the puck, which is a top priority around the league this year when it comes to defensemen. And finally on top of all this, he has yet to even hit his prime, turning 25 less than four months ago.
Now throwing all the “future potential” talk out the window, the guy can simply just play the game and is still maturing. Just look at the playoffs when he brought his game to a whole other level when he got extra attention from players trying to avoid Chara. I mean not every player is a Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin and will make a HUGE impact in their first few years in the league. There is a learning curve for most players and over time they develop into a solid player. That player will be Dennis Wideman.
The Contract:
You figure Wideman is awarded $3-million after his arbitration hearing, which seems to be what he would make away with as the going rate. Then the Bruins have Wides for one or two years and after that he becomes an UFA. What happens if Wideman progresses how the team expects him to in that time? Now with no contract and not restricted from talking to other teams, Wides could be seeing offers around $5-million or higher. So now don’t you think that locking him now for four-years and almost $2 million less seems more logical? Well I do and this is just another reason why this deal makes sense to me.
The Aftermath:
As stated earlier the Bruins with this signing are now over the cap by about $1.5-million. Simply put, this means that one or two salaries need to be dropped. This can come by either trade or buyout, but in the end needs to happen. If the Bruins choice to buyout any contract they now have a three-day period after the Wideman deal and then a 48-hour window in which all buyouts must take place. But for how much the Bruins are over the cap, I just don't see this happening.
Another choice is that the Bruins can explore the option of a trade. This is the choice that I think may be optioned the most and the reason why the Bruins were so quiet on the Wideman deal when news first broke. Some possible considerations when thinking who the B’s may try to dump are Glen Murray, Manny Fernandez, Peter Schaefer, Jeremy Reich and P.J. Axelsson. But of course Glen Murray has been the main name here so look for any trade to involve him. Also, the Bruins could choice to trade one of these players with a prospect or even future consideration in the form of a draft pick. But in the end I see more than one player being moved in the near future. Also, don't count out Manny and his huge contract. Remember the Bruins are deep right now in the C and G positions and could dive into those positions to clear cap space.
The Boston Bruins and defenceman Dennis Wideman have come to an agreement on a four-year contract worth $15.75-million. Wideman, whom filed for arbitration back in mid-July, was scheduled for a hearing on August 1st unless an agreement was reached by then. Wideman received a large pay raise over his salary of $600,000 from last season.
Wideman, 25, played in 81 games with the Bruins last season and recorded 13 goals and 23 assists for combined 36 points. He was originally acquired from the St. Louis Blues for Brad Boyes before the 2006-2007 trade deadline. Since then he has shown great improvement in his game, thriving under coach Claude Julien. Wideman posses great puck control and at times can really move the puck earning the nickname, "Dennis the Dangler".
Not to mention his power play abilities, scoring 20 of his 36 points last season while on the man advantage quickly becoming the B's biggest weapon on the powerplay. But in the end simply put, if you were PC (Peter Chiarelli) wouldn’t you want to resign the guy you received for giving up Brad Boyes? Just kidding, I think Wideman deserves this raise (even though it might be a little much) but congrats Wides....
With this new contract the B's need to cut some cap-room, so tomorrow I will discuss more in detail this deal as well as its impact on the Bruins salary-cap and future. Now the real question, is this the end of Murray in Boston?
Mike Milbury, ex-Bruins coach and player, has signed on as a new analyst with the CBC for the 2008-2009 season of Hockey Night in Canada. Milbury, who worked as a NESN studio analyst and Kathryn Tappen’s wrangler during last season, has also worked for NBC and TSN in the past. There is no news on weather this will affect Mad Mike’s tenure at NESN so stay tuned, but on a personal note I hope it won’t. No one else night in and night out brings the brutally honest truth like Milbury, just ask Phil Kessel. And that is rare these days in sports and would be missed greatly by Hub Hockey if so.
With the Bruins and Dennis Wideman reportedly being close to a contract agreement, it now means that the Bruins could soon be on the clock for any late contract buyouts. The official buyout period ended on June 30th, but when Wideman filed for arbitration this allowed the B’s to revisit buyout options up until 48-hours after either a deal is reached or arbitration is awarded. This actually worked in the favor of the Bruins since the question all summer long has been, what will Chairelli and the Bruins organization end up doing with Glen Murray?
Murray, whom is on the last year of his current contract, is expected to make about $4.15-million next season. Last season though, which statistically was Murray’s worst in a decade, has left the Bruins with a lot of unanswered questions for this aging forward. Muzz, whom has always been known as a slow skater, looked as if he lost even more of a step last season. At times even looking like the only thing keeping him on his feet was his stick. This has also played a huge part in the complete David Blaine disappearance act of his physical play too. And not counting his lack luster playoff performance, his numbers have been dropping by 10 points per season since the lockout. With so many questions in his game, it leaves the Bruins no other choice but to look over the possible options for Murray's future.
The first is that the B’s buy Murray out, which would cut his salary by one-third and pay out over two years ($1.38-million a year).
The second option would be shopping Murray and trying to trade him for young talent and maybe future draft consideration. This option though looks to be fading as each day passes since no teams have really showed too much interest in Muzz this off-season.
The third option is that the B’s keep Murray on the payroll and allow him to attend training camp in September. There they can evaluate his play and decide if they want to give him a roster spot or demote him to Providence. If they do decide to demote him it would still cost Jeremy Jacobs the full compensation of his contract, but on the bright side, it would be taken off the salary cap. This though is a long shot considering how rare Jacobs takes financial chances involving the Bruins.
Finally, the fourth and final option, which will fall on the shoulders of Murray and no one else, is that, Murray could actually “show up” during training camp and prove that he can still play and keep up with this much younger NHL and team.
Personally, this is my favorite of all the choices. I mean if we are going to go by last season stats only, than the Bruins just wasted a good chunk of change picking up Ryder, right? I think Murray still has one last 30-goal (or so) season somewhere inside of him and I know he wants to prove his critics wrong. Also with the signing of Ryder, no longer will he be the go-to goal scorer either, which should relieve some of the pressure off his shoulders. Especially if paired with Savard and Ryder, I think Muzz will be able to thrive off of their skill and abilities to have a larger impact this season too. Also remember, the guy isn’t that young anymore and was pretty banged up last year too, sitting out about two months. So we shouldn’t have been expecting the numbers of a player in his prime. I mean for a guy at the stage Murray currently is at in his career, a summer off can mean life and death in this league. Who knows, next season he could jump right back to where he left off after the 2006-2007 season.
So I guess in conclusion maybe this could be the end of the Glen Murray era in Boston or then again maybe it’s the second coming? Only time can tell, and it seems that time is running low…
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