With the Stanley Cup finals now underway, the 2009/2010 NHL entry draft is right around the corner. Unlike like last years edition, this years draft has a much deeper talent pool with the likes of tops prospects John Tavares and Victor Hedman. Obviously, unless the Bruins make a major trade to move up in the draft, they aren't going to land either of these two great young players. So the question remains, what do the B's do witht their 25th overall pick?

The first question would have to be, what are the Bruins needs. The answer; none really. Even with losing a couple UFA's (which is unevitable) the Bruins are still pretty deep and their development system is ripe with players who could be brought into the fold from Providence. One idea would be to use the 25th pick in a trade to fill some holes which were exposed during this years conference semi finals where the Bruins were ousted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 7 games.

If the Bruins are to use the 25th overall pick, who do they choose and at what position? Personally I would like to see the B's use the pick on a defenseman. One player I've had my eye on for a bit has been Stefan Elliot from the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. Elliot is ranked 17th amongst North American players and recently finished the WHL season playing 71 games and recording 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points with a +20 +/- rating. Elliot is considered a late 1st round to early 2nd round pick. Despite this he has drawn comparisions to fellow defenseman Ryan Ellis of the Memorial cup champions, the Windsor Spitfires. Ellis has been ranked 15th amongst both North American and European players but some are expecting Ellis to get picked as high as 10th overall. The difference between the two players? Ellis is going to be one of he top powerplay quarterbacks in the league. He is small (5'10", 173 lbs) and needs to develop his skating but he should become a top 3 defenseman. Elliot is bigger (6'0" 180 lbs) but also needs to work on his skating. Where Ellis is pure firepower, Elliot is more a shut down defensman who is responisble in his own end.

Another player I have heard rumours about the Bruins picking is centreman Kyle Palmieri from the US Under 18 team. Palmieri is ranked 20th amongst North American skaters. Last season Palmieri played 30 games for the U-18 team scoring 15 goals and adding 15 assists giving him a point per game average. Palmieri is commited to Notre Dame for next season so that could mean he may stay with the Fighting Irish for as long as 4 seasons. Although I don't know much about Palmieri, everything I've read about him says he has good hands and see's the ice really well. He's the type of player who you can look to, to score a goal when the game is on the line. He seems more a project player than a player who could be ready in a couple of seasons.

The Bruins are headed into this draft still stinging from an early exit from the playoffs. The draft is an excellent opportunity to keep this team competitive for years to come. With guys already in our system such as Joe Colborne, Zach Hamil and Brad Marchand, the future looks bright. This could lead to the Bruins first round pick being traded but if the Bruins do decided to pick, these are just two of the options they could look at to help build this teams future.

The Vezina Trophy, for all of those who live under a rock, is awarded to a goalie in the NHL who is “adjudged to be the best at this position.” The award is voted on by the every general manager who runs each NHL team. This year, the 3 finalists are Niklas Bäckström from the Minnesota Wild, rookie Steve Mason from the Columbus Blue Jackets (I know right, Columbus?) and our homeboy Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas.

Thomas has undoubtedly had the best season of his short career this year as he led the Bruins to the top seed in the East. His Goals Against Average (GAA) and Save Percentage (S%) were the best in the NHL while placing sixth in the NHL with victories (36) and only playing in 54 games. Thomas also won the Williams M. Jennings trophy which is given to “the goalkeeper(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it. Winners are selected based on regular-season play.” (Factoid, this is ManFran’s second Jennings trophy).

Both Bäckström and Mason had pretty incredible numbers as well. Listed below is a table I put together to look at their numbers and use a statistical view to see which player has the advantage when it comes to being the 2008-2009 winner of the Vezina Trophy.

(Red/Bold means the player led the league in that category)

Thomas led the league in the two most important statistics when it comes to a goalie: GAA and S%, but what does that actually mean? In 2007-2008, Martin Brodeur won the Vezina despite having the league’s seventh best GAA (based on 13 starts or more) and the eleventh best S% with .920 (same stipulations apply as GAA). Well, maybe the 2006-2007 Vezina Trophy winner posted better numbers. Ah, Mr. Brodeur again: In the 2006-2007 season Brodeur was third in the NHL with a GAA of 2.18 and third with a S% of .922 (same stipulations, again).

So what does that hold for Timmeh? Well look at the other two finalists. Steve Mason had a spectacular rookie season and is also in the running for rookie of the year. His 10 shutouts were tops in the regular season and led the Blue Jackets to their first NHL playoff appearance. Everyone loves an underdog and Mason exemplifies the very sense of the word. He plays in a sub-par hockey city (my own personal view) on a very average team, yet put them on his back and ended up in the playoffs.

Niklas Bäckström has been a fantastic goalie for the Wild since he broke into the league. Every year Bäckström has played at a high level for Minnesota and, despite their terrible play, has been a bright spot since the 2006-2007. Although he is not a league leader in any category, he remains one of the best.

So my thoughts? I may be a little biased, but I believe that Thomas SHOULD come home with the Vezina Trophy simply based on leading the NHL in both GAA and S%. Wins and losses are much like the wins and losses of a relief pitcher in baseball, they don’t mean anything.

Theoretically, a goalie could turn away 50 shots and still lose 1-0, thus giving him a loss. Same as a relief pitcher in baseball. When you look for a good relief pitcher, you look at innings pitched and ERA. When you look at a goalie, you look at GAA and S%.

With that said, I see Thomas taking this trophy. Mason and Bäckström are solid finalists, but Thomas was THE REASON why the Bruins ended up as the best team in the East.

Courtesy of Boston.com

"Yes, there will be a sheet of ice in Fenway Park for a Jan. 1 Winter Classic. It's a done deal, Bruins vs. either the Capitals or Flyers. The league will make it official at the start of July, with a splashy media event in the old ballpark. NHL free agency begins July 1, which grabs headlines around league cities (except for Phoenix, of course) for 2-3 days. The Sox play at home July 3-12. If the league wants the day for full media attention, it likely will wait for July 13-14 to make official all details, including how to purchase tickets."

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Holy shit! If things in Boston could get any better, I'm pretty sure the city would explode. This will be one of the biggest sporting events to hit Boston since the 2004 World Series. Think about it, you're playing hockey with one of the best teams in the NHL in one of the most historic ballparks in the MLB.

I think this ranks above the Red Wings/Blackhawks playing at Wrigley Field, but then again, I'm a Bruins fan, so I should.

Well, lets see if they announce it in July.

The NHL offseason is a time where teams try to make themselves better, but unfortunately, large salaries and constant player movement restrict this from happening. The Boston Bruins, and especially owner Jeremy Jacobs, are known for their penny pinching ways and have built a successful team (virtually) through their farm system.

Currently, the Bruins are going into the offseason with four restricted free agents (RFA) on their roster. The two biggest names on that list are Phil Kessel and David Krejci, but also are the names of crucial role players Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz.

The biggest concern amongst the Bruins faithful is trying to re-sign both Kessel and Krejci to a deal that will not only keep them in a black and gold sweater for the long term, but also be cap friendly enough to sign some Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA). Is that possible? I have no idea. I am not sure the type of deal either Kessel or Krejci wants, however I can see Kessel trying to make a run at a high level contract.

What I am about to say may piss some people off, but I don’t think Kessel is worth a large contract. Sure, he scored 30+ goals, which was the highest for the Bruins since Patrice Bergeron’s sophomore year, but does that mean he should be given the king’s ransom?

The current RFA compensation table for 2008-2009 is:
Amount:	Compensation Due:
$863,156 of less	NONE
$863,156 - $1,307,811	Third Round Pick
$1,307,811 - $2,615,623	Second Round Pick
$2,615,623 - $3,923,434	First and Third Round Pick
$3,923,434 - $5,231,246	First, Second and Third Round Pick
$5,231,246 - $6,539,061	Two 1st's, one 2nd, one 3rd round pick

Courtesy of NHLSCAP.com

So what happens if/when another team signs Kessel ($850K) or Krejci ($825K)? Well in terms of compensation, nothing. In fact, the Bruins wouldn’t be compensated if any of their RFAs (Hunkwick and Bitz included) decide to play for another team.

Essentially these players are unrestricted free agents should they decline to sign with Boston OR Boston doesn't offer a tender by June 30. To my knowledge, there is no system in the NHL that allows a team to match a qualifying offer from another team (much like the NBA RFA system).

So what does Boston have to do? The simple answer is to sign Kessel and Krejci. The harder answer is that they have to present a contract to them by June 30 or they become unrestricted free agents, then provide some sort of cap friendly (and hopefully long) contract that wont prohibit the Bruins from making some sorely needed moves to their defensive corps.

Can it be done? Sure. Will it be done? I guess we will find out after June 30.

Coming up later will be a look at the Bruins current UFAs and also potential UFAs on the market.

All contract information was supplied by NHLNumbers.com

From SportingNews.com

Washington forward Alex Ovechkin, Sporting News' NHL player of the year, was named on 36 of 39 ballots by league coaches and executives and heads SN's 2009 All-NHL team.

The other top forwards are Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin, the second-leading vote-getter with 31, and New Jersey forward Zach Parise, who garnered 20 votes.

Washington's Mike Green was the leading vote-getter among defensemen with 30 and Boston's Zdeno Chara was second with 17. The goaltender selection is Tim Thomas, SN's goalie of the year...

To read more about the selections, you can click on the link above.

Here at Something's Bruin, we are committed to giving you the most in-depth and realistic look at the Boston Bruins. Due to the offseason being upon us sooner than expected, the Something's Bruin crew took it upon ourselves to go on a little research project.

Everyone knows about center Patrice Bergeron. During his rookie year, he posted 16 goals and 23 assists (39 poins) and in his sophomore year, kicked it up a notch putting 31 goals in the net and 42 helpers for 73 points.

Two seasons later, Patrice was hit by Flyers defenseman Randy Jones which caused a pretty nasty concussion. Bergeron only played 10 games in the 07-08 season and was pretty invisible while "healing" from the injury.

This previous season, Patrice once again suffered a concussion when he collided with Carolina's Dennis Seidenberg. "Bergy" was out for 18 games due to this current "concussion".

Something's Bruin has recently uncovered that Patrice did not suffer a concussion at all, but was actually on an acting leave from the team. You heard it here first:

Patrice Bergeron is an actor!

We have proof!



Take a look.

It is evident that Bergeron (left) is the man in the video.

Could it be that this is merely a situation of mistaken identity? It is very possible, but you can hardly look at the evidence and think otherwise.

Enjoy your $5.25 million Mr. Bergeron, but more importantly, enjoy your tasty double stack from Wendys.

Phil Kessel underwent successful left shoulder surgery today at Massachusetts General Hospital to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. Dr. Peter Asnis and Dr. J.P. Warner performed the procedure.

Rehab and recovery will sideline Kessel for up to six months. Kessel is not expected to be ready for the start of 2009-10.

Source: Boston.com

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So I see this as a good thing for the Bruins. It should definitely help the Bruins in contract negotiations. I can't see Kessel having a large bargaining chip if he is going to miss the start of the 2009-2010 season, which he is slated to do.

If there is any point where the Bruins can back Kessel into a corner and make him take a lower deal, this is the time to do it. Same thing with Krejci and possibly Recchi, though I'm not sure how handicap accessible the Garden is..

We are all heart broken over that stupid fluke of a goal by the losers from one of those tobacco loving states down below the IHOP/Waffle House line.

The team is taking it even harder. Chara has returned to his enchanted Island. Since being back on that island he has only eaten three virgins as opposed to his normal nine. He just does not have any thing left in the tank to rape, pillage and smash babies against rocks and who can blame him?

Lucic has headed home to America's Hat (aka Canada) where he is old enough to drink and is probably spending time with his many Grand Children. He has not chopped a single tree down and refuses to eat maple syrup and Poutine. Next time we see him he will be bearded and obsessed not with hockey but bootleg copies of Joni Mitchell.

Tim Thomas can't even get his old job back at Chrysler because they have shut down all their plants.

Manny Fernandez is giving up goals to my nephew's pee-wee team as I write this. Keep those skills sharp Manny!!! We might need you to play goal for a few minutes against the Kings next year.

So what advice do I give? They should do what I did. Get all three hundred dollars that my girlfriend is hiding from me in her tampon box and blow it on one hand of Blackjack at Foxwoods. Then drink Bourbon mixed with green tea because that would be the healthy thing to do. All I can say for now is we will be back, mark my words... and mark them well...

I want to welcome all of you who are making your way to this website somehow.

First and foremost, this is a Bruins fan blog. It may hold relevant information or it may not, but the one thing that it will be is entertaining.

Questions?

Yes, it will be biased.
Yes, it will contain some crude language.
Yes, it will exploit my mancrush on Chuck Kobesew, err, I mean...

Basically, it is my view or the view of a couple others who will be helping me out with this (one happens to be a Canadian, so be nice ok?)

Enjoy your time here.