Thankfully, in my eyes, PJ will never wear this uniform again
Hockey In Swenglish reported today that ex-Boston Bruins winger PJ Axelsson has signed a 4-year contract with Frölunda in the SEL. Axelsson was quoted saying:
"Frölunda is the club in my heart. I have always wanted to come back here. Now it suited well in and I'm looking forward to experience nice things again with the team. Saw that Joel Lundqvist was talking about winning the Swedish Championship. That sounded good."
So there you have it, PJ will more than likely end his career playing in Sweden. I was never a big PJ fan, so he will not be missed by me.
Unless you've been living under a rock or just on vacation, you already know that Aaron Ward has been traded. Oh it's true, he was traded to Carolina yesterday for Patrick Eaves and a 2010 4th round draft pick and the Bruins then turned around and bought out Eaves' contract, thus allowing $2.25M to be freed under the salary cap.
This move apparently pissed off EVERYONE in Boston because Ward is such a likable guy and a great interview. Although I agree that Ward was wonderful on the radio and seems to be a great, stand-up guy, the Bruins aren't going to win championships based on character. Ward's play has somewhat declined over the past couple of seasons and could no longer be relied on as the #3 defenseman.
Now Ward will be next to Scott Walker, probably wondering if he will suck punch him once more for his deodorant or something else he needs in his locker. However, Ward seems to be excited to "go home" (home is where his wife and two children live [Carolina]).
Now when that deal was done, there was one mass speculation:
THE BRUINS WILL USE THIS FREE CAP ROOM TO SIGN PHIL KESSEL!!#!!11one11!
Well folks...you were wrong. Dead wrong.
Later in the day, the Boston Bruins came to an agreement with defenseman Derek Morris. Morris signed a 1 year, $3.3M deal to play in Boston, but I can't help think of the hypocracy that is going to be shouted from the hilltops.
WHY DID THEY DO THIS!? NOOOOO YOU DONT TRADE WARD WE WANT KESSEL etc. etc.
Well Bruins fans, this whole offseason there were two things constantly being bitched about.
#1 Phil Kessel re-signing with the Bruins #2. Getting a puck moving defenseman.
Well, there is your. puck moving defenseman you've been asking for. I know the contract sucks, but what do you expect? Puck moving defensemen are at a premium and now you have one for each pairing (Hunwick, Wideman, Morris). If you think that having a puck moving defenseman was never an issue, please watch the Hurricanes/Bruins series again.
I have absolutely no feelings about this deal. I don't care one way or another because the Bruins addressed a need. I feel that this is a bigger need than Kessel coming back because you can find 30 goals somewhere. Remember, Sturm was a near-30 goal scorer two seasons ago.
There was also a news story last night on FOX25 where Chiarelli was given the OK by Jacbos to match any offer sheet given the Kessel.
I am 26 years old and I've been a Bruins fan for as long as I can remember. I've been to the original Boston Garden for many Bruins and Celtics games and can still remember sitting in the old balcony seats, which was basically hung right over the ice/court. It was magical and those who were there through the 1972 Stanley Cup run or the 1980's NBA Championships can attest to that. Unfortunately, in 1997 the Boston Garden was finally demolished to make way for the Shawmut Center/Fleetcenter/TD Bank North Garden/TD Garden/(insert new name here), but the legend and lore of the Boston Garden will never be forgotten.
Built in November of 1928, the Boston Madison Square Garden (later cut down to Boston Garden) was the brain-child of boxing promoter Tex Ricard, who had dreams of making it a miniature Madison Square Garden (hence the name). Tex built the arena specifically for boxing matches and set the seats so that fans could see the "sweat on the boxer's brow". This led seats to be closer to the action so when both the NHL and NBA started playing there, there was a large home advantage.
Dubbed "The House That Russell Built"
The Garden housed one of the biggest sports legends in Boston, its parquet floor. The floor was initially installed at the Boston Arena (Matthew's Arena now at Northeastern) and moved to the Boston Garden in 1952. It was a distinct advantage for the Celtics.
"The parquet floor is synonymous with the Celtics. It is a good floor, a very good floor. The so-called dead spots on the floor? If teams felt it was a poor floor, I used it for an advantage by playing with their minds. That usually worked. When teams did beat us on the rare occasion, they never complained. The strange thing was that there were more dead spots in old Madison Square Garden than in Boston. Believe me, I played and coached there on many occasions; I know." - Red Auerbach
The Garden in its black and gold splendor
The Garden, however, wasn't without it's flaws. The air conditioning was non-existent and it was never more prevalent than during a Boston Bruins playoff game where fog clouded up the entire arena. The air conditioning wasn't the only problem though as the electrical system was also a mess. On May 24, 1988 a power transformer blew up during Game 4 of the finals series between the Bruins and the Oilers. Two years later on May 15, 1990 the lights went out during an overtime finals game again between the Bruins and Edmonton Oilers. This happened because the game went into 3 overtimes and lasted around 6 hours long and the faulty wiring of the Garden couldn't handle the length of the game.
The actual hockey rink itself was also an issue as it was undersized due to the NHL not having size regulations at the time of its installation. The rink was 9 feet shorter and 2 feet narrower than regulation size which gave the Bruins a distinct advantage.
Although the Garden had many flaws, what happened inside the building will never be forgotten. The 1972 Stanley Cup Championship, the 1980 Celtics dynasty, the epic rock concerts with The Who after being arrested in Montreal the night before, James Brown playing on the night Martin Luther King was assassinated and many more memories.
The demolition of an iconic arena
Although the Garden is gone, it will never be forgotten. Often imitated, never duplicated, the Garden will live on as one of, if not the, greatest arena in sports history. And with this friends, I leave you the greatest Garden image of all time:
There are reports that the Boston Bruins and Phil Kessel are nowhere close to a deal.
"When asked how things were going during a Monday afternoon interview with Toronto radio station AM 640, Kessel said that the two sides “are no closer” then they’ve been over the last two months. Without arbitration rights and with seemingly no teams willing to step up and sign Kessel to an offer sheet this summer as of yet, there aren’t many options available to the young, talented winger."
What do I have to say about it? That's ok.
Bruins Nation, I wish you would step off of that ledge my friend (...I would understand) [ugh, sorry about that] and take a look at the team that could be on the ice in the fall.
Honestly, I see 1 hole in that line-up and his name is in bold. I've never hid the fact that I am not a Blake Wheeler fan. The guy hit the rookie wall so hard you would've thought Dany Heatley was behind the wheel, but I digress.
The Bruins will be OK if Kessel doesn't come back. I think it's pretty obvious that Kessel isn't the cog that moves the offensive machine, that man ultimately wears #91.
Placing Ryder in the top spot with Savard will not be a bad thing. Hell, you could put Savard on a line with Eli Manning and David Ortiz and one of them would have at least 20 goals. The guy is an absolute stud.
Kessel is undoubtedly a skilled player. We all watched him last year, but I question how much of that was because he was playing with a guy like Savard. How many goals can you attribute to playing with Savard? Seriously, think about it. How many goals do you think Kessel scored this season with Savy as one of the two assists?
It's not like Kessel is going out there, delivering body checks, scoring goals and dropping the gloves. He's a soft player. He may be softer than a Steve Montador pass out of the defensive zone, now isn't that saying something?
This particular post may catch a lot of heat, but that's a good thing. I don't mind being the Bruins bad guy because it allows a different perspective on things.
Ryder would do an effective job playing alongside Savy and Lucic. Ryder scored27 goals last year playing with Blake the Fake and Krecji. If you were to put him along-side Savy, you could easily increase that number by 5 to 10.
Again, I know Kessel was a big part of how well the team played last year, but he wasn't the sole reason. I don't think the Bruins will miss him and they'll move on.
Save the cap money and move on to guys like Savard and Lucic who will be up next season.
---
On a side note, we're still looking for LOOCHISMS! Unfortunately, we haven't had a big response with this, but we're still trying to spread the good word!
I just received a text message from the Bruins saying that Matt Hunwick has signed a multi-year extension:
BRUINS NEWS: Boston Bruins sign defenseman Matt Hunwick to a multi-year contract extension.
And now its official. Here's the statement from bostonbruins.com
Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed defenseman Matt Hunwick to a multi-year contract extension. Per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Hunwick registered six goals, 21 assists and a plus/minus rating of +15 in 53 games during his rookie season in 2008-09. His 27 points placed him third amongst Bruins defensemen and he scored his first NHL goal on November 17, 2008 against the Maple Leafs. Hunwick played forward in six games last year and posted 1-1-2 totals while skating up front.
---
Well I guess that means that Zubov is out of the picture. Looks like we're going to have a defensive corps of
Chara-Wideman Ward-Ference Boychuck-Hunwick
Although not in that order most likely. If the cap number is right, Zubov could still come here and Boychuck could be optioned to Providence and used as a 7th defenseman on the roster.
INTEJECTING EDIT!
I was alerted to the fact [THANKS SCOTT] that I completely forgot about Stuart. So it looks like Boychuck will 100% be down in Providence. I would go out on a limb to say the pairings will be:
Chara-Wideman Ward-Hunwick Stuart-Ference
Anyways, I like the Hunwick deal despite knowing the actual terms is because Hunwick is the young puck moving defenseman the Bruins need. A guy like Stuart or Ward aren't able to move the puck out of the zone like a Wideman or Hunwick. Also, Hunwick is versatile enough to play a FW position short term, gotta love that.
"Sports Illustrated's Allan Muir says that the Boston Bruins are one of nine teams interested in free-agent defenseman Sergei Zubov. Zubov, soon to be 39, has played only 56 games over the past two seasons with the Dallas Stars, but is healthy again."
There are a few things here that bother me about this rumor.
1. The Bruins have little to no cap space left and are apparently will in talks with Kessel. Matt Hunwick is also going to arbitration on July 24, so we'll see what the cap looks like after that date.
2. Zubov's bones have to be made of dust by now.
Zubov was a pretty good player for the Stars, but come on, seriously? His last productive season was the 2006-2007 season where he started 76 games and posted some pretty good numbers (12G, 42A and 54 points). The 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 season though, terrible. He played in 46 games in 07-08 and only 10 in 08-09.
In January of 2009, Zubov had hip surgery which came to the tune of missing 72 games for a terrible Dallas team (sorry Cole).
Last year Zubie made $5.3 million. What would he consider a decent contract for a guy who will eventually have his number retired in the Big D? There is no way he takes a Mark Recchi 1 year $1 million dollar salary, it just won't happen.
Zubov doesn't provide what the Bruins are looking for at defense. If you're looking to sign sing for 1.5-2M, why not just give it to Hunwick? Hunwick is a puck moving defenseman and is a hell-of-a-lot younger than Zubov.
I hope the Bruins don't go after Zubov, it makes no sense to me.
So it's clear to see that I grabbed this off of NESN's broadcast of the press conference. It provides a great layout of what the two rinks will look like and what side each team will be starting (and finishing) on.
TICKETS
Here is the official info:
- Only Bruins Full-Season Ticket Holders are guaranteed access to Winter Classic tickets, which is one of the Bruins 41 regular season Home Games. - Ticket pricing is set by the NHL and will be released at a later date -Details regarding available seating locations will be released at a later date -Once locations and pricing are finalized, you will receive an offer to select your preferred price - Based on the price you choose, you will be invoiced for the balance -You will have the opportunity to purchase the same number of Winter Classic tickets as the number of Full-Season seats that you have for a regular season game -Additional Winter Classic tickets will not be available from the Bruins office (A limited number of tickets will be made available to the public. Details will be announced by the NHL at a later time) - Your Winter Classic tickets will be mailed separately and will not be included with your 2009-2010 Full-Season Tickets
Additionally, it was said from a Flyers season ticket holder I know that they will get priority as well. So basically if you don't have season tickets in Boston or Philadelphia, you're screwed...unless you want to pay big bucks for them!
Anything else I'm missing? Nothing I can really think of at this time. This damn illness is killing me.
Thanks to Joe Haggerty at WEEI for this: "Defenseman Matt Hunwick and the Bruins have set their arbitration date for Friday, July 24 — less than two weeks away. But the two sides have had discussions on a multi-year deal that would keep the 24-year-old with Boston for up to three years.
According to sources with knowledge of the negotiations, discussions have recently dried up between the two sides, however, and arbitration appears to be a more likely resolution for the disparity in contract terms over the NHL’s leading rookie scorer at the defensemen position last season. With only $4.3 million remaining under the cap and Phil Kessel still unsigned (but still B’s property), it’s likely that the Bruins are looking for a little bit of savings with Hunwick, and seeking something in the $1-1.3 million range."
Apparently Hunwick wants $1.5-2M but in my eyes, he doesn't deserve it. Look, I know Hunwick is the young, puck moving defensemen that the Bruins need but at that cost it would severely hamper the chances to sign Phil Kessel.
So what is more important to you? A young guy who will be a 4th or 5th defenseman behind Chara, Wideman and Ward or a 30-50 goal scorer (dependent on health of course) who is soft but with the potential to be a superstar?
I guess it all comes down to your tastes. Personally, I'd tell Hunwick to shut his trap and take contract much like Bitz (2 years, 675K) with the premise of "show me and I'll pay you".
--- The NHL and the Boston Bruins announced the worst kept secret in the world today. The Bruins will be playing the Flyers at Fenway Park (pause to pick jaw up off of the ground). I'm pretty excited but I doubt I'll be going. After speaking with a couple season ticket holders, apparently the NHL is only allowing them a ticket for a ticket, instead of what I was hoping with something like purchasing a max of 4.
As much as I would love to be at Fenway Park for this, I am also fine with sitting at home or at a friends house, in front of an HDTV with a 12 pack of brew ready for me.
January 1, 2010 will definitely be something special though.
Lastly, the NHL has released their 2009-2010 schedule and as usual the Bruins open up their season...at...home!? Wait what?! Yeah, it seems that the Bruins will open the season against Alex the Golden Boy and the Capitals at home on October 1. This is the first time since 2005 that the Bruins didn't have to start on the road because of an overabundance of clowns and elephants (the circus).
These are just some of the latest things going on around the Hub that involves the Bruins. A busy, busy day for sure but anytime it has to do with the black and gold, we're all about it.
Without going much into my past, since no one particularly cares, I have been involved with NHL gaming since NHL 2002. What do I mean by involved? I mean digging into the guts of the game and modifying the jerseys, arenas, ice, equipment, goalie equipment, facepacks, etc. Hell, I was a beta tester for NHL 2004 when a website I used to moderate for became an affiliate of EA Sports (then God took the website from us.) No seriously, the owner thought he saw God and God told him to shut down the website.
Anyways, since that shutdown, I've been a nomad, hopping from one mod site to another basically looking for a home. I came up the now-defunct Double Minor Hockey Network and settled in before corporate greed took over and DMHN was sold.
After DMHN was sold, the members there were dissatisfied with being apart of SportsGamer and Bhu Media, so we broke off and started our own community called Thebreakaway.net or TBN.
It's not my intention to plug TBN but to plug its hosted sites, with Something's Bruin being one of them. TBN was gracious enough to give us our own forums, which can also be found on the left side column.
These blogs are part of the TBN Blogging Network and are worth a look at.
Cole has been a Stars fan since the inaugural year in Dallas, thanks to my big sis who remembered watching the Bruins when we lived in Boston, and the Rangers when we lived in New York. She got me into it very quickly and effectively.
A look at the San Jose Sharks from the viewpoint of three passionate, cup hungry fans who have gone through the constant disappointments of the decade. From analysis on the team's performance to analysis on the Tank's horrible pizza, we'll cover all things Teal.
Welcome to myLeafs.net. myLeafs is a fan blog devoted to the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs. Every member here is a die hard Maple Leafs fan and will give first-hand fan impressions on events that may take place involving the Maple Leafs. Hey, sometimes we'll even blog about non-Leafs stuff. Oh yeah, we're also members at thebreakaway.net. The finest hockey and NHL addons site known to man.
For those of you who didn’t become Canucks fans until the last few years or fans visiting from other teams, “The Mattress Line” refers to a three or four month period in 2003 when the Sedins had Jason King as a winger. Two twins and a king. The line was on fire for a while, before King dried up and faded away into obscurity. Look forward to analysis of the Vancouver Canucks from a fan perspective, talking about things related to the team that I care about and feel are important.
So there you have it.
If you're a fan of the NHL series on PC, any of these blogs or hockey in general, head over to TBN. It's a great, strong community that will be around for a very long time.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am about to say something that will make all hardcore NHL fans cringe, cry and throw tantrums of epic proportions. It will either make you raise an eyebrow (because you have no idea what I'm talking about) or shake your head and call me an ass.
Ladies and gentlemen, I say...
BRING BACK THE GLOWING PUCK!
For those who weren't born then, have no idea what I'm talking about or have managed to completely erase this abomination from your mind, the glowing puck (which was officially called "FoxTrax") had a two year run beginning at the 1996 All-Star Game here in Boston.
A look at a glow puck used in the 1997 All-Star Game
Now, the construction of the glow puck isn't really important, but if you're interested here it is straight from Wikipedia:
To create the FoxTrax puck, a standard NHL puck was cut in half, and a tiny circuit board with a battery was placed inside. The circuit board contained a shock sensor and infrared emitters that were located on the flat surfaces and perimeter of the puck. The enhanced puck was engineered to have the same weight, balance, and rebound as the original puck. The two halves were then bonded with a proprietary epoxy compound and the puck could be used for gameplay. The FoxTrax was developed with assistance from News Corp's Etak navigation subsidiary. While the batteries were designed to last for 30 minutes, and some were successfully used in tests for more than 60 minutes, a typical puck lasted only about 10 minutes on the ice. For that reason 30 FoxTrax pucks were provided for each game. The puck was activated when it was dropped by the ref or struck by a hockey stick.
If you're really interested, here's a real in-depth look at how this was created.
Although quoting Wikipedia isn't really a reliable source and proves that I have little to no journalism skills what-so-ever, it gets the job done.
The glow puck, however, came with a lot of controversy. Those who have ever lived in New England at one time in their life either played hockey or had someone in their family that played hockey. Let's be frank for a minute (well you can be frank, I'll stick to pezell). The Northeast area of the United States was once a hockey hotbed where just about everyone had put the skates on before at some stage in their life. High school hockey arenas were always packed and people generally loved the sport.
These hardcore hockey fans HATED the glow puck. I can't blame them, I despised it at the time as well. The Hockey Faithful called the puck a joke for a few reasons:
1. It made hockey look like a video game. 2. It wasn't hard to follow a black puck on a white surface. 3. It was harder to follow a baseball being hit into the sky, yet there were no complaints for a glow ball.
Newcomers enjoyed the glow puck because it made it easier for them to see the puck, though I just believe that Fox was playing to America's motto of "If we don't have to do work, we like it!"
After doing some digging, it's apparent that even Versus wanted to bring the glow puck back! This was written back in May of 2008. "The NHL and cable TV partner Versus are talking about introducing "puck-tracking" technology as early as the 2008-09 season, executives from the network and the league told USA TODAY."
It's apparent that everyone wants the glow puck back! RED COMET TAILS FOR ALL!
My feelings? Well I feel that the glow puck was just a disastrous move because it brought the game of hockey down to a child's level. Honestly, if you want to watch the sport, then watch the sport, but don't complain that you can't see the puck. If that's the case, I want a glow ball in golf and in baseball because once those hit the sky, you can't see shit.
Yup, ESPN debuted "Ball Track" (clever, I know) during the Homerun Derby and it was disastrous for a few reasons.
A. They used 1 camera angle which, I felt, sucked. B. The ball's projected line was jumpy as hell and made little to no sense.
Bring back the glow puck? Hell no. I'm making it an official decree that no balls, in any sport, should ever possess something inside of them that make them glow. If you can't follow a sport because "you can't see the puck/ball" then you need to stop watching sports because clearly you're just not getting.
Could Bitz be on the move if the Bruins sign Kessel?
Peter Chiarelli went on NESN and interviewed with the vivacious Kathryn Tappen. He told Bruins Nation that Phil Kessel will be back as a Bruin in the fall.
"Yes, yes he will. You know I don't like to talk about negotiations but he's a player of impact with speed and he's still a young player. There's been reports of us trading here and there and I can't dismiss me talking about players to trade, cause that's my job..."
I'll be honest, I wouldn't be surprised to see a guy like Byron Bitz moved.
Think about it. Bitz is a young, scrappy player who is playing with a very movable contract (2 years, 675K/yr). Would it make sense for Chiarelli to move someone like Bitz? Sure. He is an easier player to move than Sturm and Bergeron because of contract/injury history and you could get a draft pick out of him. Bitz provides 3rd or 4th line depth for a team who is looking for someone to go out there and start a little bit of trouble.
Sure, Bitz is no Avery or Brashear, but he also isn't afraid to drop the gloves if need be. We saw it first hand here in Boston. The guy has the drive and the work ethic to get better, though he won't be a superstar in the league.
So what does Chiarelli get from dealing a guy like Bitz?
Well one would tend to believe that moving a guy like Bitz will get you a prospect or a lower draft pick. You cut out cap space, although not much of it, and drop a guy like Blake Wheeler into the 4th line so he can learn the game without having a disastrous second half of the season (and subsequently benched in the playoffs).
To be fair, I wouldn't mind seeing Wheeler moved as I was never high on him like most people in the Hub are. Anyways, I'm getting off-topic.
I believe Bitz would be the most attractive player on the Boston roster. Not many teams can afford Bergeron/Savard, not many teams would want Sturm so it's either a guy like Kobesew or a younger guy like Bitz or Wheeler.
What do you think? There is no doubt a forward would have to go somewhere and I don't believe anyone on the roster has a 2-way clause in their contract.
"Yes, yes he will. You know I don't like to talk about negotiations but he's a player of impact with speed and he's still a young player. There's been reports of us trading here and there and I can't dismiss me talking about players to trade, cause that's my job..."
Does this hold any substance? Who knows. No one knows if Chiarelli is saying this because he has to say this or if it is truly genuine. Would I like to see Kessel in a Bruins uniform for a long time? Absolutely.
He's a dynamic player, but he's also a soft player. We all know this and it has been talked about over and over throughout the offseason.
I know I blogged about Loochisms and Tim Thomas and all this other stuff, but today I come to you, Bruins Nation, TBNers, my fantastic readers and those who may just stumble upon us, with a heart so heavy you'd think it was made of concrete.
As we all should know, one of our enforcers has gone to greener (only in terms of color, not skill) pastures. He takes with him the hearts of many Bruins fans, a swath of youtube videos and of course, one kick-ass nickname.
This man is none other than "Sheriff" Shane Hnidy.
A man of character, heart and soul, gritty and tough, our Sheriff has left us to head back "home".
I shall always remember you Sheriff for a variety of reason. For sticking up for your players, for dropping the gloves when needed and though your positioning may have been terrible, your skating abilities questionable, no one can question your heart and tenacity!
Does winning a Vezina Trophy automatically garner respect for Tim Thomas?
Throughout the various hockey-related forums that I go to there always seems to be a topic about Tim Thomas and his legitimacy as a goalie. Many Boston Bruins fans feel Thomas is in the top 5 elite goaltenders in the league, while fans of other teams see him as a fluke.
So we here at Something’s Bruin want to know one thing:
Does winning a Vezina Trophy automatically garner respect for Tim Thomas?
Many will look at this season and deem Thomas a one-trick pony, but to fully respect Thomas as a goaltender, one has to look at the complete body of work.
Year
GP
Wins
Losses
GAA
S%
SO
2005-2006
38
12
13
2.77
.915
1
2006-2007
66
30
29
3.13
.905
3
2007-2008
58
28
19
2.44
.921
3
2008-2009
54
36
11
2.10
.933
5
The 2005-2006 season is a wash, in my eyes, because Thomas was splitting time with Steve Shields and Shields was designated as the starter. In 2006-2007 season, Thomas was given full reign on the team and by those numbers, her certainly didn’t disappoint.
Is the 3.13 average a little high? Sure, but what do you expect?
Let’s take a look at Broduer when he first came into the league. His first full season was in the 1995-1996 season. Broduer played 77 games, had a record of 34-30-12, a GAA of 2.34 and a S% of .911. Those are pretty similar numbers to Thomas’ first season, although many people will be sure to point out age differences.
What about Hasek? Hasek was a Vezina Trophy winner in this current decade. Hasek’s first full season was in the 1993-1994 season where he played 58 games for the Buffalo Sabres. In that season, Hasek went 30-20-6 with an astonishing 1.95 GAA and a S% of .930. Obviously these stats are much better than what Thomas produced his first full season.
“But Pezell, you’re comparing Tim Thomas to two legends in Hasek and Broduer!” I am well aware what I’m doing as I’m trying to prove a point. Thomas has put up pretty similar numbers his first full season, then continued to get better despite getting the nod in his lower-, and now mid-30s.
The way I see it, a Vezina Trophy can mean praise (Kiprusoff, Broduer) or it could be a damning point for a goalie (Theodore, Kolzig) that eventually will fade into oblivion after a stellar season.
So what’s your take on this? Does Tim Thomas deserve some respect based off of his track record right now and the fact he is a Vezina winner or will he suffer the same fate of Theodore and Kolzig and kind of fade into obscurity?
Milan Lucic eats pieces of shit like Jackman for breakfast
LOOCHISM - defined in the dictionary as:
looch.is.m [looch-is-im]
- adjective 1. To describe the awesomeness that is Milan Lucic
----
Let's be serious here for a moment shall we? Milan Lucic is HUGE here in Boston. People love him for a few reasons:
1. He fights 2. He can score goals 3. He isn't afraid to hit
and the ultimate reason
4. He reminds people of Cam Neeley when #8 first came into the league.
To celebrate Milan's affect on the Bruins faithful, we started something we like to call "LOOCHISMS"! So what is a Loochism? Well it's pretty simple.
A Loochism is something that describes Milan Lucic, much like the well known Chuck Norris Facts. A Rip-off? Totally, but that's ok. We have built another site for our Loochisms that you can check out here. Also, if this post is gone, look for Milan's face in the left column.
Interested in getting a Loochism on our website? Again, easy enough. You can post a comment with your first name, location/website and we'll post it for the world to see. If this post is gone, you can also e-mail us at somethingsbruin@live.com.
Lucic deserves to have something like this done because he is the man, he is the one who goes out there and energizes the crowd, he's the one who drops the gloves if needed. Like my Loochism states:
For fear of getting hit by Milan Lucic, Mike Komesarek's jaw broke itself
Show your love for Lucic or he will find you and punch you in the face.
Milan Lucic is all things to all people. Let's be serious here. Woman want him and men want to be him. It didn't come to a shock to me, or the rest of Bruins nation, when Lucic was named to Team Canada's Olympic Camp a few days ago.
Lucic is in that group of "young superstars" in the NHL despite not putting up Patrick Kane or Johnathan Toews type of numbers. He does it with huge hits, punches to the face, kicking of midgets, breaking Komesarek's jaw into tiny bits of failure and just being an all-around awesome person.
Who else can rock a fauxhawk without fear of being ridiculed? I mean, if someone ever said something to him, he could just go all Ultimate Warrior on said person's ass and Gorilla Press him.
But lets be serious for a moment here. Milan Lucic reminds every Bruins fan of #8, one Cameron Neeley. Lucic is a physical presence that also has the ability to put the puck in the back of the net.
It should be a no-brainer that he was named to Team Canada's Olympic camp because he will bring much needed grit to a roster that is pretty stacked.
Lucic should make the team and I believe Canada will win the gold, but lets be honest, there is no Canada if Milan Lucic didn't grow up there.
It's the 4th of July, I've chowed down on hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, and have drank my liver to death over the past few days, so tonight I packed it in early in hopes that I won't find myself waking up on someone's lawn with a nice mixture of morning dew and regurgitated hamburger/Sam Adams Boston Lager all over my face.
So instead I thought I would dust off the keyboard and do what I do best: talk.
July 1, for those who don't subscribe to my Twitter account,was an active day for the NHL as Free Agency got underway and the Bruins were no different.
Sure, they didn't sign Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik or any other of the "sexy" free agents out there, but they did make some noise signing Steve Begin, Mark Recchi and Byron Bitz.
For what it's worth, I absolutely love all 3 signings for different reasons. Yeah, it's always nice to see a sexy free agent come to down like when Chara signed here, but when you get down to it, a hockey team isn't just about the star players anymore.
The Bruins went out and signed role players (from July 1 to July 4). First on the list:
Byron Bitz
I made mention of Bitz in an earlier post regarding Boston's RFAs. I feel like Bitz had a pretty good regular season, despite having 4 goals and 3 assists (7 points), because he added a physical nature that started with Lucic on the 1st line, Wheeler on the 2nd line and Bitz on the 4th line (and a mix-up of that throughout the season).
Bitz only played 35 regular season games, but it was in the playoffs where his energy and rough-house style seemed to energize Boston. After a poor first 4 games against Carolina, Bitzy was inserted into the line-up for Blake Wheeler. Although he played 5 postseason games with Boston, he only posted 2 points (1 goal, 1 assist).
For 2 years and 675K a year, this is great signing for Boston.
Mark Recchi
Recchi made it known that once he playing in Boston, he loved Boston.
"The reason I like Boston is 99 percent of the guys on that team really want to win a Cup and that's the most important thing in that dressing room." - Source
It apparent that Recchi enjoyed his time here and his contract proves it. Recchi recently signed a 1 year deal worth $1M and already stated that this is probably his last run at a Cup.
So why do I like the Recchi signing? A couple of reasons.
1. Positioning. He can post himself in front of the net and tip in pucks. We've seen it, we've heard about it, he just kinda plants himself there and refuses to move.
2. Leadership. Face it, this is a young team and a seasoned veteran like Recchi is something every team needs. To go along with guys like Savard and Chara, Recchi will undoubtedly be an on/off ice leader.
3. Playoff experience. This may just be "one of those things" that is said, but I believe playoff experience in hockey is a HUUUUUUUGE ordeal. Look at Boston in the 2nd round against a Carolina team that has plenty of playoff experience. At times they looked lost, timid and downright awful. Recchi bring another year of playoff experience to a team that has gone through the ringer once.
Right price tag, right role, right signing.
Steve Begin
Look at the picture, it should say it all. Begin is a sonofabitch, but everyone I talk to loves him. My friend Cole sent me a message the other day that said "I loved Begin on the Stars, and you'll love him in Boston."
My buddy Steve on Thursday 7/2: "Begin is the only guy in Montreal I have ever liked."
He's a gritty player that doesn't take any shit. Begin is a gritty player and isn't afraid to drop the gloves. A line of Begin, Thornton and Bitz? Sign me up. Chiarelli has said that Begin is basically taking the spot of Stephane Yelle, which saddens me, but the guy has some pop in the glove.
“I guess if you look at it, Steve effectively replaces Stephane (Yelle) if you want to get to the nitty gritty. If you want to look at him and how he plays, he’s a versatile player, he’s a useful player and he’s a gritty player,” said Chiarelli.
Of course, you gotta love a guy who says "Now I’m going to be on the right side (of the rivalry) now."
Again, they may not be "pretty" signings, but they add substance and depth to a team that will surely compete for the top seed in the East once again.
Oh, by the way, my source leaked a picture of Hal Gill walking into Montreal:
Although I'm a Sox fan, everyone needs to watch this at least once in their lifetime:
Tuesday, USA Hockey released the list of participants for the camp,
Here is the roster:
Goaltenders: Ryan Miller, Jonathan Quick, Tim Thomas
Defencemen: Tom Gilbert, Tim Gleason, Ron Hainsey, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Mike Komisarek, Paul Martin, Brooks Orpik, Brian Rafalski, Rob Scuderi, Ryan Suter, Ryan Whitney
Forwards: David Backes, David Booth, Dustin Brown, Dustin Byfuglien, Ryan Callahan, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, Phil Kessel, Jamie Langenbrunner, Ryan Malone, Mike Modano, Kyle Okposo, T.J. Oshie, Zach Parise, Joe Pavelski, Bobby Ryan, Paul Stastny.
----
Ok, am I the only one thinking...World Baseball Classic issues? Now I know that the NHL will have a break for the Olympic hockey, but what happens if Thomas or Kessel go out there and hurt themselves?
I've never been a fan of a player doing something that may cause him injury. Much like Dice-K and the WBC, I am afraid that Thomas (the spring chicken that he is), will do something to pull a hamstring, twist his knee, etc. and the Bruins season is in the tank (no pun intended).
Could you look me in the eye and tell me that you're confident in Tuuka Rask manning the net should something happen to Timmer? Remember, there isn't much cap room available to go grab a goalie and do you really want to move a player and/or prospects to grab a rental?
Sure, everyone wants to be Patriotic and do their country proud, but I don't that to happen at expense of the Bruins and it's fans. Maybe it is all just me being paranoid, but when you take an athelete out of their element and have them competing at a high level, it tends to wear them down.
All I'm saying is Thomas is going to be 35 (maybe 36) by the time the Olympics roll around, we don't him flopping and jumping from one side of the crease to the other and hurting himself.
And maybe this is all bull and Ryan Miller will start most of the games, we can only hope....
"This city is such a great sports town, you want to be part of it for a long time...it's been a great experience."
-Milan Lucic during his press conference (10/07/2009)
We have no affiliation with the NHL, Boston Bruins or any of its subsidiaries.
Some rights of this page's plain text stuffs are reserved for the author.
The Template is generated via PsycHo and is Licensed.
Thankfully, in my eyes, PJ will never wear this uniform again
Ward's going back to where he won a Cup
The Garden as it stood on Causeway St.
Dubbed "The House That Russell Built"
The Garden in its black and gold splendor
The demolition of an iconic arena
Grabbed right off of my DVR. YEAH! 
RED COMET TAILS FOR ALL!!
Could Bitz be on the move if the Bruins sign Kessel?
Chiarelli believes that Kessel will be a Bruin next season.
Milan Lucic eats pieces of shit like Jackman for breakfast
