Bruins Make Minor Deal, Roster Set

The Boston Bruins continued to be busy making their fifth deal in the off-season. This time only a minor deal as Chicago's 3rd round pick (acquired in the Johnny Boychuk deal) was shipped to St. Louis for checking center Tim Brent. The Bruins were in the market for a 4th line/spare center to fill a hole in their roster. Considering our scouts didn't see much they liked that late in the draft, to get this player was pretty much what we had hoped for when making the pick available.

With this deal the Bruins roster is now set for the start of the new season. There could still be more deals before the season kicks off, but so far we've done what we were hoping to do at this point. Obviously there's always something you're looking to improve and we'll continue to explore every opportunity to bring more interesting players to Boston. We have a strong, winning tradition here with three championships and we want to get back to those winning ways in the near future. We've decided to be active in order to get there.

In the five deals so far, the Bruins have acquired center Paul Stastny, center Tim Brent, winger Cal Clutterbuck, defenseman Michael Del Zotto, defenseman Johnny Boychuk and drafted defenseman Mark Fayne. As well as having picked up wingers Nathan Gerbe, Daniel Paille and goaltender Al Montoya in the dispersal draft.

Leaving the club in those five deals was center Mike Santorelli, winger Justin Williams, defenseman Rostislav Klesla, defenseman Jordan Hendry and goaltender Andrew Raycroft, along with a couple of picks. And losing center Blair Betts, winger Torrey Mitchell and defenseman Adam McQuaid in the dispersal draft.

Bruin of the Day - Tim Brent

STATUS: 4th line center

VALUE: Checking line forward

JERSEY #: 47

ACQUIRED: Trade (Season 9) from St. Louis for Chi's 3rd round pick (Aaron Volpatti)

FUTURE: A hard-working center who should be a useful member for the Bruins. Plays a sound defensive game and has good energy at both ends of the ice. Can be used in penalty killing situations if needed.

Bruins Trade, Make Their First Pick

The Bruins continued to be active in the trade department acquiring the first pick in the 2nd round from the Philadelphia Flyers. To obtain the pick, the Bruins gave up defenseman Jordan Hendry, goaltender Andrew Raycroft and Phoenix' 3rd round pick. After trading the 1st round pick in the Clutterbuck deal, this became the first pick for the Bruins who went out and made their pick as soon as the deal had been confirmed.

We decided to draft rookie defenseman Mark Fayne who we feel can step right into our top six at the back. Since the Bruins had to trade one of their three goalies (due to league rules), Andrew Raycroft was the odd man out and became eligible. And since the Flyers needed to add players to their roster, the deal made sense for both clubs. A bonus for us is that Fayne can play in all games this season.

Bruin of the Day - Mark Fayne

STATUS: Rookie defenseman

VALUE: 6th defenseman

JERSEY #: 29

ACQUIRED: Rookie Draft (Season 9) after acquiring the 2nd round pick from Philadelphia for Jordan Hendry, Andrew Raycroft and Phx' 3rd round pick (Steven Kampfer)

FUTURE: A solid, young defenseman who has a good all-round game and can put some points on the board from the back end. Has time to develop his game and should be a regular for the club.

Bruins Swap Defensemen, Picks

After having talks with the Chicago Blackhawks for some time regarding a potential blockbuster deal, it was finally decided to just make a smaller deal. As Joe Corvo had attracted interest from the Chicago GM and the Bruins willingness to move him, it didn't take long to see a deal both sides felt good about. The Bruins moved puck-moving defensemen Joe Corvo along with Calgary's 2nd round pick (previously acquired in the Clutterbuck deal) for Johnny Boychuk and Chicago's 3rd round pick.

Boychuk had been on our radar for a long time so we're ecstatic to have finally been able to add him to the black-and-gold. We feel he'll improve our defense now and for the future, and especially like the physical aspect to his game that he brings to the back end. Boychuk himself held a brief news conference stating he had enjoyed playing for the successful Blackhawks, but that he already felt at home with the Bruins. "A perfect fit" and "A dream come true" were some of his words when he spoke to the press for the first time about his move to Boston.

Bruin of the Day - Johnny Boychuk

STATUS: Steady, physical defenseman

VALUE: Top 4 defenseman

JERSEY #: 55

ACQUIRED: Trade (Season 9) from Chicago with Chi's 3rd round pick (Aaron Volpatti, picked by Stl) for Joe Corvo and Cal's 2nd round pick (Ty Wishart)

FUTURE: A true Bruin who always battles hard and makes his presence felt with his physical play. Also possesses a hard slapshot and can be used in all situations if needed. His game will only improve as he gains more experience.

Bruins Trade 1st Round Pick, Get Younger

Bruins management were very active looking for a deal to ship our 1st round pick (#24). It looked like the Bruins would go ahead and pick the last player believed to be on their shortlist, but when that player was taken, a number of GM's were contacted in order to try and get something else of interest instead.

After some intense negotiations with the Calgary Flames, a deal was finally struck. The deal saw the Bruins send steady d'man Rostislav Klesla, checking forward Eric Nystrom, a 1st round pick (#24, previously acquired from the Edmonton Oilers for Jaroslav Spacek) and a 2nd round pick (#15) in exchange for rugged winger Cal Clutterbuck, young offensive d'man Michael Del Zotto and a 2nd round pick (#30).

In Clutterbuck we get a hardworking, physical winger who can put the puck in the net and give the team energy at any given moment. Being the NHL hit leader for three straight years, his physical presence cannot be underestimated. And as he's yet to hit his prime, we're confident he'll soon become a fan favorite. We're very excited about adding him to our squad and feel he'll fit right in to the Bruins style of hockey.

With Del Zotto we add a young d'man with an offensive arsenal that can lead to very special things in the near future. Has time to develop and has the tools to become a dangerous offensive d'man in the league for years to come.

The Bruins are believed not to be done trading and more activity could very well occur shortly. There are still some positions that need re-tooling with a number of players that could be on the move, at all positions. The Bruins would also like to take this opportunity to thank Rostislav Klesla for his contribution over the years, most notably being on two AHL Cup championship winning teams.

Bruin of the Day - Cal Clutterbuck

STATUS: Physical, rugged winger

VALUE: Top 9 forward

JERSEY #: 22

ACQUIRED: Trade (Season 9) from Calgary with Michael Del Zotto and Cal's 2nd round pick (Ty Wishart, picked by Chi) for Rostislav Klesla, Eric Nystrom, Edm's 1st round pick (Yannick Weber) and Bos' 2nd round pick (Brandon McMillan, picked by Dal)

FUTURE: NHL hit leader three seasons in a row tells a lot about his physical style of play. Also scores some important goals and brings a lot of energy to the team at all times.

Bruin of the Day - Michael Del Zotto

STATUS: Offensive d'man

VALUE: Top 4

JERSEY #: 4

ACQUIRED: Trade (Season 9) from Calgary with Cal Clutterbuck and Cal's 2nd round pick (Ty Wishart, picked by Chi) for Rostislav Klesla, Eric Nystrom, Edm's 1st round pick (Yannick Weber) and Bos' 2nd round pick (Brandon McMillan, picked by Dal)

FUTURE: Young and offensive d'man with a lot of potential and bright future ahead of him. Is starting to become an impact player and is especially getting better in his own zone.

Trade Alert - Bruins Acquire #26

The Boston Bruins today traded center Mike Santorelli and winger Justin Williams to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for center Paul Stastny. The Bruins were aggressive in the off-season trying to deal both Santorelli and Williams to bring in another offensive piece for their top six. This means the Bruins have three excellent centers in Bergeron, Couture and now Stastny. Does this mean one of them will be traded ? Not at all says management. All three are players we'd like to keep and possibly have in the top six.

In Paul Stastny we get a two-way center who just like his father has great vision, good hands, is good in the faceoff circle and makes players around him better. And the best part is, he's still young and has every chance to get even better. The fans have already expressed their delight at seeing their latest Bruin putting on the black-and-gold sweater with #26.

This will give the Bruins a lot of flexibility for the top six, as we expect to have two good scoring lines. The deal was finalized in quick fashion as both GM's saw something they liked. Stastny is a former 1st round pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning while Williams was picked up by the Bruins in the Dispersal Draft (Season 7) and Santorelli at the Entry Draft (Season 8).

Bruin of the Day - Paul Stastny

STATUS: 1st line center

VALUE: Star

JERSEY #: 26

ACQUIRED: Trade (Season 9) from Tampa Bay for Justin Williams and Mike Santorelli

FUTURE: The son of former great Peter Stastny has all the tools to be a dominant player for the club for many years to come. His vision makes his linemates better and should be a point per game producer.

Bruin of the Day - Daniel Paille

STATUS: Checking line forward

VALUE: 4th line forward

JERSEY #: 12

ACQUIRED: Dispersal Draft (Season 12)

FUTURE: Speedy forward who brings energy and an up-tempo game to a checking line. Is very sound defensively and can contribute on offense as well.

Bruin of the Day - Al Montoya

STATUS: Potential starter

VALUE: Splitting starter

JERSEY #: 35

ACQUIRED: Dispersal Draft (Season 9)

FUTURE: Is still fairly young and will get every chance to show his worth. Will be used to the maximum during the season and hopefully will be able to put in good performances for the club.

Bruin of the Day - Nathan Gerbe

STATUS: Top 9 forward

VALUE: Secondary scoring, energizer

JERSEY #: 24

ACQUIRED: Dispersal Draft (Season 9)

FUTURE: Brought in to give the Bruins some secondary scoring with Zach Parise sidelined for most of the season due to injury. Will need to prove his worth to be part of the teams long term plans.

Dispersal Draft - How It Went

The Dispersal Draft was held with the Bruins losing two forwards and a defenseman. We thank longtime serving center Blair Betts, checking forward Torrey Mitchell and physical d'man Adam McQuaid. We knew Betts would be picked up in the draft, but we we're hoping we could hang on to McQuaid who we would've wanted to keep if possible.

The Bruins decided to draft undersized, but hardworking winger Nathan Gerbe in the first round. With Zach Parise being limited to under 1/4 of the AHL season, Gerbe will bring some offensive qualities to the club.

In the second round we opted to draft goaltender Al Montoya who should give some stability in net for 40% of the games this season. He's a fairly young goalie who allows us to deal one of our other goalies as well.

And to finish the draft the Bruins decided to pick up a familiar face in ex-Bruin Daniel Paille who was picked up in the third round. This was a pick we were very happy with considering it was so late in the draft with very limited options. He brings energy and will be used in a checking role.

The New Season Is Here

The new season is upon us and management will have a couple of tough decisions to make for the upcoming Dispersal Draft. A couple of players haven't progressed as we would have liked while a couple of veterans have impressed making things more difficult than we first thought when thinking about our protection list.

It seems to be a busy off season for the Bruins as only a handful of players will be safe from the trading blocks. We wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of deals get done even before the Entry Draft takes place. At the moment we have no news on who could be available, but as soon as the Dispersal Draft is over we'll have more news for you.

In the meantime, here's a look at the current roster and who's going to be protected:
(this list could of course change before a final decision has to be made)

CENTER:
Patrice BERGERON
Logan COUTURE
Mike SANTORELLI
Dominic MOORE

Blair BETTS

WING:
Zach PARISE
Rick NASH

Shane DOAN
Justin WILLIAMS

Torrey MITCHELL

Shawn THORNTON
Eric NYSTROM
Tom PYATT
George PARROS

DEFENSE:
John CARLSON
Andrej MESZAROS
Matt CARLE
Rostislav KLESLA
Joe CORVO

Adam MCQUAID

Mike COMMODORE
Brent SOPEL
Jordan HENDRY

GOALIES:
Mathieu GARON
Andrew RAYCROFT