...And the waiting begins

They say training camps are the toughest part of a players season. After all, you're doing more skating than you do in any practices during the year (unless of course you piss of the coach so bad with a lack of effort that he breaks out the "bag skate" tactic and you don't see a puck all day). You play a series of "meaningless" games, in unusual places. You're never really in any kind of routine. Just a seemingly endless cycle of practice, travel and playing scrimmages. So on the surface, you'd think everyone in Black & Gold would be thrilled to have the day off Monday, after winning their final pre-season game Sunday (4-3 in a SO). But how do you feel if you're Blake Wheeler, Jeremy Reich, Vladimir Sobotka, Matt Hunwick, Petteri Nokelainen, Peter Schaeffer, Nate Thompson.....or a host of other "bubble players"? My guess is you'd be pretty damn anxious, nervous, frustrated and stressed. At this point, after all their hard work, they're suddenly helpless. There is nothing more any of them can do to prove they belong on the NHL roster on opening night. Some, Wheeler especially, have done everything you could ask of them and more. Yet even after proving they can play at the NHL level, they are far from assured a spot in Boston. Such is life in the salary cap era. Sometimes playing like a multi-million dollar player isn't enough, if you also happen to have a contract to match. Wheeler, in all likelyhood would never earn his $2.85M this year because of how heavily weighted it is with bonuses. But this year, the full POTENTIAL value of the contract counts againt the cap. Wheels was quoted as saying if he could go back in time, he'd reduce his cap hit by half. I wish he could.
Complicating matters more, is the fact that some players have to clear waivers before going to Providence while others don't. Just another reason that a more deserving player may end up being demoted, at least for the short term. Julien is adamant that the best possible team will be on the ice opening night, regardless of contract status etc. Noble plan, but I don't know that it is possible, barring a trade before they have to submit their 23 man roster (also a complicated mess, as any players who must clear waivers have to be submitted by Tuesday. All others have to be submitted to the league office by 3PM EST on Wednesday). So the bubble players have all day Monday to sit idly and await their fate. Not something pro athletes like, I'm sure.
With all of these factors to consider, I don't envy Chiarelli and his staff. Granted, it's a good problem to have, to a point. It shows a lot of depth, which is great. It also shows that there may be a few over inflated contracts that Chilly would probably like to have off his books (yes Schaeffer & Fernandez, I'm looking at you!). Schaeffer is the easier of the two to get off the books. He can be sent down, and if he's claimed off waivers, great. He's off your books for good. If he doesn't get claimed, he's still off the cap (although yo're still paying him) and you allow a youngster to make the team. Manny is a tougher deal all together. He makes a ton of money, and hasn't been able to stay healthy for a couple years now. Barring something drastic, we'll be seeing Fernandez as Tim Thomas' backup as we head to the regular season. This hurts big time as far as cap hit, and almost as much in talent. Tukka Rask has proven he's ready to make the step up. He was Boston's best goalie in camp, but will open in Providence.
I was going to post my hoped for roster for Thursday night, but honestly.....it's giving me an ice cream headache trying to decipher who deserves to stay, who can't stay because of cap hits.... good luck Chilly. Sleepless nights ahead for you. Go B's - Kynch

Given the Lash....

Well, latest round of cuts were announced this afternoon. And they pretty much went how everyone would have expected. At the risk of beating a dead horse, can we finally put to rest all this Matt Lashoff love-fest BS? I've been saying it for a couple years, and I stand by it. This kid (rapidly becoming less and less of a "kid" BTW) just doesn't have "it". And by "it", I mean "defensive ability". Sort of a handicap for an NHL defenseman, no? I'm convinced Chilly should look to deal him now before his stock drops any more. There's a chance he could go on to have a decent career. Never say never when it comes to youngish D-men. But, he's been given every chance to show he belongs here, and has yet to grab it and run. Maybe a change in scenery will help. For his sake, I hope so. I thought Hunwick out-played him last year in camp, and apparently he has this year as well (or at worst played him even). Lash does have offensive upside, and I'd love to see it put to use in Boston. But his defensive liabilities far outweigh the offense.
Now that this round of cuts has come and gone, things start to get evry interesting. Still 27 guys in camp fighting for 23 spots (max). Sadly, salary cap considerations are going to be a big factor. I assume Chilly's comments about a trade happening soon are going to pan out. Question is, who and for what? Guess we'll just have to stayed tuned. But right now, I'm beat....who knew watching a VP debate could be so tiring! G'night, and I'll check in later with my thoughts on how I'd like to see the roster shape up. - Kynch

Who stays? Who goes? Who cares?

For the first time in recent memory, the Bruins find themselves with some very tough choices to make as training camp winds down. In recent years, it was pretty obvious who would make the big club. And in many cases, that was a depressing proposition. But now they have more depth up front than they've had in a very long time. So who from last year's teams makes the grade and gets to stay in Boston? Who gets demoted, waived or traded? And really, should we care? Well, lets look at these three questions, in no particular order of importance.Whos stays?-Who goes?Most of these choices are pretty obvious. Starting on the back end: Chara, Ward, Stuart and Wideman are absolute locks. Things start to get interesting when you get to Alberts, Ferrence and Hnidy. Hnidy has been out of action all preseason after off season repairs to his knee. So at best, I think he'd be an extra D-man to start and not in the lineup. Ferrence is "probably" a lock, but he struggles in his own end frequently, and has been the subject of trade rumors. Don't see him going anywhere unless he's part of a package for a better puck moving defenseman (and the odds of that seem slim at best at this time of year). Alberts, in my opinion should be a lock, but he's a guy Bruins fans love to hate for some reason. Yes, he is prone to the big mistake in his own end. But, with his combination of size, physicality, youth and skating ability, I think it's just way too early to give up on this kid. He was playing some very solid hockey before the injury last year. Another long look is in order here.Up front, things are heating up for the final few roster spots (NINE centers still on the roster still?). The locks here would appear to be:Bergeron, Savard, Sturm, Ryder, Lucic, Krejci, Kessell, Yelle, Axelsson, and Thornton. So that leaves two spots, and leaves out Schaefer (wishful thinking perhaps). My guess would be that Sobotka and Nokelainen HAVE to make the team. They've done nothing in camp to hint that last year was a fluke. But, the biggest wrench in that plan is the excellent play of Blake Wheeler. His solid play, and large cap hit, will probably force some very tough decisions for Chiarelli & Julien. As much as it pains me to say, I think long time favorite, PJ Axelsson may be the odd man out. He'd bring back moderate returns in a trade, but would provide some cap relief while allowing a young guy to step in and fill his role. Bottom line is, if I had to choose right now between PJ and any out of the group of Wheeler, Sobotka or Nokie....I'd have to say Axe loses.So overall, I'd say the vets from last year that do not start the year on the opening night roster will be: Jeremy Reich (and I've been a big supporter of his, but Thornton's overall game is just better than Reich's, and there isn't room for two players of that skill set, except in certain "grudge game scenarios" which are all but gone in the NHL nowadays anyway.). Schaeffer (although he played hurt most of last season, he just takes up too much cap space and doesn't have the all around game some of the younger guys have). And lastly, Axe. PJ is still a very good player if put in the correct role. He's also a very popular guy "in the room", so losing his leadership there may hurt, at least in the short term as guys adjust.On the Blue Line, it looks like Hnidy won't be active on day one, and will probably find himself in a battle for ice time all year. Good physical presence back there, but is fairly one dimensional. In the event of injury, he'd probably be passed over for the likes of Hunwick or Lashoff (who I just can't see the facination with. Skilled skater, decent offensive upside, but has yet to show he can play at a high level in his own end. He hasn't shown in camp that anything has changed. IMO, he needs to either be traded, or face the prospect of being a career minor leaguer. Just another guy that dominates in the AHL, but struggles in the NHL).Between the pipes is pretty obvious, so I didn't get into it. For the time being, we're looking at Thomas (that's a very good thing) as our #1 with Manny Fernandez as the #2 (not so sure that's a good thing. I'd love to see Manny get healthy enough to showcase him for a trade. That allows Rask to come up. I'm not sure another season of facing AHL shots will help Rask that much. And, with Rask in Boston, a side benefit would be that Regan gets more ice time with the Pro-B's.Who cares?Well, obviously all of us care who makes the cut & who doesn't. But when it gets right down to it, with this kind of depth.....is there really a "bad" decision? Sure, we'll debate on players all day. But the thing is, they finally have enough good players that they can take a couple chances, and not ruin their season. If say, a Wheeler doesn't turn out to be ready, that's ok. He can go to Providence to work and there are still players that can step in and produce in Boston.Let me be clear: I am not a flag waving, pom-pom carrying "whatever they do is fine with me" type of guy. If and when I see something I disagree with, I'm the first to call BS. But, I feel that the organization (Chiarelli, Sweeney & the scouts) have put themselves in a position this year that allows them some slack from us. They can take a chance or two and not suffer. In years past, if a draft pick couldn't play nearly instantly, they were in trouble. OK, that's enough incoherent rambling form me. Your turn.....tell me where you agree with me, or where you think I'm a complete idiot. Go B's - Kynch

Welcome to Kynch's Korner

Hi folks, and welcome to our brand new Bruins (and NHL) blog.Like the rest of you, we're excited for a great 2008-2009 season for the B's. So what better way to celebrate the forth coming successes, than launching our first ever blog (be gentle :) ). This is a new site, so it will be a work in progress as we go along. But in the short term, I'll be posting as often as possible. Pictures will be coming shortly, and we'll try to keep those updated as we go through the season as well. As we get ramped up, here's an idea of a few things you can look forward to seeing here.PHOTOS;We'll have several categories of photo's, including game shots and pictures from any "events" I make it to involving the Bruins.There will also be sub-categories such as:Game jersey of the night/week- Have an old Kvartolnov jersey collecting dust in the closet? Break that rascal out, and there's a good chance your picture will be on the site. Unless of course someone shows up in a Graeme Townshend gamer! (Me and my Allen Pedersen jersey are not eligible.....that's just not a fair fight. It wins nearly any "random jersey" battle.).Fan of the night/week- OK face painters, funny dancers and general whacko's, this is your section! So beware, you may be on more than the "Garden HDX" screen if caught having fun by our camera's.Hockey hottie of the night/week- Well, this one is pretty much what it sounds like. You know who you are. You're a Bruins fan. You're hot. You win. :) My partner in this venture will be handling this "job" for us. Tough work, I know. (I know, not very PC, but trust me, no offense is intended and it's all in good fun. And for the record, we're happily married guys here at Kynch's Korner!!)Anyway, that's a brief welcome and a small preview of what's to come. Feel free to let me know what YOU would like to see here, and we'll do our best to get 'er done.Thanks a lot, and welcome to Kynch's Korner. Your new home for the best in Bruins talk and general hockey related goodness. Go B's - Kynch