Chris Bourque Clears Waivers; Bruins Recall Jordan Caron From Providence

Mar 22, 2012; San Jose, CA, USA; Boston Bruins right wing Jordan Caron (38) before a face off against the San Jose Sharks during the second period at HP Pavilion. San Jose defeated Boston 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jason O. Watson-USA TODAY Sports

At least for now anyway, the Chris Bourque experiment appears to be over for the Boston Bruins. At noon on Friday, Bourque cleared waivers after being placed on them on Thursday. He then had a brief meeting with Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli before heading to Providence and he will dress for the Providence Bruins tonight.

Shortly after Bourque cleared waivers, the Bruins called up forward Jordan Caron. While it wasn’t the trade some of us were hoping for, at least the team “swapped” a pair of forwards.

In 45 games for the baby Bruins this season, Caron is a -6 with just 10 goals and 5 assists. Not exactly ripping it up but he has size with some skill and has shown in past performances with the big club that he can contribute at the NHL level. He has a pretty decent shot and is solid along the boards, he definitely brings a different skill-set than Bourque.

However, not everyone is entirely convinced that Caron’s stay will be very long with the Bruins and that they may even just be advertising him for a possible trade down the road. According to ESPN Boston’s Jimmy Murphy, Caron’s call-up might in fact just be a showcase and that the “dominoes to a Bruins trade could be starting to fall”.

Murphy went on to speculate that if Swedish sensation Carl Soderberg does come over to join the Bruins once his team is eliminated from the Swedish Elite League playoffs like many are reporting he will, that the Bruins would then have quite the logjam at center and that caron or any prospect combined with a roster player and a pick could net them a pretty nice return.

He also stated that if he was the Bruins he would “go all out to get Corey Perry if he hints that he will sign an extension with them”. Now, this could all just be healthy speculation but the more I read, the more I feel that a move could indeed be coming in the not too distant future.

Outside of Perry, there has also been plenty of rumors swirling about the Bruins possibly adding grizzled San Jose Sharks forward, Ryane Clowe and a few other names have been tossed around as well.

From Too Many Men on the Site: “Starting with the Boston Bruins, we posted earlier today that the Bruins are said to be scouting Ryan Clowe of the San Jose Sharks. Now, Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com feels the club needs to address their third line weaknesses, namely the lack of size and grit. While Clowe would be a terrific fit for the Bruins needs, Haggerty also drops names like Jarome Iginla of the Flames,Ryan Smyth of the Oilers and Brenden Morrow of the Stars.”

For now however, these are all nothing but some people talking and all that’s happened today is Chris Bourque will now be playing in Providence, while Jordan Caron gets another chance to show the Bruins (or a potential trade partner) what exactly he can bring to the table at the NHL level.