Boston Bruins: Free Agency Frenzy – Day One
Apr 13, 2014; Newark, NJ, USA; New Jersey Devils center
Tim Sestito(23) tips the puck wide of Boston Bruins goalie
Chad Johnson(30) during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Social media is buzzing over the lack of activity by the Boston Bruins at this early point in free agency. No need to panic fans of the Black and Gold, we should be expecting this. There are a few reasons why Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins won’t being going crazy this year. (It may drive us crazy, but facts are facts.) The Boston Bruins have very few dollars to throw around in this free agency. They chose not to use any of their compliance buyouts, so there will be no extra funds headed their way(except for the assignment of Marc Savard to long term injured reserve). Even though the Bruins aren’t going to be diving in the deep end like other teams in the league (the big movers and shakers right now are the Florida Panthers and the Dallas Stars) right now, they’re certainly not going to stumble around once they do.
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“We’ll we go into it – we’ve done a lot of preparation. Obviously,we’ve got a big name in
Jarome Iginlathat we’ve been trying to sign.” offered Peter Chiarelli to the Boston Bruins website. He went on to talk about how the organization is looking at the secondary free agency market and the trade market in order to snag a good deal in the right wing. Peter Chiarelli still believes that the Bruins roster he has in front of him have the potential to win a Stanley Cup.
Aside from Iginla talks, PC & staff looking "to the trade market, which is existing right now, and the free agent market for right wing" ^CS
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) July 1, 2014
Here’s some news on a couple of former members of the Black and Gold who are doing well in the first hours of free agency frenzy:
Predlines
Chad Johnson -The Bruins former number two goaltender (and another victim of the salary cap) signed a two year deal with the New York Islanders. The deal is worth $ 2.6 million dollars. Johnson did an excellent job backing up Tuukka Rask last year as the Bruins powered their way to the President’s Cup Trophy. Johnson finished out last year with a 17-4-3 record(two shutouts), 2.10 goals against average and .925 save percentage in 27 games played for Boston. He’s traveling the same path taken by Anton Khudobin after the Bruins replaced him with Johnson before the start of last season.
Benoit Pouliot – Pouliot will be making the move to join fellow 2011 Stanley Cup winner (and team captain) Andrew Ference in Edmonton. Pouliot signed a five year, twenty million dollar contract with the Oilers. The veteran left winger will bring another injection of experience to a very young team. He made a case for himself last season with a solid season playing with the New York Rangers as they pushed there way to an Eastern Conference title.