Other than Ilya Kovalchuk, whose situation with Atlanta remains as much a stalemate as ever, 26-year-old Boston defenseman Nick Boynton remains the most attractive Group II free agent on the restricted market. With the B's facing serious cap issues and therefore holding on their $1.33M qualifier after earlier passing on their $1.9M option, the opportunity is wide open for a competing club to come in with an offer sheet to Boynton, an emerging difference maker.

"I've had a number of conversations with GMs who have expressed interest, but I don't think we're at the point yet where it's advantageous to pull the trigger," Anton Thun, Boynton's agent, told Slap Shots on Friday. "Until Oct. 1, teams have a $3.9M cushion on the $39M cap, so that if an offer sheet were made now, the Bruins would have time and that extra space in which to maneuver.

"But once Oct. 1 hits, there's no give in that number. That's when I think both teams and Nick and I will become more aggressive in pursuing that offer-sheet option. That's the time when there will be urgency."

An offer sheet of up to $2M would entail compensation of a second-round pick for Boynton, who would be a steal at both those prices. And while it is more likely than not that the Bruins would match, doing so would impose severe restrictions on the club's ability to improve by addition — or in the face of a run of injuries — this season. That's all part of it now.

"The Bruins have about two weeks to put their house in order," Thun said. "Once we're in October and the season begins, that will be the time to pull the trigger."

For those hockey fans that may have missed, there is a SoSH Fantasy hockey league on yahoo.  League ID# is 56225 and the password is: hansons

Draft is Sunday, Oct 2, 6:45 EST.  About 6 guys already in, can take up to 6 more.

Quick question--being down in Virginia, I'm out of the loop on some of the NHL stuff, but driving home from Camden on Saturday, I was able to listen to the 3rd period of the B's game in Manchester.  They won 6-2, then I lost the station..when it came back they were doing a shootout.  Is there a reason for this?  SImply to give teams some practice?

Quick question--being down in Virginia, I'm out of the loop on some of the NHL stuff, but driving home from Camden on Saturday, I was able to listen to the 3rd period of the B's game in Manchester.  They won 6-2, then I lost the station..when it came back they were doing a shootout.  Is there a reason for this?  SImply to give teams some practice?

Their doing it for every preseason game.. to give the fans a look at it, to build it up, etc. As Don Malone told me, the league is being run by marketing.

Does anyone know of any good hockey statistic sites as well as just good Hockey sites?

Does anyone know of any good hockey statistic sites as well as just good Hockey sites?

Does anyone know of any good hockey statistic sites as well as just good Hockey sites?

Practice.

During the regular season, there will be no more ties - a game that is tied after the 5 minute OT will be deicded by a shootout.

So, who will Joe look to pass to on his first shootout attempt?

According to the Globe, Boynton rejected a 1 year, $1.75 million offer from the Bruins.

I also read the Bs cut Martin Samuelsson.  From reports over at HF boards, that means he's headed to SWE for the season.  For all the improvement the Bs have been credited with as a result of their drafting, the Jonsson and Samuelsson 1st round picks have not borne the fruit they were hoping for, as both may not play a(nother) game in a Bs sweater.

The whole 2000 draft is looking like a huge bust - Jonsson and Samuelsson are gone, Hilbert is unsigned and wants out, Huml is gone and Zino are gone... looks like the top performer from that draft is (cringe) Jarno Kultanen.

MONCTON, New Brunswick – The contest for the Bruins' No. 2 goaltending job may have been decided last night, as Finnish rookie Hannu Toivonen delivered a superb 39-save performance in a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in front of a raucous sellout crowd of 7,069 at Moncton Coliseum.
   
``(Toivonen) was terrific,'' B's coach Mike Sullivan said. ``He gave our team a chance to win. He made timely saves when he needed to. I thought he was just terrific.''
   
Andrew Raycroft is set as the starter. Toivonen and Tim Thomas have both played quite well for the B's (3-3-1) in the preseason. But the 21-year-old Toivonen's effort last night may have been final proof for the brass that he is ready to jump from the AHL to the NHL.

Patrice Bergeron and Ben Walter scored power-play goals for the Bruins. Pat Leahy, Tom Fitzgerald and Brad Boyes also scored, with the final goal settling into an open net with the B's killing off a penalty with 1:08 left.

I think Toivonen is a terrific prospect, one of the best in many years. When he was drafted his upside was generally considered to be higher than Raycroft's.

But I wonder if he's made the backup if he'll play enough to stay sharp and keep his development going.

Bruins General Manager Mike O’Connell announced today that the Bruins have assigned eight players from Boston’s training camp to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Providence. There are 24 players remaining in Boston’s training camp.

Assigned to Providence (AHL) were forwards Zdenek Blatny, Eric Healey, Pat Leahy, Eric Nickulas, Tyler Redenbach and Nate Thompson and defensemen Jonathan Girard and Mark Stuart.

Another question: didn't Tim Thomas sign a one-way deal with the Bruins? Won't this effect whether Toivonen stays on the roster in Boston?

So, Andy Hilbert is not signed? WTF? He was one of the leading scorers in Providence last year.

Peronally I probably have Toivinen as the backup goalie, but at Providence.  That means he is the guy who should come in and play if there is an injury to Razor and the B's need someone to start a bunch of games, but I would keep Thomas to be the guy who gets the standard 20 odd backup games.  At least I would do that to start the year, and then maybe in January or so give Hannu the call.

Yes, Purinton pried his thumb into Orr's eye right off the bat, apparently trying to gouge Orr's eye out. You should've seen his eye - it was sealed shut by the time he got out of the penalty box to go get medical attention.

I agree about Jurcina - he looks like he'll be a solid D option this year.

edit: beaten by a minute.

He also said the Bruins are discussing a change the start time of Wednesday's game against the Habs because of the Red Sox playoff game at 7.

10/3/2005

Boston Bruins General Manager Mike O'Connell today announced that goaltender Tim Thomas and center Ben Walter have been assigned to their American Hockey League affiliate in Providence.

That's probably the right amount. Purinton's a punk bitch, and I think he could've gotten like 15 games, but hey, whatever gets Colton off the ice

There's no need for the Bruins to carry Colton Orr. None. He stinks as a hockey player, he brings nothing to the table, he will be a bad fit in the new uptempo NHL.

DUMB DUMB DUMB.

I'll be there tonight in section 316.

Wow, I may be the only pro-goon advocate in this thread.

Without name dropping, I've heard from someone that knows Orr personally and said he's truly a great teammate and the type of player who would even stick up for the guy who cleans the jockstraps. Loyal and fearless.

I know he sucks as a player but I still think there's room for 1 guy who can provide that type of protection for your stars in case things get ugly.

While I can see the place for a goon, I agree with SJH - if you're going to get a goon, get one who can play hockey (It burns my tongue to say it, but look at Tie Domi)

Not in the new NHL, there isn't.

I don't care how nice of a guy he is. He has no business playing in the NHL at all. He's taking the roster spot of a player who could actually help the team win. Nothing Orr does is so important that it helps the Bruins win. Fighting Purinton and Oliwa and the other thugs doesn't help the team win. It doesn't stop the star players from getting cheap-shotted.

This is a short-sighted, idiotic roster move by the Bruins, and frankly I expected better.