Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has traded defenseman Andrew Alberts to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Ned Lukacevic and a fourth round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The 2009 fourth round pick becomes a 2009 third round pick if the Flyers resign Alberts at the end of his contract which expires on June 30, 2009.
Alberts played collegiately for Boston College from 2001–2005 with a total of 66 points and 243 penalty minutes in 149 career college games.He was then drafted by the Bruins in the fourth round (179th overall) in the 2001 Entry Draft. Alberts played in 181 games for the Bruins during his three-plus years with the club, notching one goal, 18 assists and 231 penalty minutes. This season Alberts couldn’t seem to crack the starting line up. He was a healthy scratch in the Bruins first two games of the 2008-2009 season.
The new guy, 22-year-old Lukacevic played 61 games for Reading of the East Coast Hockey League and tallied 17 goals and 19 assists last year. He will not see time in Boston in the near future. He stands at 6-0 and 200 pound and is from Podgorica, Serbia. In three-plus professional seasons split between Reading (ECHL) Manchester (American Hockey League) and Philadelphia (AHL), played in 126 games, recording 61 points and 99 penalty minutes. Originally drafted in the fourth round (110th overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings, Lukacevic was dealt to the Flyers in a deal that brought the Kings Denis Gauthier.
The Bruins started the season with a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center on a David Krejci game winner. Tim Thomas got the start in goal and turned away 35 of Colorado’s 39 shots. This marked the first game for rookie Blake Wheeler and he would not disappoint. He netted he first career goal. Also playing in his first game as a Bruin was Michael Ryder who played on the top line with Marc Savard and PJ Axelsson. Ryder reached a milestone by scoring his 100th career goal. A good sign for Boston was seeing Patrice Bergeron having no ill effects from the concussion he suffer about a year ago. Bergeron finish the night with two assist.
Phil Kessel opened the Bruin’s season and the game’s scoring with a wrister that beat Avalanche goalie Peter Budaj low glove. Bergeron and Andrew Ference got credited with the assist.
Colorado capitalized on a Zdeno Chara penalty when Milan Hejduk banged home a nice feed from Paul Stastny to beat Thomas on the power play.
Less than a minute later Boston’s rookie Wheeler scored his first NHL goal at 10:51. Wheeler finished off a nice rush with Krejci and Chuck Kobasew, who both collected assist on the goal, and beat Budaj to put the B’s ahead 2-1. This line of Kobosew, Krejci, and Wheeler played really well and generated scoring chances. This will most likely remain as Boston’s third line for the near future.
The Boston Bruins start the season in Colorado tonight. Not making the finla roster was Vladimir Sobotka. He was sent down earlier today to Providence. He will start the year down but don’t expect him to stay long. Sobotka had an impressive pre-season and will most likely be the first call up to the Bruins. Making the team is rookie Blake Wheeler, who turned a lot of heads in camp and continued to impress throughout the pre-season.
Here is the final roster
| # | Name | Pos | Ht. | Wt. | BOD | POB |
| 6 | Dennis Wideman | D | 6-0 | 196 | 3-20-83 | Kitchener ONT |
| 11 | PJ Axelsson | LW | 6-1 | 188 | 2-26-75 | Kungalv SWE |
| 12 | Chuck Kobasew | RW | 5-11 | 192 | 4-17-82 | Vancouver BC |
| 16 | Marco Sturm | LW | 6-0 | 194 | 9-8-78 | Dingolfing GER |
| 17 | Milan Lucic | LW | 6-3 | 228 | 6-7-88 | Vancouver BC |
| 18 | Stephane Yelle | C | 6-2 | 183 | 5-9-74 | Ottawa ONT |
| 21 | Andrew Ference | D | 5-11 | 189 | 3-17-79 | Edmonton ALTA |
| 22 | Shawn Thornton | RW | 6-2 | 217 | 7-23-77 | Oshawa ONT |
| 29 | Perreri Nokelainen | C | 6-1 | 195 | 1-16-86 | Imatra FIN |
| 30 | Tim Thomas | G | 5-11 | 208 | 4-15-74 | Flint MI |
| 33 | Zdeno Chara | D | 6-9 | 255 | 3-18-77 | Trencin SLO |
| 34 | Shane Hnidy | D | 6-2 | 204 | 11-8-75 | Brandon MAN |
| 35 | Manny Fernandez | G | 6-1 | 207 | 8-27-74 | Etobicoke ONT |
| 37 | Patrice Bergeron | C | 6-2 | 194 | 7-24-85 | Ancienne-Lorette QBC |
Northwest Division
| Team | Win | Loss | OTL |
| Minnesota Wild- x | 44 | 28 | 10 |
| Colorado Avalanche- x | 44 | 31 | 7 |
| Calgary Flames- x | 42 | 30 | 10 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 41 | 35 | 6 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 39 | 33 | 10 |
x- made playoffs
The Breakdown
The Northwestern Division is very much up for grabs. Last season the Minnesota Wild, Calgary Flames, and Colorado Avalanche all made the playoffs, with the Edmonton Oilers just missing. The Avalanche (forwards) and Canucks (defense) were demoralized by injury for most of the year. Despite that, every team in this division finish the regular season above .500. This year the division looks to be closer than ever. Every team has legit shot at first place.
The Calgary Flames were an enigma last year. Despite one of the best NHL goaltenders in Miikka Kiprusoff and three of the best defensive defensemen in Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr, and Cory Sarich, the Flames were a middle of the road defensive team. Offensively, the Flames lost some parts in the off-season. Alex Tanguay, Kristian Huselius and Owen Nolan will be missed. However, Calgary GM Darryl Sutter did a phenomenal jog in acquiring replacements that filled the same role that the players lost were for the Flames. Calgary added Mike Cammalleri, Rene Bourque, and Todd Bertuzzi to a good offense. One thing remains the same however, as superstar Jerome Iginla goes so does the Flames offense. Defensively, Calgary will look to bounce back to being a shut down defensive club and one of the best in the NHL. Dion Phaneuf is one of the fiercest hitters in the entire league and was a Norris Trophy candidate a year ago. Goaltender Kiprusoff had a sub par season by his own standards and will look to regain his dominant form. If he can do that then the Flames will re-establish themselves as a premier shut down team.
Central Division
| Team | Win | Loss | OTL |
| Detroit Red Wings- x | 54 | 21 | 7 |
| Nashville Predators- x | 41 | 32 | 9 |
| Chicago Black Hawks | 40 | 34 | 8 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 34 | 36 | 12 |
| St. Louis Blues | 33 | 36 | 13 |
x- made playoffs
The Breakdown
The only race to watch in the Central Division is which team will come in second. Last year the Detroit Red Wings ran away with the Division and the Western Conference. They lead the league in points (115), wins (54), goals-against (2.18), and on and on. The Nashville Predators finish second in the Central but only managed 41 wins. This year will be much of the same. With every team improved, so too did the defending Stanley Cup champs.
Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today five roster moves: forwad Peter Schaefer has been released from the club and will be placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Providence (AHL), forwards Nate Thompson and Jeremy Reich have been placed on waivers for purpose of assignment to Providence (AHL), defenseman Matt Hunwick has been assigned to Providence (AHL), and forward Carl Soderberg has been assigned to Malmo (Sweden2).
Releasing Schaefer means that rookie Blake Wheeler has moved a step closer to earning one of the 23 spots on the Bruins’ roster. His play throughout the pre-season has impressed many.
Chiarelli talked about the decision to waive Schaefer at length.
“Yah, it was difficult with (Schaefer),” said the GM. “I had a history with him in Ottawa and I brought him in here and it wasn’t working out.
“And I know he’s a good player, (but) these things happen.
“We talked yesterday, it was a good talk, and he may end up in another NHL city or he may end up in Providence,” he said.
Chiarelli was asked if he sensed a lot of disappointment from the veteran forward.
“Well, he’s been in the league a while,” said Chiarelli. “I think he knew what was coming, especially with the play of Wheeler.
“So he pretty much expected it is what he told me.
“But he was disappointed that it didn’t work out here,” he said.
Atlantic Division
| Team | Win | Loss | OTL |
| Pittsburgh Penguins- x | 47 | 27 | 8 |
| New Jersey Devils- x | 46 | 29 | 7 |
| New York Rangers- x | 42 | 27 | 13 |
| Philadelphia Flyers- x | 42 | 29 | 11 |
| New York Islanders | 35 | 38 | 9 |
x- made playoffs
The Breakdown
The story of the Atlantic Division for the upcoming season is which team got worse the least. This Division was hit hard by the salary cap. It saw several of its elite players head out to other teams and leagues. In spite of all the player turnover, this division will still be evenly matched and will once again come right down to the wire. The Atlantic saw four out of its five teams in the playoffs and two (Flyers and Penguins) play in the Eastern Conference Finals. This was by far the most competitive division in the Eastern Conference and will be again in 2008-09.
Mohegan Sun’s Sports Tonight co-host Michael Felger caught up with the leaders of the Boston Bruins at their media day on October 3rd. Felgy talks one-on-one with owner Jeremy Jacobs, GM Peter Chiareli, legend and special assistant Cam Neely, and captain Zdeno Chara.
Be sure to check out Sean Jamieson’s NHL previews all this week.
Northeast Division
Last Season Standings
| Team | Win | Loss | OTL |
| Montreal Canadiens- x | 47 | 25 | 10 |
| Ottawa Senators- x | 43 | 31 | 8 |
| Boston Bruins- x | 41 | 29 | 12 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 39 | 31 | 12 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 36 | 35 | 11 |
x- made playoffs
The Breakdown
At the start of last season this division looked like the weak link of the NHL, with only the Sabres and Senators expected to be competitive. At the end of the year this division was much better than thought as the Bruins and Canadiens re-emerged as playoff teams. The Senators looked like the best team in NHL history out of the gates only to look like the worst after the all-star break. The Canadiens re-established themselves back in the hearts of Canada and as a dominating franchise. They finished the regular season as the best team in the Eastern Conference. Bruins came out of nowhere to earn the Northeast Division another playoff team. Despite a ration of injury to key players, the B’s snuck into the post season as the 8th and final seed.
| Team | Win | Loss | OTL |
| 43 | 31 | 8 | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 43 | 33 | 6 |
| Florida Panthers | 38 | 35 | 9 |
| Atlanta Thrashers | 34 | 40 | 8 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 31 | 42 | 9 |
This division consists of league’s top forwards with the likes of Vincent Lecavalier, Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Eric Staal, Martin St. Louis, Nathan Horton, and the list goes on. This may be the deepest division when it comes to individual offensive talent. As far as team play goes, the Southeast may be one of the worst divisions in hockey at season’s start. The division itself will be very competitive from start to finish and alot of goals will be scored. Every team has flaws and only Washington has a shot at running away from the pack. Many believe that the division will come down to
Headline sound familiar? Except this time it wasn’t Ray who score the game winning goal and it was the Bruins who benefited from a Bourque goal. This time it was Ray Bourque’s son Chris Bourque who help the Capitals to a 4-3 win over the B’s yesterday at the Garden. Bourque finished with a goal and an assist and continues to impress Washington coaching staff. With no Alexander Ovekchin for the Caps and no Marc Savard, Zdeno Chara, Michael Ryder, Phil Kessel, and David Krejci for the B’s, it gave opportunity for Claude Julien and staff to get a good look at the bubble players. Julien wants to cut the roster to 30 players by the end of today. The line of Stephane Yelle, Vladimir Sobotka, and Petteri Nokelianen had a strong game contributing 2 out of the 4 goals scored. Another solid game from rookie Blake Wheeler who added the other Bruins’ goal from a Patrice Bergeron feed. Tim Thomas started in net and looked a little rusty and Chuck Kobasew saw his frist pre-season action coming back from a broken leg.
Boston is now 2-2-1 in pre-season action. The biggest thing that is being learned is that the front offcice and coaching staff will have some difficult descision to make as far as personel. This is a problem that everyone is glad to have. Young players such as Sobotka and Wheeler are making lasting impression and playing themselve to a spot on the team. The team is building the maek-up that the Buffalo Sabres had two to three years ago with depth at every position. The Bruins are not quite there yet but they close.
The Boston Bruins are back playing against teams unfamiliar to their own. Pre-season hockey is back upon the Bruin’s faithful. There is much more room for optimism at the start of the 2008-09 season compared to just a year ago. The B’s come back with much of the same cast of last season with only a few replacements. Michael Ryder, Blake Wheeler, and Stephane Yelle are the most notable new face additions.
This past week the B’s played in three pre-season affairs.
Boston 8, Montreal 3
Revenge on the Habs after last season’s game 7 loss? Hardly. However, there were plenty of great signs in the game. Two of the more profiled Bruins players who missed most of last season, Patrice Bergeron and Manny Fernandez each saw action and played well. Bergeron score once and added three assists in his first game in 11 months after suffering a severe concussion. Fernandez stop 10 shots before being replaced. Not to mention its always nice to blow out the Canadiens.
NY Islanders 2, Boston 1 (OT)
Boston was drastically out shot in the game but Bruins’ top goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask made 36 saves in the overtime loss. He made ten stops alone in the third and overtime. Dennis Wideman added the lone gone for the Black and Gold.
Detroit 4, Boston 3
After a very quite month following the first day of free agency, the Bruins made head ways yesterday by signing one, releasing one, and trading for another. Boston inked defenceman Dennis Wideman to a multi-year deal. Wideman had a career year last season setting career best with 81 games played, 13 goals and 23 assists while posting a +11 ratings. Nine of his goals came on the powerplay. He also played in all six of the Bruins playoff games, picking up three assists.
Terms of this deal were not disclosed. However, the signing of Wideman meant the end of the line for forward Glen Murray in a Bruins’ sweater. The Bruins placed Murray on waivers yesterday. No team has claimed Murray and now the B’s have 48 hours to complete a buyout. The 35-year old who has one-year remaining on his contract at $4.15 million, had 17 goals and 13 assists in last season’s injury plagued campaign that saw him play only 63 games. The buyout would save the B’s approximately $2.7 million against the cap.
The Bruins were also busy swapping minor league forwards who both saw NHL time last season. The B’s acquired forward Martin St. Pierre in exchange for forward Pascal Pelletier. St. Pierre played five games with the Blackhawks last season. He spent most of the year with AHL Rockford and led the team in scoring with 88 points (21-67) in 69 games. Pelletier played in six games last season with Boston. He scored 71 goals in 206 regular-season games with AHL Providence between 2005-08.
Dennis Wideman and the Boston Bruins are close to signing a new deal. The contract will be a three or four year deal worth a little more than $3M per season. The 25 year old defenseman is a restricted free agent that had filed for arbitration. If the two sides cant reach a long term deal before August 1st then the contract talks will go to a hearing. Wideman has played two season for the Bruins playing in 101 games posting 14 goals and 25 assist.
When Wideman signs, other Bruins’ contracts may be bought out. Mainly Glen Murray’s $4.15M. Signing Wideman will put the Bruins over the $56.7M cap. In order to bring that number down, Murray’s contract will make the most sense to buy out. The Bruins will take the cap hit of $1.4M each of the next two season.
<Owner Jeremy Jacobs and his son Charlie quickly told The Boston Globe that the rumors of them selling the team is not true. Jacobs also owns TD Banknorth Garden and a chunk of NESN. The rumors started flying last week when Boston Celtics part owner, Wyc Grousbeck, was interested in buying a piece of the Los Angeles Kings. That led to the obvious speculation of whether he’d want to buy the Bruins instead. Jacobs quickly squashed those rumors saying that the team wasn’t for sale."I can say with great confidence that it’s not on the market," Charlie Jacobs, executive vice president of the Bruins, told The Globe. "My dad enjoys operating the team and having a say in what happens here, as do I. That’s not happening. Nothing there. Absolutely zero. Zip. I don’t think that’s happening in my lifetime."
