No Rest For Peter Chiarelli

Oh, the life of an NHL General Manager. From the hectic scrambling of draft day to the grueling talks and attempts at luring free agents to their respective cities the job of a General Manager never seems to stop. For the Boston Bruins, the job truly never ends for Harvard alum Peter Chiarelli.

Yesterday it was announced that the club had signed 20 year-old RW sensation Yannick Riendeau to an entry level contract. Riendeau posted phenomenal stats for Drummondville of the QJMHL (Quebec Junior Major Hockey League) where he scored 58 goals and 68 assists in just 64 games. He led the QJMHL in goals, assists and points. So far in Drummondville's 4 playoff games, Riendeau has scored 9 goals and 10 assists in just 4 games. The only known knock on Riendeau's ability to be a capable NHLer is that he's undersized, even in this new smaller-player-friendly NHL. It's probably too early to tell whether the Quebec native is NHL ready without going through the AHL first but he's definitely a player to keep an eye on heading into the 2009-10 season.


However, the bigger news coming out of Boston was the re-signing of Bruins goalie and mentioned Vezina favorite Tim Thomas to a new contract. The signing, which has yet to be announced by Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is estimated to be around 5.2 million over the next 3 years. The pay is comparable to Martin Brodeur's contract with the New Jersey Devils and surely spells the end for Manny Fernandez's tenure as a Boston Bruin. Then again, who didn't see that one coming?


Although Thomas' pay is debatable as to whether the Bruins over-payed for a 34 year old goalie the move makes sense for a few reasons. Thomas turns 35 on April 15th, meaning that if by some chance the Bruins want to buy out Thomas' contract only 1/3 of his pay will count against the salary cap. An example of this is the Bruins being unable to delete Glen Murray's contract off the salary cap even though his contract was bought out because of when his contract was signed. This pricey contract also addresses Boston's situation in between the pipes going forward into the future as both Thomas and Fernandez's contracts were up at seasons end.


The signing also takes the pressure off Boston during their already busy schedule of re-signing players. It's unsure how the Bruins would of come out if they were to get into a bidding war against some of the teams looking for a starting goaltender come July 1st such as the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche and perhaps even the Detroit Red Wings. However, the current freeze on the NHL salary cap does create some problems for the Bruins.


First off, they need to re-sign restricted free agents David Krejci, Phil Kessel, Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz. After David Krejci's breakout season as the number 2 center on the Boston offense, one would assume he'd receive a handsome raise. I believe somewhere along the lines of 3-3.5 million for 3 years is a safe bet for the 23 year old Czech. Then there's Phil Kessel, the undisputed number one scoring threat for the Boston Bruins, I'd say 3 years at 4 million a season is enough money to make a decision for Kessel, who missed his chance at 40 goals this season due to minor injuries.


Easier decisions certainly come when it boils down to re-signing Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz. Both currently make 800,000 dollars and shouldn't see too much of a raise or anything different except for the possibility of their contracts becoming 1-way contracts rather than 2-way contracts, meaning in order to get sent down to Providence they'd need to go through the waiver wire. But still, with the raises for Kessel and Krejci along with Thomas' new contract, the Bruins are certainly over the cap. Putting the Bruins in the situation where they need to make deals.


When it comes to down, the two obvious trade baits the Bruins possess wear numbers 37 and 16. Marco Sturm, who currently makes 3.5 million and has missed much of the season due to knee surgery is no longer needed as the supreme scoring threat on the Bruins roster. As the Bruins have continued to succeed even without him and the emergence of Blake Wheeler and continued development of Milan Lucic, his role on this team is no longer essential to the teams offense. Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins alternate captain since the 2006-07 season, has battled through some serious injuries over the past year and a half. However, Bergeron's tenure as a Bruin may be over when this season concludes.


As much as it pains most Bruins fans to realize this, it's time to look at the facts. Bergeron's a 3rd line center on this team. Marc Savard's effectiveness as the Northeast's best set-up man and David Krejci's emergence as a dangerous scoring threat puts the 23 year old Quebec native on the 3rd line. Bergeron is the 3rd highest paid Bruin, making 4,750,000 a season but at that pay, he's perhaps the most expensive 3rd line center in the NHL. If Bergeron and Sturm are both moved, one could make the argument that the Bruins do not lose nearly as much of their offense compared to if they were to let Kessel or Krejci walk.