UNCONFIRMED: Bruins To Sign Bouillon

Coming in from CKAC radio in Montreal, reports are indicating that the Bruins are on the verge of signing former Canadiens defensemen Francis Bouillon to a contract. Of course, this signing is currently unconfirmed and as you may or may not remember, rumors had Bouillon signing with the New York Rangers about two weeks ago so take this for what's it worth.

However if the reports are true and Bouillon is set to become a Bruin, this fills the need for a seventh defensemen on the Boston roster. With the departure of Aaron Ward via trade and loss of Steve Montador (thank you) along with Shane Hnidy to free agency the Bruins defensive depth went out the window and the B's were left with just six NHL defensemen.

Bouillon is known as a scrappy, smaller statured defensemen who's not afraid to throw his body around. In 54 games for the Canadiens this year, Bouillon had 9 points and finished with a -7. The 5'8 defensemen was also credited with 112 hits and 55 blocked shots in these 54 games.

For Bruins fans, Bouillon is probably best known for his fight with at-the-time Bruins enforcer Jeremy Reich. That scrap can be viewed here.

If this report is true, this will be the third former Montreal Canadien that's played for Claude Julien in Montreal to be added to the B's roster. Michael Ryder being the first, Steve Begin being the second and now Francis Bouillon.

Axelsson Returns Home: Signs With Frolunda

Today marked an official end to the career of P.J Axelsson as a member of the Boston Bruins (for now), and possibly the NHL. It was clearly obvious to the Bruins fan base that their favorite Swede and under-appreciated penalty killer wasn't going to be returning to the Hub of Hockey for a 12th season, but the wishful thinking was active among the Garden faithful.

The doubts were reinforced with the Bruins July 1st signing of grinding left-winger Steve Begin to a one year deal worth 850,000 dollars. This was clearly a move to replace what the Bruins were anticipating to lose with the expected departures of Stephane Yelle and P.J Axelsson on the lower lines. Begin, who turned 31 last month is expected to see most of his ice time on the Bruins penalty kill, something that earned him his pay-checks in Montreal and Dallas.

Despite the addition of Begin into Boston, it's going to feel exceptionally weird on October 1st when we don't see Axelsson take the ice for the pre-game skate for the first time since 1996.

Axelsson's 797 games with the Boston Bruins, a truly rare scene in the current NHL due to the salary cap and free agency, put Axelsson in all different roles within the Bruins roster. Whether it varied from being on the Bruins top line or relying on the crafty Frolunda, Sweeden native to perform his Selke-like defense on the penalty kill, you could never say that P.J didn't give it his all out on the ice for the black and gold.

Personally, P.J Axelsson epitomized the common Bruin. He never had the goal scoring skills or enforcer's mentality, but when Axelsson took the ice, you knew you were going to see a player who'd never quit. His aggresiveness on the puck and smart style of play made him a fan favorite to the point where the 34 year old was running an annual pajama-pledging-drive.

Although reports indicate that the Bruin was offered multi-year contracts by fellow Eastern Conference foes, the deals were based on teams abilities to clear cap space, which (obviously) didn't pan out and with the Axelsson family expecting their new child in October, the idea of moving his family out of Boston became more of a nuisance than anything else when the Frolunda Indians came with a multi-year offer for "Peej".

The four year offer to play in his hometown was an offer P.J accepted with seemingly great ease. This is Axe's second stint with Frolunda H.C, a team he spent the entire duration of the NHL lockout with. In his first stint with the Indians, Axelsson's 10 assists in the playoffs set a record for the Elitserien (or also known as the Swedish Elite League).

Although the door remains open for Axelsson's return to the NHL in the future, it appears that his career as a Bruin is officially in the books.

Thank you P.J, see you in February when you suit up in that blue and yellow in Vancouver for the Olympics.

Bruins Sign Begin; Re-Sign Bitz, Boychuk

We knew there would be a big bang with just about every other club besides Boston, but still, talk about one crazy day. Today we saw Marian Hossa trade in his Detroit sweater for a Chicago one, Marty Havlat move to Minnesota and the Montreal Canadiens create a line of all players 5'9 and shorter. Some of the contracts were outrageous per usual (If Hal Gill's a 2.25 million dollar defensemen, so am I) but in the end, the Boston Bruins emerged from the day without overpaying for any of the marquee names in this year's pool.

Despite rumors of Marian Hossa coming to Boston lighting up internet boards for the second straight year, the Bruins were wary to not commit large money to players considering they're lack of cap space. As quick as the talks of Kessel for Kaberle seemed to have resumed, the idea was put to rest just as fast and it was deemed false. By 6 o'clock, the Hub of Hockey was still as quiet as it was when Scott Walker ended the Bruins season when news broke of a minor signing.

The Boston Bruins had agreed to a one year contract with forward Steve Begin. The contract will pay the bruising forward 850,000 in 2009-10 and certainly replaces the depth that will be lost by Stephane Yelle's departure, which Chiarelli also confirmed today. In 62 games between the Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars, Begin registered 12 points and finished with a -7. Although his stats may not impress the common Bruins fan, there are plenty reasons to be happy about this guy.

First of, as previously stated, he adds depth to a roster that could certainly use it with the likely departure of P.J Axelsson and question marks surrounding Phil Kessel and Mark Recchi. Also, with the addition of the 31-year old Quebec native, the Bruins become an even more gritty team. Begin's 185 hits in 62 games was good for 3rd among Stars forwards and his 38 blocked shots were only 2nd to Loui Eriksson, who partook in all 82 of the Stars regular season games.

For some, the injuries to Begin pose a question mark. Well, when you look at the style of play he brings to the ice every night, it's no wonder the 1996 2nd round choice by the Calgary Flames has had to spend some time on the shelf. Even in seasons plagued by injury, Begin has managed to dish out over 100 hits in every season. Despite the injury concerns, when you look at Begin's last fully healthy season, you can't help but be happy with this signing.

In 2005-06, Begin played in 76 games for the rivaled Canadiens, where put up 23 points, finished with a +9 and was credited with 202 hits and 64 blocked shots. Throughout his career, Begin has become an established penalty killer and with the future of P.J Axelsson uncertain as mentioned, it only makes sense that Begin is in all likelihood, Axe's replacement on the Bruins penalty killing unit. In his 62 games with the Canadiens/Stars, Begin averaged 1:37 minutes on the penalty kill per game. Along with that minute plus of time on the kill, he averages just over 10 minutes a game, making this signing a great deal for a proven 4th liner willing to drop the gloves when the bell tolls.

Along with Begin, the Bruins also re-signed winger and new found fan-favorite Byron Bitz. The 24 year old Saskatoon native had a solid year in Boston as he put 4 pucks by goaltenders and tallied 3 assists in 35 games for the Bruins. Following a willingness to drop the gloves with legendary scrapper Donald Brashear, Bruins fans began to watch the rookie more closely. After a 2-goal effort against the Florida Panthers where the Garden faithful began chants of "We Want Bitz!" repeatedly, a cult following seemed to be in the works. Shirts reading "We Want Bitz" were made and distributed. After a lackluster playoff performance by Blake Wheeler, the fan favorite found himself in the line-up, suiting up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time.

It didn't take Bitz long to make an impression as in the Bruins Game 3 demolition of the Canadiens, Bitz netted an assist as time nearly expired in the period. Sure enough, Bitz found himself back in the line-up for the Bruins second round series against the Carolina Hurricanes where he scored a seemingly pivotal first period goal in the Bruins Game 7 loss to the 'Canes. These moments and flashes of scoring capabilities reminded many Bruins fans of an old player they used to call their own, Mike Knuble, a big winger who blossomed into a 20+ goal scorer at the NHL level. With the re-signing of Bitz taken care off, it's clear that the Bruins brass may see the same potential in Byron.

Rounding out the day for Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli was the re-signing of defensemen Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk, who spent most of the season with the Providence Bruins had another fine year at the AHL level, where he finished the year by winning the Eddie Shore Award, the AHL's honor for the best defensemen in the league. Boychuk finished with 20 goals, 46 assists and a +19 in 78 games for the Baby B's. It's a one year deal but as per club policy, the terms of the deal financially were not disclosed.

One issue that B's fans are still discussing is the signings that haven't been involving restricted free agents Phil Kessel and Matt Hunwick. As we close the book on the first day of free agency, both players are without contracts. While we haven't heard much talk about Kessel in the rumor mills today, the word on Hunwick per Joe Haggerty of WEEI.com was that many teams were showing a strong interest in Hunwick, and the Bruins not being one of them. Undoubtedly, this would come as a shock to Bruins fans if Hunwick is to leave, who showed potential of being the 'puck-moving defensemen' Peter Chiarelli so desperately desires in Boston.

With day two of the busiest time of year just hours away, it's just a short sleep for the 30 GM's of the NHL before they roll their sleeves back up and return to their phones.