Projo Bruins Blog

July 5, 2009 - July 11, 2009 Archives

BOSTON (AP) - The National Hockey League is coming to Fenway Park.

The league is expected to announce at a news conference there Wednesday that the Boston Bruins will play the third annual Winter Classic at the home of the Boston Red Sox on Jan. 1. The opponent is expected to be the Philadelphia Flyers or the Washington Capitals.

The NHL said Friday the news conference is being held to "make a major announcement concerning a special event." The league did not respond Friday to an e-mail request for comment.

Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs said in late May that he expected the game to be at Fenway and that the NHL would make an official announcement in July.

In the NHL's other two outdoor games on New Year's Day, Pittsburgh played Buffalo at Ralph Wilson Stadium in 2008 and Detroit played Chicago at Wrigley Field this year.

The Boston Bruins reportedly have signed defenseman Rob Kwiet to a three-year contract.

A 6'2'' 224-pound free agent, Kwiet is attending this week's rookie development camp in Wilmington, Mass.

Kwiet, 20, played for the Memorial Cup-winning Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League last season and put up excellent numbers -- 12-55-67 in 66 games. Many of his points came on the power play, where he was paired with Nashville first-round draft pick Ryan Ellis. Windsor's PP also included Taylor Hall, who could be the first pick in next year's NHL draft.

Kwiet will undoubtedly spend next season in Providence. He's an average skater and his defensive play needs a lot of polish.

The dates will not be filled in until later this summer, but the Providence Bruins on Wednesday did unveil the schedule format for the 2009-10 season.

Providence will play the seven other teams in the Atlantic Division a total of 64 times. They will play Hartford, Lowell, Manchester, Springfield and Worcester five times at home and five on the road. They will play Portland four times at home and four on the road, and Bridgeport three times at home and three on the road.

They will play six of the seven teams in the East Division -- Adirondack, Albany, Binghamton, Hershey, Syracuse, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton --12 times: once at home and once on the road.

They will make the cross-continent trek to British Columbia to face the new Abbotsford Heat twice, and the Heat will play in Providence twice.

The Bruins will not see Grand Rapids, Hamilton, Lake Erie, Manitoba, Rochester, Toronto, Chicago, Houston, Milwaukee, Peoria, Rockford, Texas, San Antonio and Norfolk.

The AHL season opens on Friday, Oct. 2.

Click here to read the team's press release.

The Boston Bruins signed two players on Tuesday -- goalie Dany Sabourin and defenseman Drew Fata -- who will likely spend most if not all of the coming season in Providence.

With Tuukka Rask expected to move up to Boston to back up Tim Thomas, Sabourin should serve as a veteran AHL insurance policy in case of injury or illness in Boston.

Fata will likely assume the role of physical, not-afraid-to-drop-the-gloves defender that was filled by the often-injured Ryan Stokes last season.

Here's the release from the Boston Bruins:

BOSTON, MA- Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced (Tuesday) that the club has signed defenseman Drew Fata and goaltender Dany Sabourin to one-year contracts. Per club policy, terms of the deals will not be disclosed.

The 26-year-old Fata split the 2008-09 season between the San Antonio Rampage and the Binghamton Senators, both of the American Hockey League. He skated in 75 regular season games with seven goals, nine assists and 141 penalty minutes. He has played in eight career NHL games and registered 1-1=2 totals with nine penalty minutes, all with the New York Islanders.

The 6'1'' 215-pound native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round (#86 overall) of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

The 28-year-old Sabourin appeared in 19 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2008-09 season and registered a 6-8-2 record, 2.85 Goals Against Average and .898 save percentage. On January 17, 2009, he was traded by Pittsburgh along with Ryan Stone and a 2011 fourth round pick to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for goaltender Mathieu Garon. Sabourin did not appear in a game with the Oilers before being waived on January 20, 2009.

In 57 NHL games with the Flames, Penguins and Canucks, Sabourin has notched an 18-25-4 record, 2.87 goals against average and .898 save percentage. The 6'4'' 200-pound native of Val d'Or, Quebec native was originally drafted by the Flames in the fourth round (#108 overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The AHL has announced a realignment that will place the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the Atlantic Division along with the team's in-state rival, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

Bridgeport had spent its entire eight years in the league in the East Division. The Sound Tigers and the Wolf Pack had not been divisional rivals since 2003, when Hartford also played in the East.

The Atlantic Division will now be comprised of: Hartford, Bridgeport, Springfield, Lowell, Manchester, Portland, Providence and Worcester.

The East Division will include: Adirondak, Albany, Binghamton, Hershey, Norfolk, Syracuse and Wilkes Barre-Scranton.

TORONTO (AP) -- The NHL is investigating possible tampering by Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson, the former East Providence High and Providence College star.

Wilson's comments on radio about the team's interest in Vancouver's Daniel and Henrik Sedin has drawn the interest of the league, The Globe and Mail reported Tuesday.

"The league has indicated that they are looking into it, so we will have no public commentary at this time," Leafs general manager Brian Burke told the newspaper.

Last Tuesday, less than 24 hours before the Sedins re-signed with the Canucks, Wilson told the Fan 590 in Toronto: "You're hearing right now, and this sounds very contradictory, but there's a real possibility, I would think, that we would be going after the Sedins. Let's just speculate there."

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly refused to confirm a league investigation of the Leafs, but said the Canucks have not filed a complaint with the league.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- The Vancouver Canucks added depth in the nets by signing free agent goalie Andrew Raycroft to a one-year deal on Monday worth $500,000.

Raycroft went 12-16-0 with a 3.14 goals-against average and an .892 save percentage in 31 games last season. He will serve as the backup to Roberto Luongo.

In 230 career NHL games in eight seasons with Toronto, Boston and Colorado, Raycroft is 94-96-16, with six shutouts, a 2.90 GAA and .899 save percentage. Raycroft spent three seasons with the Providence Bruins before moving up to the NHL.

Vancouver lost backup goalie Jason LaBarbera last week when he signed a two-year, free-agent contract with the Phoenix Coyotes.

According to Joe Haggerty of WEEI.com, Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick has filed for salary arbitration with the Bruins.

Hunwick was facing a 5 p.m. deadline on Sunday to file for arbitration.

No arbitration date has been set and Hunwick's agent, former East Greenwich resident Peter Fish, can continue to negotiate with the Bruins.