Projo Bruins Blog

July 19, 2009 - July 25, 2009 Archives

It took Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli just a few hours to fill the hole on the blue line left by the trade of Aaron Ward.

Boston signed free-agent defenseman Derek Morris to a one-year contract for $3.3 million, TSN.com reported late Friday night.

Morris, 30, was traded by Phoenix to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline in March.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- This ought to make the Carolina Hurricanes' training camp worth watching: Aaron Ward skating with the player who decked him during the playoffs.

The Hurricanes on Friday reacquired the rugged defenseman who helped them win the 2006 Stanley Cup from the Boston Bruins for forward Patrick Eaves and a fourth-round draft pick next year.

The move makes teammates of Ward and Scott Walker, the player who infamously punched him during the Eastern Conference semifinals. Walker decked Ward late during Game 5 of the series won by Carolina.

Bruins coach Claude Julien called the blow a "sucker punch, but two months later, the quick-witted Ward laughed about the incident while attempting to defuse the situation.

"Tell him I still have practice -- I'll get him back at practice," Ward said with a smile. "It's water under the bridge. I'm on his team now. ... There's a lot of emotion in the playoffs, both in the media and playing the game. ... I'll see Scott Walker when he comes in, shake his hand, tell him how grateful I am to be here, how excited I am to play with him, and it'll be past."

The 36-year-old Ward lives in Raleigh during the offseason and spent the past three weeks skating with Carolina captain Rod Brind'Amour at a local rink.

He signed a free agent deal with the New York Rangers in 2006 after the Hurricanes won the Cup, then was traded to Boston on Feb., 27, 2007 for defenseman Paul Mara and had nine goals and 17 assists in 150 regular-season games with the Bruins.

"With this trade, our defense really takes shape," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "We envision him complementing Joni Pitkanen well as a defensive pairing."

During a conference call, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli praised Ward for his time in Boston.

"He's been a tremendous soldier here," Chiarelli said, "bringing experience, bringing size and strength, bringing a stabilizing presence to our defense and, frankly, I wouldn't have traded him anywhere else but Carolina. That's where his home is and I really do I appreciate the time and service and personality Aaron has brought to our organization."

The trade came nine days after Ward attended a news conference at Fenway Park for the official announcement that the Bruins would play the Philadelphia Flyers there on New Year's Day in the NHL's third annual outdoor Winter Classic. He was excited about the prospect of playing there and called the deal "a complete surprise."

Ward said Chiarelli called to notify him of the trade while he was playing golf at a Raleigh-area country club with two members of Kid Rock's band.

He becomes the latest key player from the 2006 championship team to be reacquired by the Hurricanes. Center Matt Cullen was traded back to Carolina in 2007 after one season with the Rangers, and the club dealt forward Erik Cole to Edmonton before last season before bringing him back in a pivotal deal at the trading deadline.

Ward said Cole sent him a text message that said, "We're getting the band back together."

"You never burn bridges. You embrace all the opportunities that you have with teams," Ward said. "It's always easy to bring a player back when you've had a successful situation. We won a Stanley Cup."

After trading for Eaves, the Bruins placed the 25-year-old right wing on waivers with the purpose of buying him out. He had six goals and eight assists in 74 games last season.
The trade increases the salary cap room for the Bruins. Ward is scheduled to make $2.5 million next season, the last of his contract. Waiving Eaves provides more cap room.

Phil Kessel, the Bruins leading goal scorer last season, is a restricted free agent and the Bruins could need that extra cap space. Chiarelli said the Bruins would match any offer sheet Kessel receives.

He also said "I would expect that we would add a defenseman," although not necessarily to replace Ward in a pairing with Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara.

Trainer Thomas Bourdon and equipment manager J.W. Aiken will not be back with the Providence Bruins this season.

Bourdon, who was with the team for one year, and Aiken, who worked in Providence for four seasons, were fired last week.

Bourdon will return to the Lewiston Maineiacs of the QMJHL as athletic therapist and equipment manager.

BOSTON (AP) -- Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick has a new deal with the team, and that's what he wanted all along.

"That was the No. 1 goal," Hunwick said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. "I told my agent, 'Boston's where I want to be.' It never would have crossed my mind as far as going somewhere else."

The two sides avoided arbitration on Monday when they reached an agreement for a reported two years and $2.9 million. General manager Peter Chiarelli said the team was nearly at the salary cap, though he is still trying to sign restricted free agent Phil Kessel to an extension.

"We are at a point where, cap-wise, we are coming close to the end. So there would have to be some shuffling, but I'm not averse to that," Chiarelli said. "He's a talented player, a young player. We all like Phil, and we'd like to have him back."

Hunwick scored six goals with 21 assists in 53 games as a rookie last season. But he played in just one postseason game before he had emergency surgery to remove his spleen and missed the rest of the playoffs.

"He proved himself to be an NHL player. He performed well when he had the chance," Chiarelli said, citing a style, grittiness and offensive bent that "allowed him to fit into the mix."

Hunwick, 24, was a seventh-round pick in 2004 and played four years in college at Michigan. He said he is trying to gain weight to be prepared for the season.

"I'm trying to eat as much as possible and get as strong and fast as I was coming into camp last year," he said.

Jay Leach, the former Providence Bruins captain, married NESN's Kathryn Tappen over the weekend in New Hampshire.

Leach and Tappen reportedly met when Leach was playing for the P-Bruins and Tappen was working for Channel 10.

Leach split last season between the New Jersey Devils and Lowell of the AHL. He is a graduate of Providence College.

Click here to read more.

BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins have signed defenseman Matt Hunwick to a multiyear contract extension.

Hunwick scored six goals with 21 assists as a rookie last season. The 27 points placed him third among Bruins defensemen.

He played in one postseason game before having his spleen removed and missing the rest of the playoffs.

Hunwick, 24, was a seventh-round draft pick in 2004 and played four years of college hockey at Michigan.

Sports Illustrated's Allan Muir says that the Boston Bruins are one of nine teams interested in free-agent defenseman Sergei Zubov.

Zubov, soon to be 39, has played only 56 games over the past two seasons with the Dallas Stars, but is healthy again.

According to Muir: "He's exactly what every NHL team needs: a veteran defender with years of experience in the No. 1 role; a silky smooth skater, as adept at leading the rush as he is capable of racing back to break up an enemy attack; a quick-thinking, no-panic puckhandler who delivers that first pass as well as anyone in the game today; a special teams threat who can QB a power play and chew up minutes on the penalty kill. And, given a chance, he'll probably work for pennies on the dollar.''

Given the Bruins salary cap problems, Zubov would have to work cheap.

Click here to read the rest of Muir's story.