It was no secret that Boston's Mark Recchi couldn't play forever.

So when the 43-year-old Recchi was clearly on his final legs, it made sense for the never-shortsighted Peter Chiarelli to address the issue at the deadline. Acquiring Rich Peverley, a player whose entire career was spent in the not-so-conventional hockey markets of Nashville but primarily Atlanta, it was a move that would provide the 29-year-old with an unforeseen end to what would've been another year of doldrums in Georgia.

Winning a Cup with the B's, securing a spot on Boston's second line, and leading the Bruins in goals in this newborn season with two tallies in three contests, the undrafted forward received his reward early Tuesday morning by way of a three year extension worth 9.75 million dollars.

"You look back, but I don't really like looking back too much. I was given an opportunity in Atlanta that gave me a great opportunity to get my foot in the door and I came here and was lucky to fit in on a team and found a role with a team, and with a great team," Peverley said shortly following the deal. "I really kind of enjoy the fact of committing to an Original Six team, coming to a place where hockey is a big deal."

While Peverley's Bruins career is short -- and relatively sweet -- with six goals and nine points in 26 games as a member of the Black and Gold dating back to last year, the Bruins' interest in the speedy forward dates back quite awhile for Chiarelli and company.

"He was at St Lawrence so it was close by Ottawa and I remember seeing him play quite a bit and he was skilled. I think he just gained that, not necessarily being a heavier player, but just competing and getting in the right spots and winning his share of puck battles," Chiarelli noted in his address to the media. "I really started to notice that his first year in Atlanta. We had seen him a little bit in Nashville but I really started to see that coming out. Like when he was on the ice, I considered him to be a dangerous player."

Note: The deal comes with a no-trade clause.

David Krejci injures knee in practice, not traveling to Carolina

While the top-line has sputtered to just one goal and an assist through the first three games of the season, it appears that the hits will keep on coming for the trio as center David Krejci will be out indefinitely following a knee injury sustained in practice early Tuesday morning.

Krejci, who has scored one of Boston's five goals in 2011-12, has missed just 10 games since the start of the 2008-09 season, and early reports are projecting the creative Czech to miss 'at least' a week or two.

Given the stabilizing presence of the second line anchored by pivot Patrice Bergeron, Krejci's likely to be replaced by the steady Chris Kelly or 19-year-old Tyler Seguin.

Realignment talk: Why bother when it's so simple?

Ah, realignment talk. It never gets old, does it? With rumors of Detroit making the leap to the Southeast Division and Winnipeg to the Central, the internet was on the cusp of a wildfire. Everybody had a different idea. They wanted x-team in the y-division, z-team to be in x's division, and next thing you knew, you had Boston somehow ending up in the Pacific Division. Okay, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but you get the point: Mass chaos.

But why? The obvious answer and resolution is so simple. When I say simple, I mean like look-at-a-map kind of simple.

Here's how it should go. You don't touch the Atlantic Division, or the Northeast Division for that matter. Geographically, those divisions are perfect.

However, what you do is move the Nashville Predators, who play just 240 miles away from the Thrashers played, to the Southeast Division. Then, you move the Dallas Stars to the Central Division, filling the void left by the Preds' departure. You replace Dallas' void in the Pacific with the Vancouver Canucks. Then, you move the Winnipeg Jets to the Northwest Division.

So, for the visually minded, here's your Western Conference.

Central: Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, and St. Louis.

Northwest: Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Minnesota, and Winnipeg.

Pacific: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver.

Now while I doubt it'll happen, it simply makes sense for the NHL to say to the Red Wings that a promise doesn't mean anything. Detroit, for all intents and purposes, has done just fine playing in the Western Conference. They've failed to miss the playoffs since 1990, have finished no worse than second in the Central since '93-94, and have been bounced in round one of the playoffs just four times over that stretch. Promises aside, wouldn't it make much more sense for teams closer to the other teams in the East to play in the East?

It seems unlikely for the NHL to break their 'promise' to the suffering Red Wings, but wouldn't it just make sense? Perhaps I'm crazy.

Join the Discussion: » Comments » Post New Comment

» Roster moves highlight Game 82 planning

» B's lay an egg in Washington

» Bruins get Michigan'd by Svechnikov, 'Canes

» Bruins' playoff plans in goal coming into slight focus

» Bruins hammer Hurricanes; Marchand scores No. 400