I would say that the Boston Bruins knew what they were getting when they signed
Benoit Pouliot last summer, but they really didn't.
Let go by the Montreal Canadiens last summer with not even a qualifying offer to his name, the wickedly inconsistent winger arrived to the Hub with some pretty gigantic shoes to fill. In an offseason that saw the B's lose the 43-year-old
Mark Recchi to retirement and watch
Michael Ryder ditch Boston for the greener pastures of Dallas, Pouliot stood as Boston's lone free agent forward added to the fold.
No pressure, right? Well, to be honest, not really.
Signed for 1.1 million dollars, Pouliot's deal with Boston defined what they call a low-risk/high-reward signing. If he stunk like he did during his final season in Montreal, where the Alfred, Ont. native ended his Habs career with 27 straight games without a goal, the B's could bury him in the press-box or put him on the waiver wire without much skin off their back, and for the first month, it appeared as if that was the only way the "Pouliot the Bruin" story could go. Held to just two points (both goals) in his opening 16 games with the Black-and-Gold, No. 67 became an anything-but-endearing character when it came time towards finding his niche with the club. He was deemed out of place, an offside-savvy skater on a disciplined team, and not a fit within the patented Julien framework. However you seemed to put it, all signs pointed towards Pouliot being the ugly duckling.
But amid the questions as to who'd be replacing Pouliot at the deadline, the 25-year-old found his way as a budding fan favorite. Going on a tear from December through January headlined by 13 points in 25 games, a February cool-down of just one point in 13 games would ultimately lead to the best month of Pouliot's oft-criticized career.
With
Chris Kelly and deadline pickup
Brian Rolston on his wing, Pouliot would go on to finish the year with 14 points in the final 18 games of the season, ultimately giving him a career-high 32 points and plus-18 on the year. The "undisciplined" Pouliot? He took a mild 13 minors all season long, tying him with Kelly for 13th on the team. In the intangible department, the formerly "all sizzle" forward finished third on among Boston forwards with 97 hits, fifth with 37 takeaways, and turned the puck over just eight times.
A Success? For not even two million dollars -- strike that -- for not even 1.5 million dollars? Absolutely. And while Pouliot would go on to struggle towards the later half of the B's first round series versus Washington, held off the score-sheet with nothing but penalty minutes to his name before a Game 7 overtime turnover that damned the Bruins' bid for a repeat, that's not why you won't find Pouliot back with the Bruins next fall.
To put it simply, Pouliot worked his way out of Boston. There was no doubt that you'd see Pouliot get a significant raise -- be it from the Bruins or arbitration -- and that the B's front office undoubtedly felt that they could acquire a stronger top-nine presence with the money saved from waving bye to Pouliot.
Expect to get more answers on that opening this July.
Pavelec deal could set bar for Rask
In the first move that could determine the future cap-hit of Boston's
Tuukka Rask, who was qualified by the Bruins this past Friday, yesterday's extension signed by the Jets'
Ondrej Pavelec has certainly left the 25-year-old Rask smiling with anticipation for the millions that will be coming his way.
As Pavelec signed a five-year extension with Winnipeg worth a whopping $3.9 million a season, the question became just how much better is Rask than the 24-year-old Pavelec?
Well, I'd say significantly, but that's just on numbers alone. The fact is that Pavelec has never had a season with a save-percentage higher than .914, and his best single-season goals-against-average remains a 2.73, set back in the Jets' final season as the Atlanta Thrashers. So, could Rask sit there and suggest that he should get four million (and more) because of Pavelec's deal
and the circumstances that have put Rask as Boston's essential lone option in net? Yeah, but that could also put the Bruins in the position to say "Yeah, but Winnipeg's stupid."
I've suggested that any deal between three and four million a year for the next two or three years is fair for Rask, and with a reported July 1st deadline to get a long-term deal done, expect the Pavelec deal to factor into the negotiations in some sort of way.
Development camp roster and schedule
Yesterday, the Bruins came out with the roster for their annual rookie training and development camp held right down the road at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass..
Forwards: Darik Angeli, Anthony Camara, Colin Campbell, Daniel Carr,
Justin Courtnall, Brian Ferlin, Justin Florek, Seth Griffith, Colton
Hargrove, Alex Khokhlachev, Jared Knight, Cody Payne, Ben Sexton, Wayne
Simpson, Ryan Spooner
Defensemen: Matt Benning, Chris Casto, Tommy Cross, Matthew Grzelcyk,
Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, Robbie O’Gara, Zach Trotman
Goaltenders: Zane Gothberg, Parker Milner, Adam Morrison, Malcolm
Subban, Niklas Svedberg, Lars Volden
The first on-ice session will be on Thursday at 10:30 a.m, then Friday at 11:00 a.m, and with weekend sessions Saturday at 10:30/11:45, Sunday at 11:00 a.m, and will conclude with Monday's 10:00 a.m power-skating session.
All sessions are open to the public.
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