Well day one is almost wrapped up, as things seem to be calming down on the free agency front. As expected, nothing monumental happened this afternoon in Boston, but here's what we've got so far.......

* BYRON BITZ has been re-signed to a multi-year deal (details not released at the moment).

In his first NHL season in 2008-09, Bitz notched four goals and three assists in 35 regular season games, and recorded his first NHL multi-point game with a two goal performance against Florida on February 24, 2009. He also skated in five postseason games for the Bruins and tallied 1-1=2 totals.

He made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 10, 2009 against the Carolina Hurricanes, notching an assist for his first career NHL point.

Bitz registered three goals and seven assists in 37 games with the P-Bruins last season. In 61 games with the P- Bruins during the 2007-2008 season, Bitz potted 13 goals and contributed 14 assists. Before joining the P-Bruins in 2007, Bitz played four seasons at Cornell University with 28-60=88 totals and 155 penalty minutes in 124 career games. He graduated from Cornell with a degree in Business in 2007.

The 24-year-old native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was originally drafted by the Bruins in the fourth round (107th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

* Steve Begin, the former Canadien who, let's not forget, laid a wicked crosscheck on Marc Savard that broke a bone in the center's back (at the tail end of the 07-08 regular season), has been signed to a 1 year deal.

The 31-year-old Bégin is a veteran of 409 NHL regular season games and
has tallied 47 goals, 39 assists and 482 penalty minutes in his NHL
career. He has also notched four assists in 23 career playoff games, all
with the Montreal Canadiens.

He finished the 2008-09 season with the Dallas Stars, after being
traded from Montreal on February 26, 2009 in exchange for Doug Janik. In
62 games last year split between the Canadiens and the Stars, Begin
notched 7-5=12 totals.

Bégin was originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in the second round
(40th overall) in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-0, 192-pound native
of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec made his NHL debut on January 10, 1997 as a
member of the Flames. He played portions of five seasons with Calgary
before being traded with Chris Drury to the Buffalo Sabres for Rhett
Warrener and Steven Reinprecht on July 3, 2003. Bégin was claimed off
waivers by the Canadiens on October 3, 2003 before playing a game for
Buffalo and spent the next four-plus seasons with the Habs.

As a member of the Canadiens, he skated in 226 regular season games and
23 playoff games, with 35-31=66 totals. He tallied career highs in games
played, goals and assists during the 2005-06 season with 11-12=23 totals
in 76 games played while playing under current Bruins head coach Claude
Julien.

* Johnny Boychuk, who won the Eddie Shore Award as the top defenseman in the AHL this past season, has been signed to a one year deal (just got word, so no details yet).

The 25-year-old Boychuk was the winner of the Eddie Shore Award as the
American Hockey League’s outstanding defenseman for the 2008-09 season
after recording 20 goals and 45 assists in 78 regular season games. His
20 goals and 45 assists were tops amongst all AHL defensemen and set a
Providence Bruins team record for points by a blueliner. He finished
second in the P-Bruins scoring race on the season, one point behind
Martin St. Pierre.

Boychuk was also voted into the starting lineup for the Canadian team
at the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic, was a co-winner of the CCM/AHL Player
of the Month award for March, and was named a First Team AHL All-Star.

He was recalled once to Boston from December 1-7 and played his first
game as a Bruin in a 3-1 win over Tampa Bay on December 4.

The 6-2, 225-pound native of Edmonton, Alberta was originally drafted
by the Colorado Avalanche in the second round (61st overall) of the 2002
NHL Entry Draft. He has played in five NHL games in his career, four of
which were with Colorado during the 2007-2008 campaign.

Boychuk was acquired by the Bruins on June 24, 2008 in a trade that
sent Matt Hendricks to the Avalanche.

* MATT HUNWICK is still a Restricted Free Agent.

* PHIL KESSEL is still a Restricted Free Agent.

Peter Chiarelli held a conference call at 6:00pm, and here's what I've got (lots of "tire-kicking" references and other vague statements):

On inquiring about potential acquisitions.....
"We've kicked a few tires. We really haven't gotten anywhere yet. We'll probably have something later on this evening, not a marquee name."

On the Schaefer buyout....
"It's just a slight cap hit in the grand scheme of things. It gives Peter a chance to further his career somewhere else. There were some people asking about him so I wouldn't be surprised if he got another job."

On getting bigger up front....
"Well we've got Byron signed, he's got some size. I think it's going to be a never-ending quest for us."

On making and taking a lot of calls...
"It's probably about the same as last year. To give you an example, we might have put out ten calls at various levels, and we probably received calls on 30 players."

On discussions with Marian Hossa.....
"Not really. We kicked a couple of tires, but not really."

On newcomer Steve Begin...
"He's a guy who can slide a little bit up the lineup. He can kill penalties, and he will wear the emblem on his sleeve."

On long term contracts (a la Hossa)....
"If it made sense, I would do it. But, generally speaking, there's too much uncertainty. For me, ten, nine, eight, you know, twelve years...is long."

Chiarelli did not discuss P.J. Axelsson (the most likely UFA to return) or Phil Kessel. He didn't directly mention Matt Hunwick or Mark Recchi, but I get the vibe we might hear something about one of those two in the next day or so. Chiarelli mentioned that there may be more news tonight, and his commentary sounded as though they'd be the most likely candidates. Word was, per Joe Haggerty of WEEI, that numerous teams were inquiring about Hunwick this afternoon. So, hopefully, all of their calls were just wasted time, and the young puck-moving defenseman will be back in Boston shortly.

Chiarelli did however confirm that Stephane Yelle's tenure in Boston is over. Begin will assume his role on the 4th line. While Yelle's savvy veteran presence will be missed, the former Hab will certainly bring a hard-nosed, physical presence to the lineup. I'm not quite sure how Marc Savard feels about this move right now, but I think it's got upside. The deal is only for $850k, and the B's could use an expert pest like Begin (so long as he goes about it in a dignified fashion...if that's possible).

Well, once I have more I'll be sure to pass it along. I think I'll go ice my wrist after clicking refresh 45,000 times today.

What do you make of day one for the B's?

JC


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