MVN - Most Valuable Network

Stuart’s Contract Extended; Bruins Trade for Boychuk

Boston, MA- Last weekend at the NHL Entry Draft, the biggest complain from Bruins fans was the fact that the club did not take a single defenseman with any of their six picks. On Tuesday, Boston began to lay the ground work on their blueline by bringing back one defenseman and trading for another. The Bruins started the day by re-signing restricted free agent Mark Stuart to a multi-year extension. Per club policy, terms on Stuart’s deal were not disclosed. Later in the day, Boston shipped Providence Bruins forward Matt Hendricks to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Johnny Boychuk.

Following his freshman season at Colorado College, the Boston Bruins selected Mark Stuart with the 21st overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. The Rochester, Minnesota native completed two more seasons with Colorado College before joining the Providence Bruins at the beginning of the 2005-06 season. Known primarily as a defensive defenseman, Stuart’s numbers didn’t exactly jump out during that first season with the P-Bruins. In 60 games, he had seven points, and a plus/minus of plus-4. Mark did get a chance to play in 17 games with the big club that season, and even managed to score his first NHL goal on April 10th, 2006 against the Washington Capitals. 2006-07 was another split season for Stuart, and once again, the majority of the time was spent in Rhode Island. Although the goal total stayed at four, his assist total jumped from three to 16, and did so while playing in 11 fewer games. The 24 year old got the best news in late September of 2007, when the Bruins told him that he would be starting the 2007-08 season in Boston. As well as starting the year in Boston, Mark played in all 82 regular season games plus all seven postseason games in the NHL. His totals read four goals and four assists for eight points (plus one assist in the playoffs), with a respectable plus-2 rating. The numbers aren’t flashy like Zdeno Chara’s, but Mark Stuart will continue to be a reliable stopper on the blueline for as long as he is in this league.

The new face to the Black and Gold is 24 year old Johnny Boychuk of Edmonton, Alberta. Boychuk was a second round selection of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft out of the Western Hockey League. Following time in the WHL with Calgary and Moose Jaw, Boychuk’s professional career finally took off in the 2004-05 season when he joined the Hershey Bears (Colorado’s AHL affiliate at the time). Even at 20 years old at the beginning of that year, Johnny managed to play in all 80 games for the Bears, registering three goals and 12 assists for 15 points. The following season, he shifted to Lowell and more than doubled his output with six goals and 26 assists in 74 games for the Lock Monsters. In 2006-07, Boychuk changed locations again, this time going out to Albany. His point total dropped to 28, but he did have four more goals, and racked up 125 penalty minutes. This past season, Johnny saw yet another AHL city, flying out to Cleveland to play for the Lake Erie Monsters. In 60 games, Boychuk scored eight goals and assisted on 18 others for 26 points. This year was also the first time he saw action in the NHL, going scoreless in four games for the Colorado Avalanche. As the numbers indicate, Johnny Boychuk does have the ability to put up points. However, at six feet two inches and 225 pounds, his primary focus will be preventing the other teams from being able to score. In all likelihood, Boychuk will begin the 2008-09 season wearing a spoked “P”.

Unfortunately, to get talent, you must give up talent, and that’s exactly what the Colorado Avalanche will get in Matt Hendricks. The 27 year old forward has yet to play a game in the NHL, but he is certainly becoming a valuable asset in the AHL. Every season has been an improvement for Hendricks, including this past season with the Providence Bruins. Prior to joining the Baby B’s, Matt’s career highs were 18 goals and 26 assists one year earlier with the Eastern Conference Champion Hershey Bears. In 2007-08, Hendy was tied for third on the Peebs with 22 goals, and fourth on the club with 52 points. The Blaine, Minnesota native wasn’t afraid to mix it up a little bit either, as his 121 penalty minutes ranked third behind Steve MacIntyre and Sean Curry. The playoffs weren’t as ideal as he probably would have liked with three assists in ten games, but that should only be a minor blip on the radar screen. Matt Hendricks could see some action with the Avalanche, but most of his time will likely come with the Lake Erie Monsters.

Johnny Boychuk is currently a restricted free agent, so the Boston Bruins will need to sign him to a contract before next Tuesday’s free agency period begins, or else they will be forced to match offers from other teams for his services.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.