MVN - Most Valuable Network

Boychuk Re-Signs, Wideman on the Doorstep

Boston, MA- On Tuesday, the Boston Bruins were busy working with a pair of restricted free agent defensemen. One has re-signed with the club, while the other is extremely close.

The signing for the day was Johnny Boychuk. The Black and Gold acquired Boychuk from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Matt Hendricks last month. Because Boychuk’s contract was set to expire on July 1st, the Bruins were forced to offer him a contract, or else he would become an unrestricted free agent. The B’s did just that, but the contract did not get signed until recently. The 24 year old will spend his first season in the Boston organization, following four seasons under the Avalanche. The majority of Boychuk’s four seasons with Colorado were spent in the American Hockey League. Surprisingly, all four years were in different cities. Johnny did make his NHL debut this past season, playing in four scoreless games with the Avalanche. With six defensemen already under contract, plus prospects Matt Lashoff and Matt Hunwick, it is expected that Boychuk will spend the 2008-09 season in Providence.

The player close to signing on the dotted line is Dennis Wideman. Early in the day, Sportsnet in Canada had reported that Wideman did in fact sign the deal. However, Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli was quick to deny it by saying that although they were very close to a deal, nothing was official yet. After spending nearly three years playing in the St. Louis Blues organization, Dennis was traded to Boston in exchange for Brad Boyes at the 2007 Trade Deadline. Although he was limited to just three points in his final 20 games of 2006-07, the 24 year old quickly became a factor this past season. In 81 games with the Bruins, Wideman lit the lamp 13 times, while dishing out 23 assists for 36 points. All three totals are career highs at the NHL level.

If Dennis Wideman does in fact sign this contract in the next few days, movement could start occuring in Boston. The anticipated dollar figure would put the Bruins over the salary cap, so there would have to be a transaction or two prior to the season starting to bring that number down. Also, because this signing would be done without arbitration, Boston’s deadline for being able to buy out players would be moved. With the arbitration hearing originally scheduled for July 30th, the Bruins would have had to wait until August to buy players out. If and when Wideman signs, there would be three days of quiet, followed by two days for the buyouts.

With Boychuk under contract and Wideman close, that leaves two restricted free agents left for the Boston Bruins. Forwards Nate Thompson and Pascal Pelletier have both spent time with the big club in their careers, but served as instrumental parts on last season’s league champion Providence Bruins. Each player has been with the Boston organization since they broke into professional hockey.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008 at 2:29 am 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.