The Bruins started out the 1998 campaign shorthanded, but so far
it has not hurt them. Defenseman Kyle McLaren remains unsigned
and out of uniform, with no contract talks in sight. Anson
Carter finds himself in the same situation, the latest victim of
the Bruins' typical contract tactics.
Every year, the business side of hockey bleeds through in Boston,
with a negative effect on the team. In previous years it has been
a Cam Neely or an Adam Oates or a Glenn Wesley, etc, etc. This
year, it could have been a record setting four-bagger (four
players sent packing) but Jason Allison and Ted Donato blinked.
The sad part is that the people who pay to sit in the FleetCenter
are the ones who suffer, either with higher prices, or less
product on the ice than they expected.
And every year, some other NHL team does something so boneheaded
as to make us wonder if the Beantown GM dynamic duo of Harry
Sinden and Mike O'Connell are right after all in their approach
to players and contracts. Last year, Paul Kariya missed 60 games
between his concussion injury and his contract disputes. Another
big money guy, Joe Sakic, has missed close to 20 games in each of
the last two years after Colorado's Cup win and his big payout.
These kinds of free agent disappointments after big contracts are
cited annually by Harry and Mike as reasons to stay out of the
free agent market, and to be very conservative in giving out
raises. It almost seems like a superstition ("If we stiff him,
he won't suffer a season ending injury.")
This year, however, Mike and Harry have been handed the mother of
all excuses: there is the possibility that the Pittsburgh
Payrolls (err, Penguins) might be filing for bankruptcy. This
could be the ultimate "I told you so." for Harry to throw back at
his critics, who over the years have called him "Ol' Tightwad"
(or lots worse) for his penny-pinching ways. Harry can now say
that financial mismanagement can indeed cause the kind of
franchise collapse he has often warned about. People could
respond that the Pens won two Stanley Cups with that payroll, and
they would be right. But two Stanley Cup banners hanging from an
empty Igloo would be all the sadder if the franchise folded or
snuck out of town.
In any event, you won't hear Bruins coach Pat Burns moaning and
whining about missing players. Pat is focused on building a team
around the players he has, not wishing for the players he doesn't
have. If they sign, fine, then they will get the same chance to
win a job as anyone else. Until then, the Bruins have games to
play and win.
The start of the season dispelled one worry that was hanging over
the Bruins. Goaltender Byron Dafoe had off-season shoulder
surgery, so there were concerns about his recuperation,
particularly his regaining the range of motion so crucial to a
world-class goaltender. Byron pretty much silenced those
concerns with good performances in the preseason, and nailed them
shut in the first two regular season games by backstopping the
Bruins to a tie and a win. Against St. Louis, he registered 32
saves in a
3-3 tie and kept the Bruins in the game when they were
struggling. Then in the second game of the season, he shut out
the Islanders on a night when the rest of the Bruins were being
outplayed by New York.
Another question mark for the opening was Dimitri Khristich.
Dimitri also went through contract negotiations with the Bruins,
but resolved things just in time to injure his shoulder (shades
of Harry Sinden) in an exhibition game. Dimitri missed game one,
but returned against the Islanders to score a key goal, and
looked as if he hadn't missed a step.
There are some new faces on the team this year. Well, one is not
so new: Peter Ferraro joined the team as the Harry Sinden
retread-of-the-year. Ferraro spent most of his pro hockey career
in the Rangers farm system, though he did play 29 games for the
Penguins in 97-98. Peter joins the ranks of past and present
lunchbucket Bruins, who are expected to play solid all-around
hockey in workman like fashion, with an occasional spark of
offense. Ferraro adds depth and versatility: "Peter's a good
skater who is a natural center but is also comfortable at either
wing," said Mike O'Connell.
In much the same category, center Chris Taylor, 26, signed a
one-year contract in July and made his Bruins debut against the
Islanders. Taylor, who is the younger brother of Tim Taylor, has
been in the Islanders system for six seasons, surfacing for 22
games with the Isles. There is no truth to the rumor that he was
signed because his skates are one size smaller than his brother's
(that's a joke, see. Tim's toe in the crease disallowed a
crucial playoff goal last year and... never mind.)
From Finland, the Bruins have a player whose name sounds to
Boston ears like a new cure for gastric distress: Antii
Laaksonen. So far, however, Laaksonen hasn't caused Pat Burns
any ulcers. Antii was one of the positive surprises out of
training camp this year, and showed good hustle and instincts in
the opener against the Blues. Laaksonen was drafted by Boston
191st overall in the 1997 NHL Entry, but unlike most Finnish
players, he is no stranger to North America, having played four
seasons of college hockey at the University of Denver.
Another new Bruin with a European background is Peter Nordstrom.
Nordstrom played three years in the Swedish Elite League for
Farjestad, and was a linemate of Peter Forsberg in the 1998 World
Championships. Peter is anything but a finesse-only player,
however, having rung up close to a minute per game in penalties
(114 minutes in 129 games) in the usually sedate (at least by NHL
standards) Swedish League.
But the most heralded addition is defenseman Jonathan Girard.
Girard, who played for Laval in Quebec Junior, follows Joe
Thornton's example as a first round pick who made the big club
rather than being sent back to his junior team. Girard showed
lots of offensive promise in the preseason, but did not suit up
for the first to regular season games. This could be another
example of the method in Pat Burns' madness, similar to his
bringing Joe Thornton around slowly during his rookie year,
rather then let the NHL overwhelm him. Bruins fans are hoping
that Pat's patience is rewarded one more time.
Conspicuous in his absence is goaltender Jim Carey. The Net
Detective hasn't been able to buy a clue as a Bruin, and will
start the season where he left off, in Providence. The Bruins
seem approachable for a deal or a loan arrangement, but Carey,
who also had off-season surgery, made it through waivers
untouched, and nobody is beating down the doors. Meanwhile, he
is saddled with the chore of bricking up a porous Providence
Bruins defense, so the chance of his goals-against average
impressing anyone from afar is fairly slim. Carey was in net for
the P-Bruins' 5-1 thrashing by the Hartford Wolfpack, and while
he didn't get much for support, neither did he look like a Vezina
winner.
The early candidate for surprise goal of the year has to go to
the Bomber. Anyone who crafted a custom bet in Vegas that Ken
Baumgartner would go another year without a goal lost their money
on opening night. Baumgartner, who had not scored a goal since
January of 1996 with Toronto, was in the right place at the right
time when a St. Louis defenseman inexplicably passed the puck
back to goalie Grant Fuhr with Baumgartner bearing down on him.
The usually unflappable Fuhr bobbled the puck just enough for Ken
to tap it loose and backhand it in to tie the game.
Baumgartner's comment: "I hope it's not quite so long before I
get another one." Gotta love a guy who thinks positively.
