Monday's Bruins...

[the mugs]

The Boston Bruins have re-signed left wing P.J. Axelsson and have signed unrestricted free agent left wing Darren Van Oene, it was announced today by Bruins General Manager Mike O?Connell. Axelsson signed a one-year contract, while Van Oene was signed to a one-year contract with a club option for a second year. In keeping with club policy, terms of the contracts were not announced.

?P.J. is a versatile forward who?s very solid defensively, is very consistent and durable,? said O?Connell. ?He made a big contribution to our success last season, particularly in our penalty killing which finished first in the league. Darren is a big and rugged winger who adds to the depth of our organization.?

In other news, the Providence Bruins announced today that Mike Sullivan has been named the seventh head coach in franchise history. The 34-year-old native of Marshfield, Massachusetts signed a two-year contract. The Bruins also announced that Easton, Massachusetts native Scott Gordon will return for a third season as the assistant coach.
?I am very excited about this opportunity,? said Sullivan. ?After having spent 12 seasons playing professional hockey, I felt it was time to move on to the next phase, and coaching seemed like a natural step for me. Over the years, I?ve learned the game from some outstanding coaches and believe I can help the Boston Bruins develop their young players, as well as build on the tradition of winning in Providence. Providence has always been one of the elite franchises in the AHL, with great fan
support, and I can?t wait to get started with training camp and the regular season.?

 

[the mugs]

Grahame hopes to kick career into a new gear

When the Bruins' brain trust was assembled at the National Hockey League entry draft in Toronto last month, one of the items on their agenda was a face-to-face meeting with goaltender John Grahame. Management had long since made the decision to let Byron Dafoe head off to unrestricted free agency and the front office wanted to know just how serious Grahame was about replacing him.

From both a fitness and commitment standpoint, Grahame gave general manager Mike O'Connell and Co. their answer. The netminder, who turns 27 next month, said he knows this is his chance and he has no intention of blowing it.

Grahame changed his offseason home to Redondo Beach, Calif., and began intense training in the martial art discipline of Jeet Kune Do. He's also been training in Philippine weaponry, designed to improve his hand-eye coordination. If you thought the crease was a hostile place to be when he was in net before, wait until opponents get a load of him this season.

''It's really working out,'' said Grahame, who is under the tutelage of Dan Inosanto, a close friend of the late Bruce Lee, and his colleagues Larry Hartsell and Eric Paulson. ''The reaction time, the different techniques, it's funny how they relate to goaltending. I didn't know what to expect going into it but it's been nothing but positive. It's an aspect of training that's different from going in and lifting and riding the bike every day.''

Grahame hasn't tested his new skills on the ice - that will come next month - but he said he feels different physically.

''I feel my muscles getting almost longer and quicker rather than the bulkiness you get from lifting,'' he said. ''I'm doing a mixture of kick boxing and Jeet Kune Do. Plus, we're working with sticks and simulating swords, which are great for hand-eye coordination. I can't say enough about it. A lot of the things I've been doing are pretty difficult. It really makes you think while you're doing it because your body is going in so many different directions at once. I'm tremendously happy with it.''

Grahame's summer has been smooth sailing, but his career hasn't always been so. After leading the Providence Bruins to the Calder Cup championship in 1998-99, he split the next season between Providence and Boston. On the last day of training camp prior to the start of the 2000-01 season, Grahame suffered a broken ankle in an off-ice incident. He missed 21/2 months and was suspended by the Bruins. What compounded Grahame's absence was the fact Dafoe wound up on the shelf with hamstring injuries, so young Andrew Raycroft was pressed into service.

Last season, Grahame was determined to put that behind him. He earned a career-high eight victories in 19 games with a 2.89 goals-against average and now feels he's faced with the biggest and most important opportunity of his career. He said the meeting with the brass was the first big step toward getting to where he wants to be.

''I really didn't know what to expect,'' said Grahame. ''They just wanted to see how it was going for the summer and what kind of plans I had and what was taking place. We got some things discussed about maybe where we thought next year might go. It went well.''

Grahame has no doubts about his ability to carry the load as the No. 1 guy.

''I think always in your mind, you think you can do it,'' he said. ''That's the mind-set of a No. 1 goalie. Taking the steps to really be ready is something you have to do, as well. I think a little bit of it is that you have to wait your turn. There aren't too many No. 1 goalies who just step in. You have to be a little patient, but once you've taken those steps and you feel you're ready and you've waited your turn, that's what you've been waiting for, so you go after it.''

After the meeting, Grahame said he had an indication of the direction in which the Bruins are headed. If he was unsure of their position on Dafoe before, he wasn't afterward.

Grahame applauded the acquisition of goalie Steve Shields and said he's looking forward to competing with him at training camp in September. But Grahame believes he has plenty to prove. He did all he could in the American Hockey League and now feels he's ready to incorporate his skills - old and new - into becoming the best netminder on the Bruins' roster.

''It's the first time you're getting an opportunity to be the No. 1 goalie, there's always something to prove,'' he said. ''It's nothing more than a challenge, and that's the way you have to look at it. This is the time you've been waiting for. It's like you're going to make a first impression all over again.''



... 75 days to opening night.

 

[cooz3]

BIG SIGNING MUGS!!!!....WHAT A JOKE...I LIKE PJ BUT IM STILL PISSSSSED ABOUT THE GUERIN FIASCO....COOZ

 

[the mugs]

Cooz - While I agree the B's will miss his goals and his "locker room presence", no 60 point a year season guy is worth 45 million for five years. Look at Guerin's stats, last year was his best ever with something like 40 goals and 65 total points. I also think his +/- was a negative number.

I also think you will see a hard cap coming in 2 years in the NHL. There's gonna be a battle between the union and the owners and it's not gonna be pretty. Teams offereing big cash like Dallas did could get porked in the long run. A hard cap will help the always cheap Bruins as Harry has usually been a good judge of talent. That's why the B's only offered two year deals to him and Murray. They know the deadline date for the current CBA and since it's a very cloudy future, the Bruins will stay in business and probably be profitable while many teams struggle. I think I'm rambling so I will leave it there.

It's something like 71 days untill they drop the puck!

Mugs

 

[the mugs]

Cooz, it was killing me about Guerin's stats. I hope these come out OK...I got them from NHL.com


Season Team GP G A TP +/-
91-92 Devils 5 0 1 1 1
92-93 Devils 65 14 20 34 14
93-94 Devils 81 25 19 44 14
94-95 Devils 48 12 13 25 6
95-96 Devils 80 23 30 53 7
96-97 Devils 82 29 18 47 -2
97-98 Devils 19 5 5 10 0 TRADED to EDM
97-98 Oilers 40 13 16 29 1
98-99 Oilers 80 30 34 64 7
99-00 Oilers 70 24 22 46 4
00-01 Oilers 21 12 10 22 11 TRADED to BOS
00-01 Bruins 64 28 35 63 -4
01-02 Bruins 78 41 25 66 -1
NHL Totals 733 256 248 504 58

 

[cooz3]

i understand your logic...but as far as a cap is concerned...thats speculation and you cant in my opinion base your team upon such things until they are definite... in regards to plus minus..i think this stat is the most overated stat of all..when determining a guys value...there are 5 other guys on the ice (Goalie) who have responsibilities as well defensively...i just dont know how the bruins are going to replace a player of that caliber..as far as money is concerned they never even made this guy a solid offer...MUGS there is a reason why so many players feel this management team is impossible to deal with...if it was a gar and in between thing then i wouldnt care but this problem seems to arise much to often for a professional team....this owner has been getting away with this for years and will continue to do so until people wake up...cooz

 

[wigs]

must be frustrating being a bruins fan the past couple of seasons, although i found their games last yr to be quite exciting...sporting news has a little story on the b's and their fans

http://www.sportingnews.com/voices/fans_view/20020731.html