Day 1 of free agency came and went with little action from the Bruins.
Boston bid adieu to Michael Ryder, who signed with Dallas, and added Canadiens winger Benoit Pouliot, but stayed on the sidelines as the rest of the league maxed out its credit cards in a wild spending spree that saw no fewer than 70 unrestricted free agents landing lucrative new deals.
But will Boston remain quiet as we get deeper into free agency and some bargains may become available?
"We're still talking to a couple players," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Friday evening. "I don't see anything imminent in the next evening or day but that's about all I can tell you right now."
Chiarelli was tight-lipped about his plans, but did confirm that one of the players Boston is still talking to is defenseman Tomas Kaberle, who remains unsigned.
"I've had a few discussions today with him and that's where I'll leave it," Chiarelli said. "But I have had a couple of discussions and again, I'm not ruling out re-signing Tomas."
There aren't many other options left on the free-agent market if the Bruins want to add another veteran blueliner. Puck-moving defensemen, and really defensemen of all shapes, sizes and styles, were at a premium as the market opened Friday.
Fifteen of the players signed Friday were defensemen, and that was after 10 other potential free-agent blueliners were locked up in the past week before reaching the open market. Those deals included some head-scratchers, like the Blue Jackets giving James Wisniewski $33 million over the next six years and Buffalo handing Christian Ehrhoff a 10-year deal worth $40 million. Even 35-year-old Ed Jovanovski got a four-year, $16.5-million deal to go back to Florida, which drafted him first overall all the way back in 1994.
With those kinds of premiums being paid, Kaberle could cash in big as well despite his struggles in Boston after arriving from Toronto at the trade deadline. On the other hand, the fact that Kaberle didn't find a deal to his liking on Friday when the money was flowing so freely could indicate that his performance in Boston may have hurt his value after all. That, in turn, means he could still fit into the Bruins' budget with the hope that a full camp with Claude Julien could produce more consistent results next year.
Kaberle has expressed a desire to stay in Boston, and the Bruins may get a chance to match whatever offers he receives elsewhere. There's no guarantee they'll have that opportunity, though, or that those terms will be palatable to the Bruins.
"One of the risks that we're aware of is, when you get in the open market, as much as you talk about that, about having last crack, sometimes it doesn't happen and that's been discussed between myself and Tomas' agent," Chiarelli said. "So if it doesn't happen then that's a risk that I was prepared to take, but we'll see where it goes."
If Kaberle goes elsewhere, the Bruins' options on the free-agent market are limited. Ian White remains available. He's just 27 and possesses good mobility and offensive ability. He had 4-22-26 totals last year, but is only one season removed from a 13-25-38 campaign. White has played for four different teams in the last two years, which raises some concerns.
Bryan McCabe's best days are behind him, but he could add some experience and a little offense from the blue line on a short-term deal. McCabe, 36, had 7-21-28 totals with Florida and the Rangers last year, and has had five seasons with 15 or more goals, including three such campaigns since the lockout.
Chiarelli didn't divulge any names besides Kaberle, but did admit that the Bruins are in discussions with several free-agent defensemen.
"Well, they're defensemen, that's who we're talking to right now," Chiarelli said. "And so their roles would obviously be defenseman, without giving too much away. … One is Tomas Kaberle, and there's a couple others."
Still, the Bruins may be best served by looking internally first and seeing what Steven Kampfer can offer in a full-time role. If he and other youngsters like Matt Bartkowski aren't capable of doing the job, the Bruins will have cap flexibility to trade for help during the season, and the options on the trade market may be more appealing than the leftovers remaining in free agency.
That's in the unrestricted market anyway. There are some enticing names among this year's restricted free agents, most notably Tampa Bay sniper Steven Stamkos and Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty. But Chiarelli, who has to worry about locking up a key restricted free agent of his own in Brad Marchand, stated he is not inclined to go down that route and submit an offer sheet on any RFAs.
"I'm not playing that game unless I'm forced to do it," Chiarelli said. "I think it's an option that we're all aware of as managers but I'm not playing that game yet at this point."
With the Bruins apparently eschewing the RFA market and limited options remaining among the UFAs, this may remain a quiet offseason for the Bruins. With nearly everyone back from a team that just claimed the franchise's first Cup in 39 years, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
