With his ankle injury now finally behind him, Bruins winger Milan Lucic is healed, healthy, and ready to get the 2010-11 season rolling.

“I’ve been on the ice for almost a month so I’m definitely feeling good,” Lucic said after his second day of captains’ practice at Ristuccia Arena. “I’m pretty confident with the ankle and confident it’s gonna hold up for the whole year.”

Even though he came up big for the B’s in the postseason, nearly six months removed from initially suffering the sprain in a game against the Wild, Lucic was slowed by the injury for nearly the entirety of the 2009-10 campaign.

“It’s frustrating when you have an injury like that, when you come back and it’s never 100 percent,” the forward said. “It stops you from doing what you do best.”

Lucic, entering the first year of a three-year extension that will pay him a little over $4.0 million annually, is excited to get back to doing just that. The hulking winger is thrilled to have the opportunity to play at full speed, throw his weight around without hesitation and create space for Marc Savard, who has served as his center throughout majority of his three years in Boston. The two have formed quite a bond during that time, but many a rumor had that coming to an end this summer.

“Clearly they were all rumors,” Lucic said of the rampant trade speculation involving Savard. “Everyone takes (trade rumors) differently and his feelings were hurt a little but I’m really happy he’s still part of the team.

“In the three years I’ve been here, he’s been one of the guys I’ve been closest with and obviously we have a special bond on and off the ice. I’m happy he’s back and I hope he’s happy that he’s still around too.”

Lucic said he has communicated throughout the offseason with Savard, and that the B’s crafty pivot has been hard at work throughout the summer months.

“He’s been training harder than he did in the past, so I’m excited to see how he looks,” a smiling Lucic said. “I know he’s gonna be anxious to get going again.”

In the area last month for his own celebrity softball game, the Vancouver native is thrilled to be back in the Hub of Hockey, a place anxious to see the return of the Black and Gold to the TD Garden.

“You look at the team on paper right now and we look pretty good,” he said of the team’s current roster. “Even when I was here last month, it seemed like everyone was excited to get things going and it’s good to have that buzz in the city here.”

For Lucic, much like his adoring fan-base, the regular season can’t come soon enough.

Following word from Larry Brooks of the NY Post that made no mention of Marc Savard’s contract being in any imminent danger, the center’s agent Larry Kelly appeared on Team 1200 in Ottawa this morning to firmly let the league know what kind of wrath to expect if they decide to take action against his client’s pact.

Savard's agent Larry Kelly believes keeping Gary Bettman around would be a "huge mistake". (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images for NHL)

Kelly, present as a guest on the radio show, admitted that he does not expect the NHL to revoke the deal, but indicated things could get really messy if the league decides to void contracts they have already approved. “You can imagine the lawsuits that would ensue,” Kelly said, alluding to a drawn-out legal battle that could turn into a major sideshow for the sport of hockey. Kelly, a longtime player-agent based out of Savard’s hometown in Ottawa, also took the opportunity to call out commissioner Gary Bettman during the interview.

““I’d really like to see a true-commissioner -style , someone who has the best interest of the game in mind rather than the situation they have now,” he said. “Bettman is (more like) the president of the league and he clearly is on the owners side on every issue. I really think it should be a commissioner. With a commissioner you have somebody who is totally independent and I think it would be a much less acrimonious situation.”

While the league looks to lash out at those who found a loophole in the CBA, Brooks did make mention of the Savard situation this afternoon, citing that the status of the pivot’s pact is unclear. Meanwhile, there are other media outlets insisting that no ultimatum has been given to the Players’ Association, currently being headed by former MLB big-wig Donald Fehr. Just when you thought it was over, the Savard saga continues to drag on.

After launching an investigation into a number of long-term contracts believed to be circumventing the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the National Hockey League is reportedly on the verge of laying the hammer down on three guilty parties.

According to the New York Post, the New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks may be in a world of hurt if the Players’ Association fails to comply with the following rules:

1. That the cap hit on future multi-year contracts will not count any seasons that end with the player over 40 years of age. The cap hit would be calculated on the average of the salary up through age 40 only.
2. That the cap hit on future contracts longer than five years will be calculated under a formula granting additional weight to the five years with the highest salary.

As far as mandate No. 1 goes, the Bruins can breathe a huge sigh of relief knowing that center Marc Savard’s seven-year pact will expire just a month or two before he celebrates his 40th birthday. Whew! No mention of No. 91′s contract was made in the article, indicating that the B’s should be in the clear. According to the Post, the Players’ Association has until 5:00pm on Friday night to comply or the league will promptly move to reject Ilya Kovalchuk’s latest proposal (a 15-year deal), void netminder Roberto Luongo’s current deal that will keep him in Vancouver until 2022 and embark upon a formal investigation into the Blackhawks’ deal with Marian Hossa (which would keep the Slovak winger in Chicago until 2021).

The NHL has certainly backed up its bark with a whole lot of bite. Thankfully for both Savard and GM Peter Chiarelli, it appears as though the B’s are going to walk away unscathed.

Center Patrice Bergeron will the be first Bruin featured in a series of player-by-player previews by the Black and Gold Blog leading up to the start of the 2010-11 regular season. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

While the dog days of summer are still upon us, the return of the Spoked-B to your hockey-deprived universe is closer than you think. The rookie games to be held between the Bruins and Islanders at the TD Garden on Sept. 15 and 16 are just 28 days away, with full training camp kicking off the following morning. During the four weeks leading up to those events, in addition to all related B’s news that comes about, the Black and Gold blog will be featuring one Bruin per day in a series of player-by-player previews for the 2010-11 campaign. In addition to that, there will also be a ten-part series reviewing how the B’s fared at each of the NHL Drafts from 2000-2009.

To check out the full schedule of season previews and draft reviews, click on the “Black and Gold Blog Calendar” link under “Pages” at the top right. The calendar will be regularly updated throughout the rest of the summer and beyond, making sure that you always know what’s on tap.

Without further ado, here is the first player preview for 2010-11.

PATRICE BERGERON | #37 | Center

HEIGHT: 6-2      WEIGHT: 194      SHOOTS: Right
BORN: July 24, 1985 – Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec
DRAFT: 2003 – 2nd Round (45th overall) by the Boston Bruins
CONTRACT STATUS: Signed through 2010-11 ($4.75 million cap hit)
2009-10 STATISTICS: 19 goals, 33 assists, 52 points in 73 games

LOOKING BACK ON 2009-10

Bruins’ fans were joyed to witness Bergeron’s offensive resurgence in 2009-10, after the beloved center and longest-tenured member of the team lost a combined 90 games to injuries in the previous two campaigns. With his concussion issues slowly becoming smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror, the gifted pivot, renown for his two-way game, picked up 52 points in 73 games for Boston, finishing as the co-leader in that category alongside David Krejci. Bergeron’s comfort level and creativity with the puck steadily increased as the season wore on, giving himself and the organization hope that he can return to the form that saw him score 31 goals as a second-year NHL forward in 2005-06. Bergeron and linemate Mark Recchi, who displayed great chemistry down the stretch in 2008-09 after the future Hall of Fame inductee’s arrival from Tampa, proved to be the team’s most consistent forwards from opening night until the B’s crushing defeat in game seven against the Flyers.

Never out of place in any role, Bergeron’s versatility allowed Head Coach Claude Julien to utilize him in a variety of spots. Serving as both a center and a point-man on the power play, Bergeron was also a key cog on the penalty kill and Julien’s go-to guy as the team’s top center during Marc Savard’s three stints on injured reserve. There, stepping slightly away from his role as the squad’s top-flight, shutdown defender, he was able to fully display his oft-underrated offensive abilities. With the Bruins desperate for goals down the stretch and Savard sidelined after suffering a concussion, Bergeron picked up six goals and six assists over the final 12 regular season games to help the team qualify for the postseason. He kept rolling in the playoffs, contributing 11 points in 13 playoff tilts before the B’s eventually bowed out. Rewarded for his remarkable defensive play and faceoff abilities, Bergeron was selected to Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics and captured a gold medal with the squad’s memorable overtime victory over the United States.

FIVE FACTS

1. Bergeron won 58.0% of the faceoffs he took in 2009-10, the fifth best percentage among qualifying players in the league.
2. With 45 blocked shots, Bergeron finished tops among all Bruin forwards in that category.
3. The center was called upon in the shootout 13 times last season, tying with Blake Wheeler for the team lead. Bergeron scored three times, including two game-deciding goals.
4. Only Dan Paille (1:59) averaged more short-handed TOI per game than Bergeron (1:56).
5. Bergeron’s first goal of the 2010-11 campaign will be the 100th of his NHL career. To date, he has scored 99 times in 376 games.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2010-11

Still just 25-years-old and heading into the prime of his career, Bergeron will hope to utilize his progress in 2009-10 as a stepping stone. Although he will likely be slotted in as the team’s third-line center, a disappointment for those hoping to see the young leader flourish offensively, a huge influx of talent seems bound for Bergeron’s right flank. Barring another center being traded, rookie Tyler Seguin projects to begin his career in Black and Gold on the wing. A likely destination would be alongside Bergeron. Hard to think of a better mentor, as Bergeron began his pro career in the same fashion. Should Mark Recchi switch over to the left side on Bergeron’s line, Seguin should be the recipient of an immeasurable wealth of knowledge this coming season. With Recchi’s veteran presence and magnificent work ethic and Bergeron’s masterful defensive game and unrivaled ability to win battles along the boards, the B’s No. 2 overall pick couldn’t ask for two better mentors as he grows accustomed to the NHL.

In addition to that, the trio should complement each other quite well offensively if united. Bergeron’s board work, Seguin’s stick-handling skills and Recchi’s presence in front of opposing netminders would make them an extremely balanced bunch. Outside of his likely role as the rookie’s reliable center, Bergeron will once again dawn a limitless number of hats for the 2010-11 edition of the Bruins. The alternate captain will look to repeat the success he and his fellow PK specialists had a year ago, as the B’s finished with the No. 3 ranked penalty kill in the league. Bergeron failed to tickle the twine on the power play last season, but if properly penciled in down-low on the man advantage, he could considerably hike his overall point total up. His dedication to back-checking, strong skating abilities and supremely high hockey IQ won’t be going anywhere, so you can bank on #37 being one of the smartest, most dependable players Julien will turn to from the opening faceoff until the final buzzer.

Behind the scenes, barring an announced deal prior to the season, Bergeron will be working out an extension with General Manager Peter Chiarelli to insure that he remains with the B’s beyond 2010-11. Entering the fifth and final year of his current contract, inking undoubtedly the most complete player on the team is a must for the Bruins. After a bounce-back campaign in 2009-10, this upcoming season could prove to be the one that truly gets Bergeron back on the fast-track to becoming one of the top centers in the game (should you not believe he holds that distinction already).

PREDICTION FOR 2010-11
Even the most educated of guesses can still look foolish at the end of the day, but I’m willing to bet we see Bergeron inch statistically closer to the back-to-back 70+ point campaigns he enjoyed in 2005-06 and 2006-07, especially if finally paired with a player as offensively dynamic as Seguin. Bergeron really turned a corner down the stretch and into the postseason, as confidence in his shooting abilities seemed to skyrocket. After scoring 13 times in his first 61 tilts, No. 37 potted 10 goals in the final 25 games of the year (including the playoffs). With that said, here’s my prognostication: 24 goals, 41 assists, 65 points.

NEXT PREVIEW (8/20): Matt Hunwick

After spending nearly the entirety of the offseason on the trading block, Marc Savard has finally put a long-awaited end to nearly two months of silence.

To say the last calendar year has been a trying one for the Bruins’ star center would be a wild understatement. Following three separate stints on injured reserve with a broken foot, partially torn knee ligament and a severe concussion, Savard returned to the B’s lineup in round two of the postseason only to take part in one of the most devastating collapses in the league’s long playoff history. With rumors abound throughout the summer months that he was being jettisoned from the Hub of Hockey, it’s hard to imagine the 33-year-old pivot didn’t feel slighted. Publicly shopped around just seven months removed from signing a long-term, cap friendly extension, Savard confirmed being distraught by the whole ordeal to the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch.

“They hurt me a little bit just because I went to Boston and I helped to build that team back up,” Savard said on Friday. “I’ve really tried to work hard with the young guys and being a core player. I was really focused on staying there for the rest of my career. To hear all this stuff this summer bothered me inside more than anything else.”

With the trade winds dying down and no updates coming from the league as they investigate his seven-year pact, all signs point to Savard returning in 2010-11 to center the squad’s first line. “Right now I’m a Bruin and that’s the way it is,” he said. “(But) it’s been tough.”

If reports were indeed true that the Ottawa native would only waive his no-trade clause to head to the Senators or Leafs, the chances of seeing a reunion between Savard and Phil Kessel in Toronto took a serious hit at midnight last night. Tomas Kaberle, the defenseman the Bruins believed they were getting in a botched Phil Kessel swap at the 2009 NHL Draft, had until that hour yesterday to be traded to any team the Maple Leafs chose. Kaberle’s no-trade clause has now kicked back in, significantly hampering GM Brian Burke’s chances of dealing the talented blueliner. The Czechoslovakia native, who has spent all 11 seasons of his career in Toronto, has one year remaining on his current contract. Kaberle will hit the Leafs’ cap to the tune of $4.25 million in 2010-11. The renown puck-moving defenseman registered 7-42-49 totals for Toronto in 2009-10, finishing with a minus-16 rating in 82 games.

The rejection of Ilya Kovalchuk's contract has forced the NHL to re-examine a handful of long-term deals. (Photo: Getty Images)

It all started out so innocent. After the lockout concluded and general managers scrambled to discover ways to retain their superstars, along came the advent of the long-term, cap friendly contract. Essentially spitting in the face of the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, teams found a new, creative way to lock up the cornerstones of their franchises. In what seemed like a game of one-upmanship, these pacts began to grow longer and longer, eventually reaching a crescendo with Ilya Kovalchuk’s 17-year, $102 million dollar deal with the New Jersey Devils. At long last, the league called shenanigans.

An arbitrator backed the NHL’s decision to reject the Russian winger’s preposterous contract, officially making him an unrestricted free agent once again. Unfortunately, for all of the other teams that had gotten away with deals of the same ilk, the league has decided to dust off a number of similar pacts for further examination. One of those contracts belongs to Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins. Savard, who agreed to a seven-year extension at the tail end of 2009, will make a total of just over $28 million dollars over the life of the contract (should he fulfill his part of the bargain and suit up for all seven seasons). At the time, the league chose not to take umbrage with the fact that the crafty pivot will only be paid $525k in each of the final two years or that he will turn 40 just weeks after its conclusion.

But now the spotlight has returned, as the league has put lawyers in contact with a few of its general managers to discuss these deals. The NHL appears ready to pick up their pitchforks, grab their torches and march toward an NHL city near you, hell bent on righting their apparent own wrongs.

Everyone knows full well that the Bruins were entirely cognizant that Savard’s deal pushed the oft-mentioned envelope. But, having watched numerous other organizations capitalize on this seemingly overlooked loophole, it was only a matter of time before deals of this nature became widespread. If the league dares dabble in overturning their own rulings, a mad frenzy of epic proportions will ensue and clobber the credibility of the NHL. No one had any qualms at the time these deals were approved and registered. Coming to the conclusion that the window of opportunity to nix them should be re-opened would be utterly disastrous. Teams have spent months, even arguably years, preparing their rosters and the subsequent total of their payroll for the upcoming season. Throwing a wrench in those plans in mid-August, and potentially starting an all-out war if one player’s contract is voided while another player’s isn’t would be as misguided a decision as any the league has ever come up with.

While the Bruins wait on ruling No. 2 on Savard’s contract, one can’t help but return to the man who finally forced the league to take a stand. Kovalchuk’s deal pushed the limits too far and, at this very moment, he now finds himself out over $100 million dollars in potential earnings. But, if the Russian winger’s obscene contract has really lit a fire under the league’s brass and kick-started a witch hunt, he may wind up costing everyone else much, much more.

To keep up to speed with everything posted here on the Black and Gold Blog, as well as the rest of the Hockey Journal’s in-depth coverage, feel free to check out our page on Facebook. Just search for “New England Hockey Journal” and click “Like”. Easy, isn’t it?

The Bruins’ salary cap situation may force the exodus of forward Michael Ryder. (Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

The B’s completed an essential formality this afternoon, giving the thumbs up to an arbitrator’s decision and inking winger Blake Wheeler to a one-year, $2.2 million dollar deal. Wheeler, who will turn 24 in August, will once again be a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2011-12 season. That, of course, will be a challenge the B’s will tackle at a later time and date. With their latest transaction the B’s have officially exceeded the NHL’s salary cap. Now facing a $2.18 million dollar deficit and still in need of negotiating a contract with No. 2 overall pick Tyler Seguin, General Manager Peter Chiarelli will have some major decisions to make as the calendar turns to August and the regular season looms on the horizon.

Unfortunately for Chiarelli there are an extremely limited number of viable solutions. With No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall recently signing on with the Oilers for three years at an annual cap hit of $3.75 million (base salary $900k but bonuses do hit the cap), it’s hard to foresee Seguin agreeing to anything well below that. For argument’s sake, let’s say Seguin is somehow swooned by an offer of $3.00 million on the nose. Barring any movement prior to a deal like that being struck, the former Plymouth Whalers’ star will push the Bruins to a whopping $5.2 million bucks over the league limit. Shedding that kind of coin in the NHL these days will hardly be a cakewalk.

It has already become public knowledge that Chiarelli has explored his options throughout the offseason. Rampant rumors swirled around center Marc Savard, as the crafty pivot was pegged to be heading to Calgary, Toronto or Ottawa at various points over the past month. Just as the case was with Savard, nothing ever came to fruition in Boston’s attempt to ship out netminder Tim Thomas, as the 2008-09 Vezina Trophy winner balked at the offer to waive his NTC. While both players have been key cogs in Chiarelli’s marvelous revamping of the organization, it’s not rocket science to determine why they were primary candidates for the trading block. Thomas’ $5.00 million dollar cap hit is second only to Captain Zdeno Chara’s, and it will be hard to justify shelling out such a sum if Tuukka Rask carries the kind of workload he did down the stretch and in the postseason. As for Savard, the man with 90-point potential but a yearly cap hit of a far less productive NHL forward, a $4.00 million dollar cap hit may be a bargain given his production but it’s still a big chunk of change at the end of the day.

That of course brings us to Michael Ryder, the former Hab who dipped from 53 points in 2008-09 down to 33 in 2009-10. After tying for the team-lead with 13 points in 11 games during the 2008-09 postseason, Ryder buried just 18 goals for the B’s last year, the second-lowest total of his six-year NHL career.  Are the Bruins in a predicament so inescapable that they’ll have to send the Newfoundland native and his $4.00 million dollar salary down to Providence? Might another suitor step forward and make a tempting offer for Marc Savard? Could the uber-competitive Tim Thomas have a change of heart during the dog days of August?

We’re a little over a month away from the opening of training camp, and the mad dash to free up cash has officially begun. With that I ask you the following…

What’s next for the Boston Bruins? Whether it goes down tomorrow, in a few weeks or on the eve of camp, what do you foresee happening first? If you’ve got a crafty alternative or any other thoughts you’d like to share, feel free to post them in the comments section.

April is supposed to be the busiest month of the year for accountants, but in the NHL, July is the peak season for the number crunchers.

This year’s free agency period has produced the kind of numbers that can clog many a calculator. The terms of Ilya Kovalchuk’s new deal with the Devils in particular didn’t add up for the NHL, which rejected New Jersey’s mammoth 17-year, $102 million deal with the star Russian forward.

The Devils will now have to rework the terms, or else the Players Association can file a grievance and seek arbitration. Kovalchuk will likely remain a Devil after restructuring the deal to terms that less obviously flaunt the loopholes of the current CBA, but the league’s stand here is sure to send a message to the rest of the league.

That includes the Bruins, who have already gotten away with a “retirement deal” of their own when they re-signed Marc Savard last fall. They dropped his cap hit to a manageable $4.007 million a year by adding a pair of low-money years at the back end, as Savard will make $7 million in each of the first two years, but just $525,000 in each of the final two years if he plays that long. Ironically, despite the favorable terms, Savard has been the subject of trade rumors all summer as the Bruins are still in cap trouble and may opt to move the playmaking center now that they’ve added a potential long-term successor in Tyler Seguin.

While the Savard deal passed the NHL’s smell test, the league’s rejection of the Kovalchuk contract could make it difficult to sign any future “retirement deals.” That could make it even tougher for the Bruins to re-sign both Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron when their current deals expire after this season. Chara in particular would have been an obvious target for a long-term deal with some low-money final years to drop his cap hit from its current $7.5 million while allowing the 33-year-old blueliner to finish out his career in Boston. Of course, if the Bruins do trade Savard before his extension even kicks in, it might not be easy to get Chara or anyone else to agree to such a cap-friendly deal again.

The dominoes have finally started to fall. Three weeks into free agency, the biggest prize in this year’s market has found a home at last.

And it’s a familiar one for Ilya Kovalchuk, as the high-scoring Russian forward has re-signed with New Jersey, where he finished last year after a late-season trade from Atlanta. Kovalchuk had been courted by several teams, most notably the Kings and KHL clubs in his native land, but in the end he decided the Devils he knew were most preferable. The terms of the deal have not been released, but ESPN’s Scott Burnside has reported it is a staggering deal worth over $100 million for 17 years.

Not long after Kovalchuk finally made his decision, new Tampa Bay GM Steve Yzerman quickly swooped in to land the next biggest name available to teams seeking scoring help. The Lightning acquired Simon Gagne from the Flyers for the low, low price of physical depth defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth-round pick. This deal was purely a salary dump by Philadelphia, which was desperate for cap space and needed to unload Gagne and the final year of his $5.25 million cap hit. The Lightning, meanwhile, add another premier talent up front to a forward corps that already includes Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie and Ryan Malone without losing a significant piece of their current roster and could be ready to push their way back into the playoff picture in the East.

Both of these moves could have a major impact on the Bruins, beyond keeping two talented scoring forwards on Eastern Conference rivals’ rosters. They could also set the stage – and set the market price – for any potential deals the Bruins would like to make to ease their own cap crunch.

On the plus side, with Kovalchuk and Gagne now off the market, teams like LA that were looking for an influx of offensive help could be more open to dealing with the Bruins. Boston hasn’t exactly kept it a secret that they’d be willing to deal playmaker Marc Savard, despite signing him to a cap-friendly long-term deal this past winter and giving him a no-trade clause. The Bruins would almost certainly be willing to move Michael Ryder as well, as clearing his $4 million cap hit would allow them to re-sign Blake Wheeler and sign top pick Tyler Seguin without moving out any more salary.

But given the low return Philadelphia got for Gagne, it’s unlikely that the Bruins would be able to move Savard for a return they would find palatable. Dumping Ryder strictly to free up cap space would be one thing, even if the Bruins had to throw in an additional draft pick or prospect to sweeten the pot, but dealing away Savard for cents on the dollar would extremely poor asset management.

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli noted last week that trade talks around the league had “grinded to a halt,” largely due to Kovalchuk’s indecision. Now that he’s no longer holding the hockey world hostage, teams are free to deal again. Tampa kicked off Stage 2 of the offseason with the trade for Gagne. Now it’s a matter of seeing what – if anything – the Bruins can work out in the re-opened trade market.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli had already confirmed that Mark Recchi would return for another season over the weekend, but the Bruins made the signing official today and Recchi spoke with local media about the decision.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to come back,” said Recchi in a conference call. “I think the Bruins are continually going in the right direction. I’m excited about the moves, to be part of the Boston Bruins again is going to be something special.”

Those moves include the selection of Tyler Seguin with the second overall pick on Friday night. The 42-year-old Recchi has long been lauded for his work as a mentor for younger players, and he’s looking forward to helping ease Seguin’s transition to the NHL.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Recchi of Seguin’s selection. “I mean any time you can get a kid a kid like that. He’s a franchise player. We’re very fortunate up the middle we’ve got three dynamic guys, all different type of players, and you can throw this kid in the mix. He could possibly play wing I understand. He’s going to be an important part, but at the same time, he can come in and just be a player, which I think is the most important thing for a young player. There’s not pressure on this kid, internally anyway, to come in and be a world beater. … He can learn and grow and be a part of a good hockey team which I think is very important for the development of a young kid.”

Recchi was also asked about some of the moves the club has been rumored to be considering, specifically speculation about a possible trade of Marc Savard.

“Obviously I really like Savvy,” said Recchi. “You never know what’s going to happen. General managers explore everything. If there’s a viable option to move Marc Savard, then obviously he’s got to look at it. He might be looking for a different dynamic. … He’s obviously a dynamic passer and he’s been great for the Boston Bruins. I’m sure they’re not taking this lightly. If it makes sense they’ll do it but if it doesn’t, I think he’ll be here and he’ll be a good player for us again.”

Recchi is confident in Chiarelli’s overall plan to restructure the Bruins roster, and his comfort with the direction the team is going was a key factor in his decision to re-sign here.

“I had some great conversations with Peter,” said Recchi. “I really liked the direction he wanted to go. He had a great feel for what was needed. When you hear that — obviously not everything might work out the way he wants to do — about what the dressing room needed, what the players needed, and how he has a great understanding of it, that was exciting to me.”

Recchi also admitted that he didn’t want his final memory from Boston to be of this spring’s playoff collapse against Philadelphia.

“I think there was some unfinished business,” said Recchi. “I’ve never been so disappointed to end the way we did. But again with what he’s planning to do and what he’s done, getting the second pick, we’re continuing to get better. I think we’ll be a little bit younger and a little bit faster. I think we’ll be a better hockey team.”

In other Bruins news, the deadline for submitted qualifying offers to restricted free agents was today, and the Bruins qualified all of their RFAs except forward Daniel Paille and goalie Kevin Regan (South Boston, Mass.).

The club is still negotiating with Paille, who was a key performer on the penalty kill after being acquired from Buffalo early in the season. But they don’t have the cap space to pay a fourth-line PK specialist more than the $1.35 million he earned last year, so keeping Paille could come down to his willingness to take a pay cut. Without a qualifying offer, Paille will become an unrestricted free agent free to sign with any team on July 1.

Regan was 8-11-0 with a 2.54 GAA and a .915 save percentage for Providence (AHL) and also played six games with Reading (ECHL) this past year. But the former University of New Hampshire star was caught in a numbers crunch with young goalies Adam Courchaine, Matt Dalton and Michael Hutchinson also in the organization’s developmental pipeline.

Seguin and newly acquired forward Nathan Horton will be in Boston tomorrow to meet with the media in the morning, then trek over to Fenway to throw out the first pitch before tomorrow night’s game against Tampa Bay.