It's safe to say that it's been pretty far from a quiet summer over on Causeway Street. There have been trades, re-signings, "draftings" and enough rumors and scuttlebutt
to make even the most avid TMZ reader jealous.And while the arrival of Messrs. Seguin and Horton and the returns of Mark Recchi, Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Seidenberg and Daniel Paille are important, the biggest story surrounding the B's remains the mysterious case of Marc Savard (sounds like next year's big summer blockbuster).
The reason the whole situation remains puzzling is due to the lack of anything concrete from...well, anyone. Savard hasn't commented publicly at all, and Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli has been vague and cryptic at best. Fans still have very little idea as to why Savard would be on the trade block, so the rampant speculation will continue.
On the surface, there are a few reasons why a trade would be plausible:
- Reason 1: The Bruins feel like Savard, especially with the major concussion he sustained just this past season, is no longer worth the cap space, this despite signing him to a huge extension just a few months ago.
- Reason 2: Savard asked to be traded to be closer to his kids, who live in Ontario.
- Reason 3: The Bruins are tired of Savard being a less-than-ideal teammate, as some sources have painted him as a bad teammate. People who believe this theory point to his delay of game penalty in Game 7 against the Flyers (and subsequent failure to own up to it) as "the last straw."
But really, do any of these reasons, save for Savard asking out, justify trading your number-one center?
The short answer is no, while the long answer is more of a "well, not really." The B's brass clearly think David Krejci is ready to step into more of a number-one role, that Patrice Bergeron will continue to improve and that Seguin is NHL-ready. But trading Savard would leave a giant hole in an offense that was already anemic to start with after last season.
My real question now isn't really whether or not Savard will be traded, it's more of whether or not Savard can actually come back and play for the Bruins at this point, hence the "awkward" title. True, these players are professionals and understand that trades are part of the business, but if Savard didn't ask out, these talks and rumors must have blindsided him.
After all, he did just sign an extension and had wanted to retire as a Bruin. I still don't think trading Savard is a good idea, but at this point, one has to wonder if the bridges have been too badly burnt to be salvaged.
Other tidbits of Bruins happenings:
- Johnny Boychuk returns- A good signing by Chiarelli. Boychuk really emerged as a solid, dependable blueliner last year, and the B's will likely use his howitzer of a shot from the point on the power play from time to time.
- Daniel Paille returns- Another good signing, but I would have preferred to see Paille only get a one-year deal. He was a rock for the Bruins on the PK last year, and will likely partner up with Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell on the fourth-line again this year, but I can't help but feel that a year from now, one of the Bruins' youngsters would be able to fill his spot for less money.
- Still no sign of Wheeler or Stuart- The former has elected for salary arbitration, while the latter decided against it, apparently because an extension is imminent. It will be interesting to see how the B's go about the arbitration process with Wheeler, and how much money he gets. It's no secret that he's talented, but some B's fans have grown tired of waiting for Wheeler to change his game to more of a power-forward style.
So much for the summer not being hockey season. Things continue to heat up, both Bruins-wise and temperature-wise, and it doesn't appear that the rest of the summer will be any different.
