Projo Bruins Blog

March 2006 Archives

The Boston Globe reports today that defenseman Nick Boynton will have shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, and will not play again this season. Writer Kevin Paul Dupont said that coach Mike Sullivan broke the news after today's practice in Boston.

Boynton, 27, was a first-round pick by the Bruins in the 1999 draft. He has been a Boston regular since the 2001-02 season. He has five goals and seven assists this year.

Bruins president Harry Sinden just announced general manager Mike O'Connell has been fired. Assistant GM Jeff Gorton will replace O'Connell on an interim basis.

"It's been dictated by the fact that the postseason is out of sight for us," said Sinden. "We felt we would probably be doing this at the end of the year. It was not proper to let Mike continue to do what he has been doing, such as signing players and making plans for the future when we basically knew that at the end of the year we were probably going to relieve him of his job."

More to come.

The Bruins are holding a press conference at 6 p.m. tonight at the Garden. Details will follow.

Harry Sinden is expected to announce a change in management.

Bruins' P.J. Axelsson has resigned with Boston for the next three years.

General manager Mike O'Connell said recently he was trying to sign Axelsson to a contract extension, and the sides were able to agree to a deal earlier today.

“P.J. has said before that he likes it here and likes the city of Boston,” said O’Connell. “And we like him. He’s a good player and in today’s game he is even more valuable. January 1 we told him we would like to have him back.”

Axelsson, 31, was drafted by the Bruins as their seventh pick, 177th overall, in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He is in his eighth season with Boston and has recorded 73-128=201 totals in 592 NHL games played. Axelsson has 10-18=28 totals this season in 59 games played. P.J. participated in the 2006 Torino Olympic games where he won a gold medal with Team Sweden. According to the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Swedish forward was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2005-06 season.

“I wanted to stay here, so it was easy,” said Axelsson in reference to his decision not to test the free agent market at the end of the season. “(Boston) has been the only place I have played and I like it here, so I’m happy. We have a lot of young kids this year and they’re only going to get better. That’s my philosophy, so I’m happy I’m coming back.”

The Bruins announced today that they have agreed to terms with left wing P.J. Axelsson on a three-year contract extension. The club declined to release the terms of the deal.

Axelsson, 31, has played his entire NHL career with the Bruins since joining the team from Sweden in 1997. He has 10 goals and 18 assists in 59 games this season, but has been out of the lineup with a knee injury for the entire month of March.

Considered one of the league's top defensive forwards, Axelsson recently earned a gold medal in the Turin Olympics with the Swedish team.

Dripping with sweat and out of breath, Bruins rookie goaltender Hannu Toivonen said this morning he's hoping to return by the end of the regular season. He just finished an intense full-equipment workout with P.J. Axelsson firing pucks at him.

With 13 games remaining, Toivonen has been able to skate consecutive days with equipment on and said he's making progress.

His goal right now is to play before the end of the season.

"I really hope so," he said. "We have a tough schedule, but I feel pretty comfortable about getting back in there this season. That's certainly the goal."

The Bruins will host the Atlanta Thrashers tonight and Tim Thomas is expected to start.

Toivonen and Thomas are close friends and when asked about Thomas's new three-year contract extension, Toivonen said: "It makes me real happy for the organization and for him. He really deserves it, he's been working hard for that chance and he has taken advantage of the opportunity. Getting a three-year contract is a nice reward for him, and for the entire organization."

With three goalies on the club, including Andrew Raycroft, the Bruins will have to make a decision during the offseason.

"We don't think about those things," said Toivonen. "We're just here to play hockey and let management do its job, and we’ll do ours."

Word is Tim Thomas has signed a multi-year deal with the Boston Bruins. Details to come.

The Bruins have not made an official announcement, yet, but Tim Thomas has signed a three-year deal worth just over $1 million per year.

Thomas, 31, enters today's game with a 9-5-5 record, including a 2.34 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

An unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, it was quite possible he would have been offered several deals with other clubs, given his tremendous success with Boston.

Thomas wanted to stay in the organization, the one that finally gave him his opportunity in the NHL.

Sergei Samsonov has been traded to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for centers Marty Reasoner and Yan Stastny.

The Bruins newcomers will not be available for tonight's game against the Montreal Canadiens, so Ben Walter has been recalled from Providence.

Sergei Samsonov injured his right knee during practice this morning, but it doesn't appear to be too serious.

Teammate Josh Langfeld fell awkwardly onto Samsonov's legs during a drill and Samsonov needed to be helped off the ice. He said after practice that he will make the trip to Buffalo, but will see how it reacts tomorrow before deciding if he should play.

Andrew Raycroft is starting for the second consecutive game tonight against the Buffalo Sabres.
"It's nice to play two in a row," said Raycroft. "Hopefully the team plays as well as it has been and makes life easier for me."

Razor is coming off a 20-save performance and a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday. Tonight will be the first time he has started back-to-back games since he suffered a pair of losses to San Jose and Los Angeles on Jan. 10 and 12. He's 8-16-2 with a 3.60 goals-against average and a .883 save percentage.