Kicking the Tires

The B's have already had a busy offseason, and it's only just begun. In retaining some of their secondary players, the Bruins have put themselves in a very good position entering next year. Couple that with the addition of Tyler Seguin and Nathan Horton and you've got a team already much improved from the last campaign. But they'll have several more important decisions to make in the coming week or two that could decide the teams immediate and long-term future.

First off, they'll need to assess the trade market for Tim Thomas or Marc Savard, or both. They've made it pretty public that both of them are available, but who's interested? Lets start with the least likely to move: Thomas...

The Capitals:
The Caps destroyed the Eastern Conference last year with their powerful offensive attack. But when the offense came up firing blanks in the playoffs, they had no goalie to lean on. Jose Theodore struggled and was replaced by young Russian Semyon Varlamov, who also struggled. Now Theodore is gone, and the Caps have Varlamov and young counterpart Michal Neuvirth. While the need for an established, reliable goalie like Thomas is apparent, the Capitals won't break the bank to bring him in.

The Sharks:
The Sharks made a baffling move on Day 1 of Free Agency when they signed Antero Niittymaki to apparently be their starter. Why a team with Cup hopes signs a career journeyman with hardly any playoff experience is mind-boggling, but maybe that's why the Sharks always come up short in May and June. It looked like a good fit, but that signing basically closed the door.

The Flyers:
If there is any remaining possible landing spots, it's probably Philly. They resigned Michael Leighton and they've spent big bucks on the blueline so far this offseason, but they might not be done wheeling and dealing. Paul Holmgren was very weary about handing Leighton the starting gig going forward, and he wasn't hiding it. They are money-strapped just like the Bruins, but Thomas' contract matches up fairly well will either Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, or Matt Carle. I'm not sure they would part with any of those guys in a deal for a 36 year old netminder, but it's still the best possibility.

I've heard rumors that the Islanders and Penguins have had interest in Thomas, but I don't see the need for either team to sacrifice a player or cap space for another goalie. My bet is that Thomas is a Bruin next year, and he'll be a 35 game "backup" to Tuukka.

Marc Savard, on the other hand, is an entirely different monster. He's a legitimate top-line center with elite playmaking talents. Add to that the fact that he's affordable ($4 mil cap hit) and you have an extremely attractive trade piece. With Savard's resume, it's hard to imagine that any team would flat-out turn down the possibility of trading for him, but for rumors' sake, lets narrow the possible destinations down to the "real interested:"

The Kings:
Hollywood has a need for another pivot. Anze Kopitar can't do it all by himself, and Savard would be a great fit. But, if the Kings make a huge pitch to Ilya Kovalchuk, then it'll make trading for Savvy nearly impossible. If the Bruins could pull a deal off that would bring Jack Johnson to Boston, then it would be a massive haul for Peter Chiarelli. Johnson might be a little too high a price for Savard, but he is exactly what the Bruins need.

The Flames:
Jarome Iginla hasn't had an elite playmaker to play with for much of his tenure in Calgary. They, for whatever reason, decided it was a "good" idea to bring Olli Jokinen back into the fold, so that might throw a wrinkle in their plans to bring Savard aboard. There have been rumors kicked around, as recent as today, that a possible deal between the teams would bring Robyn Regehr to the Hub. Regehr isn't a puck mover like Johnson or Tomas Kaberle, but he's one of the great stay-at-home guys in the league. He'll be almost invisible in the offensive end, but he's a brick wall in front of his own net. The Bruins don't have a pressing need for that type of player, but Regehr would be a big upgrade over Matt Hunwick and Andrew Ference.

The Rangers:
The same thing applies to the Rangers as it does the Flames. They have an elite winger in Marian Gaborik, but he's got nobody to dish the biscuit. They gave Jokinen a shot, and surprise surprise...it backfired (again, good luck Calgary). Now this might be an ideal type situation, but the Rangers have had trouble in their contract talks with RFA Marc Staal. There's no way that the Rangers would part with a young-stud like Staal for Marc Savard, but if the Bruins were able to spice the pot with one of their many prospects, then they would have a great chance to make their defensive unit the best in the league.

There are probably four or five other teams with interest in Savard, but if I had to say there was a front-runner, I'd put the ball in Calgary's court. Trading Savard is a much more likely scenario then one in which Tank leaves town, but is it in the teams' best interest? Trading Savard does nothing to help the offense. Do the Bruins feel they can compete for a Cup with their current blueline? Is Savard a piece they view to be crucial in making a Cup run? Do they really have hopes that Seguin makes the team and has an immediate impact? Who knows. The Bruins are in a fairly good situation. Keeping Savard won't hurt them, because Horton could be 40 goal scorer on his wing. Trading them, if netting one of those 3 guys or another puck-mover, also helps their team. If they'll make a move, I'm guessing it happens this week or next.

My prediction: Savard gets dealt to Calgary along with Andrew Ference/Matt Hunwick for Regehr and Ales Kotalik. The BSP will keep you pink-hats posted...