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Bruins trade for Wade Redden, reuniting him with Zdeno Chara 04.03.13 at 3:30 pm ET
By DJ Bean   |  20 Comments

Wade Redden

The Bruins traded for defenseman Wade Redden prior to Wednesday’s trade deadline. In return for Redden, the B’s sent a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2014 draft to St. Louis. The pick will become a sixth-rounder if Redden plays a playoff game for the B’s.

Redden, 35, was bought out by the Rangers prior to this season and signed with the Blues. In 23 games for St. Louis this season, Redden has two goals and three assists for five points and a minus-2 rating.

Redden was a teammate of current Bruins Zdeno Chara and Chris Kelly in Ottawa, where he played from 1996-2008 before signing with the Rangers. Redden’s reunion with Chara is an interesting one, as the Senators infamously chose to re-sign Redden over Chara in 2006 when both players were free agents.

For more on the Bruins, visit weei.com/bruins.

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NHL trade deadline update: Bruins deal Maxime Sauve for Rob Flick in minor league swap 04.03.13 at 1:24 pm ET
By Annie Maroon   |  2 Comments

Max Sauve

On a slow deadline day so far, the Bruins made the first splash, although it was a small one: TSN’s Darren Dreger reports the B’s have sent Maxime Sauve to the Blackhawks for Rob Flick in a minor league deal.

Sauve, 23, has 10 goals and 13 assists in 52 games with the Providence Bruins. Flick, 22, has three goals, two assists and 97 penalty minutes in 51 games with the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs. Neither is considered a top prospect.

Dreger also reports that the Predators have sent 34-year-old defenseman Scott Hannan to San Jose for a conditional sixth/seventh-round draft pick.

Hannan was drafted by the Sharks in the first round (23rd overall) back in 1997, and he played for them through the 2006-07 season. He has since played for the Avalanche, Capitals and Flames before landing with the Predators this season.

A defense-oriented blueliner, Hannan has one assist and no goals through 29 games in Nashville. He has 33 goals and 165 assists in 937 career games. The Sharks recently dealt physical defenseman Douglas Murray to the Penguins, and Hannan could fill the role he vacated for the Sharks, who are in sixth place in the West.

TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that the last-place Panthers have sent winger Jerred Smithson to Edmonton for a draft pick. ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun confirms that the pick is a fourth-rounder.

Smithson, 34, has two goals and three assists in 35 games in Florida this year. This is his first full season with the Panthers, as he came over from Nashville last year after six years with the Predators.

In 578 career games, Smithson has 38 goals and 57 assists for 95 points.

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Andy Brickley on M&M: Keith Yandle, Mark Streit, Dan Boyle possible Bruins targets as trade deadline approaches 04.03.13 at 12:34 pm ET
By Annie Maroon   |  No Comments

Andy Brickley

NESN’s Andy Brickley spoke with Mut & Merloni on Wednesday about what the Bruins could do in the last few hours before the 3 p.m. trade deadline and where he sees Jaromir Jagr fitting into the lineup.

Brickley said he thinks the Bruins would do best to add a defenseman before the deadline, and that the three names he’s seen thrown around most are Keith Yandle, Dan Boyle and Mark Streit.

“I’ve been a big Yandle fan for a long time because he’s a local kid, and you’ve always got to pull for them,” Brickley said. “Boyle’s a proven winner, won a Stanley Cup. He’s a right-handed shot who would fit nice on a power play right now with Dougie Hamilton, who’s really your only right-handed shot you can put on the back end if you’re playing with your four forwards. Boyle can run a pretty good power play. But I think Streit’s the guy that’s probably the most attainable when you talk about what you’re going to give up to get what you want. I think those are the three names that are probably pretty attractive to Boston right now.”

Brickley noted that the Bruins haven’t been afraid to deal high draft picks and top prospects in the past to get the players they want, especially during their 2011 Stanley Cup run.

“Maybe you have to deal a current asset that’s not a future first-round pick if the expectation is that conditional second turns into a first in that deal for Jagr,” Brickley said. “I do like the fact that the Bruins are willing to make those kinds of trades. When you take a look at … how they constructed that 2011 Cup team, they dealt first-rounders, whether they were future first-rounders or current first-rounders that were at some point in their development. In the [Mark] Recchi deal they dealt that kid [Matt] Lashoff. He was a first-rounder. The [Rich] Peverley deal, two first-rounders, [Mark] Stuart and [Blake] Wheeler. The [Nathan] Horton-[Gregory] Campbell deal, that was [Dennis] Wideman and a first-rounder, and even [TomasKaberle, that was two first-rounders, [Joe] Colborne and a future first-rounder. So they’ve shown that they will do what they need to do when they target those certain players.”

Jagr seems likely to start out playing on David Krejci‘s wing, although Brickley noted that sometimes linemates don’t click even if the pairing seem logical.

“I think it’s only natural that they try to hook him up with David Krejci, but sometimes that doesn’t work out,” Brickley said. “I would never make the analogy that [Michael] Ryder is a Jaromir Jagr, but when Ryder was acquired by Boston, the expectation was that he was playing with a top-two centerman, whether it was [PatriceBergeron or Krejci or a healthy Marc Savard, for that matter. He probably did his most damage in the playoffs playing on the third line with [Chris] Kelly and Peverley. So you never know what kind of chemistry you’re going to get when you hook certain players up.”

Following are more highlights from the conversation. To hear the interview, go to the Mut & Merloni audio on demand page. For more Bruins coverage, visit the team page at weei.com/bruins.

On whether the Bruins need to add a forward or defenseman at the deadline: “I don’t know if it’s a necessity because I think this is still a pretty strong team if everyone’s healthy on their back end. I’d like to see them, and I think everyone would like to see the Bruins do that. The players in the room would certainly like to see another defenseman of NHL quality, somewhere in a top-five as far as their rating.

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Barry Pederson on D&C: Jaromir Jagr ‘a star, not a superstar’ 04.03.13 at 9:55 am ET
By Annie Maroon   |  No Comments

NESN’s Barry Pederson talked to Dennis & Callahan on Wednesday about the impact Jaromir Jagr could have on the Bruins, what he’ll have to do to fit into the B’s system, and Patrice Bergeron‘s situation after leaving Tuesday’s game with an injury.

Pederson said he thinks Jagr will thrive in a supporting role, similar to the one he played in Philadelphia last year, not to mention in Pittsburgh when he first broke into the league.

“He’s coming to a good team that he’s just trying to make great,” Pederson said. “He’s probably a star, not a superstar. He’s definitely a top-six forward, and I think the other thing it does for this team is it brings in competition. For the coach, he doesn’t have to do a lot of yelling, or say a lot of things in the press. Just, ‘OK you’re not going on the top two lines, I’ve got another forward here, a Hall of Famer that wants to come in here and play.’ ”

Pederson played with Jagr on the Cup-winning 1990-91 Penguins team in Jagr’s first season in the NHL. He said Jagr had his own “Euro fashion” off the ice, but that on the ice he exhibited the qualities that have kept him among the league’s top players to this day.

“He came over with all kinds of raw talent,” Pederson said. “You have to remember, on that team, with [Mario] Lemieux there, he was the guy that was kind of making all those eyes turn. But what I remember about [Jagr] the most at a young age was how gifted he was, lower body down. Similar to a Ray Bourque where you have those strong legs and that big butt, you couldn’t knock him over. He had a great release. He’d go to those dirty areas and had a knack for getting in front and scoring big goals.”

Despite Jagr causing some locker-room controversy in his earlier days, Pederson said he believes Jagr has matured into a veteran leader.

“I think you’re going to be surprised as to what you’re going to hear in the dressing room,” Pederson said. “When you read all the accounts of Philadelphia … they think they really missed his presence in the locker room. I think he’s really matured as a person and i think that’s really going to show here.”

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Claude Julien: Jaromir Jagr is ‘coming to help us, he’s not coming to save us’ 04.02.13 at 11:15 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia   |  2 Comments

Clearly, the Bruins felt a positive buzz from the acquisition earlier in the day of Czech superstar and future hockey hall of famer Jaromir Jagr. The Bruins went out, fired 50 shots on net and beat the Senators, 3-2, at TD Garden.

But Bruins coach Claude Julien made it very clear that he’s not expecting the 41-year-old player to save the Bruins, just help them, much in the same way Mark Recchi helped Boston to a Stanley Cup in 2011.

“Well, there’s no doubt he’s going to help us,” Julien said. “And I think that’s the key word, he’s coming to help us, he’s not coming to save us. That’s what people have to understand. He’s a great player, and he still is a great player, but at the same time, if we expect to watch him do the work we’re not going to be going anywhere.

“We need our team to play better and he’s certainly going to help our team be better. I like the acquisition – a big strong guy, he’s hard to knock off the puck around the net area, in the corner; he does a great job. To me, he seems to suit our needs and what we’re all about. Again, I know he’s happy to come here and we’ll certainly be happy to have him in our lineup because he’s going to help in a lot of areas.” Read the rest of this entry »

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A picture says a thousand words: Jaromir Jagr is so much older than Milan Lucic 04.02.13 at 10:32 pm ET
By DJ Bean   |  1 Comment

New Bruin Jaromir Jagr has been playing for a while. He’s 41. He was a rookie when current Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney was in his third year in the league — and Sweeney played 1,115 games in the league before retiring nine years ago. He made his NHL debut before Dougie Hamilton or Tyler Seguin were born.

This one takes the cake. Check out this picture from 1998 — eight years after he made his NHL debut — of Jagr with a young Milan Lucic on the left. Per TSN’s James Duthie:

After Tuesday’s game, Lucic explained the picture, which he remembers well.

“That picture is still in my bedroom back in Vancouver,” he said. “I’ve had it there since it was developed back in ’98 when I first got to meet him.

“A long time ago, back when I was 10 years old, my uncle, Dan Kesa, he played on the Pittsburgh Penguins,” he said. “When they played the Canucks I had a chance to go down in the dressing room and meet him. That was obviously when he was back in his absolute prime. For me and my brothers as kids, it was pretty awesome to meet a guy like him. [You get] the same feeling today when you hear the news that you get to play with a legend like himself, it’s definitely going to be a great addition to our team.”

So Lucic was 10 years old when Jagr was in his ninth season. Now Lucic, 24, is now in his sixth season and will be a teammate of Jagr’s.

Said Lucic: “If you would have told me back then that we were going to be teammates down the road, I probably wouldn’t have believed you, but here we are today.”

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Patrice Bergeron leaves game, Bruins offer no update 04.02.13 at 10:30 pm ET
By Mike Petraglia   |  12 Comments

Patrice Bergeron left Tuesday's game. (AP)

Patrice Bergeron left Tuesday’s win over the Senators after colliding with Ottawa’s Colin Greening early in the second period and did not return. Following the game, Claude Julien offered no update on his condition.

Replays showed that Bergeron hit his head on Greening’s elbow/forearm while Greening was attempting to shoot in the Bruins zone. Rich Peverley took Bergeron’s place on the second line with Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin.

Bergeron, who has had three concussions in his career, left the ice and went down the tunnel following the collision. Bergeron’s last concussion came in 2011 against the Flyers.

Though Julien had no update on Bergeron and wouldn’t talk about the prospect of playing without him, Bruins teammates expressed concern for the reigning Selke winner.

“I haven’t talked to him yet, but we all know what kind of guy and what kind of player he is,” David Krejci said. “We don’t have to talk about it. It sucks, but I hope it’s nothing serious and he’s going to be back in the lineup soon.”

For more, visit the Bruins team page at weei.com/bruins.

DJ Bean contributed to this report.

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