Nathan Horton not returning to Bruins; B's shopping Tyler Seguin

Yeesh, the you-know-what is really starting to hit the fan.

According to multiple reports, unrestriced free agent Nathan Horton will not resign with the Bruins in the coming days of free agency and has instead chosen to test the open market.

From TSN's Bob McKenzie and CSNNE's Joe Haggerty...

Horton's agent Paul Krepelka: "Nathan has told BOS he wants to explore free agency. It's not a financial issue, just a decision to move on."
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 29, 2013

Spoke w/Nathan Horton's agent, Paul Krepelka: he informed Bruins he's moving on & wants "a new beginning" at another NHL spot #BruinsTalk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) June 29, 2013

Haggerty's tweet is interesting, as it is evident that Horton totally crossed out a return to the Bruins without the team even making an offer. Either he knows that the type of contract in terms of years and dollars he's looking for would not work for the Bruins, or he truly wants "a new beginning" in another NHL city.

I think him and GM Peter Chiarelli came to a mutual agreement that the the type of money Horton is looking to sign for simply would not fit under the Bruins' current financial situation...

...which brings us to the other red-hot rumor flying around twitter.

According to TSN's Renaud Lavoie, the Bruins are activley shopping 21 year-old center Tyler Seguin, as his name has been involved in trade rumors all day Saturday.

Bruins are really active right now. Tyler Seguin is one of the players that could be traded. Lightning is one of many teams in the mix.
— Renaud Lavoie (@RenLavoieRDS) June 29, 2013

Yowza....

The Lightning part is interesting, as they hold the #3 pick in tomrrows draft. Couple that with Seguin's new $5.75 million, six-year deal that kicks in at the start of next season, and it certainly looks like the Bruins are lining up their guns to jetison Seguin out of town for cap relief and a cheapwe top prospect that will only make the rookie minimum at $900k with their entry level deal.

photo via WEEI.com

Fans and some media members have entertained the idea of trading Seguin as his development has not exactly sky-rockted the way other top high picks have. For the most part, top three picks in the NHL are a sure-fire thing as the likes of Gabriel Landeskog, Taylor Hall, John Tavares, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamoks, and Drew Doughty have all been drafted in that range since 2008.

With Seguin taking such a giant step backwards this season, and with his lack of physicality and a 'signature' move, it looks like the Bruins brass has been paying close attention to his lack of growth and are looking to get out from the nearly $6 million cap hit Seguin's contract will cary next year.

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