B's sign D-man Chris Breen and goalie Jeremy Smith to one-year, two-way deals
Were you expecting the big names to walk through that door yesterday!? Shame on you! Ain't nobody got money for that!
This is what general manager Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins do. The big ticket FA's will jet themselves to the highest bidder. The next tier of free agent talent will slip through the cracks and settle down with teams willing to give them a decent chunk of change and a possible shot at postseason success. The rest settle at the floor of the trash bin and begin to collect dust as the days pass, before teams come wandering back around to take their pick of what's left of the selection.
And the B's are the team that go a step further to scour the grease trap underneath the pile of garbaje to fill the holes in their roster. All due respect to Chris Breen and Jeremy Smith.
The Bruins inked 6-foot-7, 224-pound Breen, the 25-year-old former Calgary Flame defenseman, to a one-year, two-way deal for $600,000 at the pro level and $175,000 at the AHL level. Breen appeared in nine games for the Flames last season, scoring no goals, two assists and registering five penalty minutes.
Breen has spent practically all of his pro career earning his keep in the AHL, as he played in 245 games over five seasons for the Abbotsford Heat, where he scored nine goals and 21 assists and logging 172 penalty minutes.
Expect Breen to play with the P-Bruins next season and the P-Bruins alone. A variety of things would need to break his way for him to get a crack in Boston. He's (another) depth guy.
The B's also signed goalie Jeremy Smith to a one-year, two-way contract worth $550,000 at the pro level and $80,000 at the AHL level. The 25-year-old spent the 2013-14 season with the Springfield Falcons, Columbus' AHL affiliate, where he compiled a 21-14-3 record, a 2.78 goals against average and an .898 save percentage.
With newly-signed Niklas Svedberg expected to be the new backup to Tuukka Rask for the upcoming season, Smith will seemingly slide into the vacancy in net for Providence, where he will compete with Malcolm Subban for playing time.
Who needs a first-line winger!? We can just shed salary off the roster or bump someone up from another line!
Happy free agency, Bruins fans!
The savior we need: Chris Breen (via slam.canoae.ca) |
And the B's are the team that go a step further to scour the grease trap underneath the pile of garbaje to fill the holes in their roster. All due respect to Chris Breen and Jeremy Smith.
The Bruins inked 6-foot-7, 224-pound Breen, the 25-year-old former Calgary Flame defenseman, to a one-year, two-way deal for $600,000 at the pro level and $175,000 at the AHL level. Breen appeared in nine games for the Flames last season, scoring no goals, two assists and registering five penalty minutes.
Breen has spent practically all of his pro career earning his keep in the AHL, as he played in 245 games over five seasons for the Abbotsford Heat, where he scored nine goals and 21 assists and logging 172 penalty minutes.
Expect Breen to play with the P-Bruins next season and the P-Bruins alone. A variety of things would need to break his way for him to get a crack in Boston. He's (another) depth guy.
The B's also signed goalie Jeremy Smith to a one-year, two-way contract worth $550,000 at the pro level and $80,000 at the AHL level. The 25-year-old spent the 2013-14 season with the Springfield Falcons, Columbus' AHL affiliate, where he compiled a 21-14-3 record, a 2.78 goals against average and an .898 save percentage.
With newly-signed Niklas Svedberg expected to be the new backup to Tuukka Rask for the upcoming season, Smith will seemingly slide into the vacancy in net for Providence, where he will compete with Malcolm Subban for playing time.
Who needs a first-line winger!? We can just shed salary off the roster or bump someone up from another line!
Happy free agency, Bruins fans!