The Quest Begins Now

As soon as time expired in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals last spring, with the Boston Bruins squandering a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 game lead in the deciding contest against the Philadelphia Flyers, hockey season could not come soon enough. With all the moves the Bruins made during this long summer, I got more and more excited by the week. Dennis Wideman is gone. The puck fumbling defenseman who the Boston sports media blamed for most of the teams problems was traded to Florida in exchange for scoring winger Nathan Horton and grinding center Gregory Campbell. Then Tyler Seguin was drafted with the second overall pick. In a year where they could have blown the team up and rebuilt, the Bruins retained most of their free agents. Ageless veteran wing Mark Recchi signed on for one more year. Enforcer Shawn Thornton signed for another two. Dennis Seidenberg, Mark Stuart, and Johnny Boychuk all re-signed so the Bruins will be expected to stay solid in the defensive zone. All three captains (Zdeno Chara and alternate captains Patrice Bergeron and Mark Recchi) are in the final year of their contract, and the Bruins appear to be putting everything in for this season. As the team gets ready to open their season in Prague, I am looking forward to this season more than ever.

The Bruins are not the only team that made big moves to challenge for the Stanley Cup this summer. The Detroit Red Wings signed veteran center Mike Modano to add to an already talented veteran squad. The San Jose Sharks added Antii Niemi, the hero of last year's playoff tournament, in net to replace Evgeni Nabokov, who went back home to make more money in the KHL. The Habs traded away their playoff hero, goaltender Jaroslav Halak, to the St. Louis Blues to make Carey Price their #1 goalie. With all the transactions that were made this summer, it will certainly make for an interesting season across the NHL.

For the Bruins, this season will be about redemption. They were the top seeded team in the East two years ago. They were sixth in the East last year, lost four games in a row after being up three in the series, and had the second lowest number of goals in the league during the regular season. This year, all the players should have a chip on their shoulder as the young guys have another playoff year under their belt. Every guy on that team has something to prove, as individuals and as a group. Critics are claiming that Tim Thomas' Vezina Trophy and Zdeno Chara's Norris Trophy from 2009 were flukes, and that everyone's performance that year was just lucky. Last year they were carried into the playoffs on the backs of Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask. This year, everyone should be trying to prove their worth in the NHL. Rookies Tyler Seguin and Jordan Caron have s good supporting cast to fall back on, but a lot will also be expected of them in the 2010-11 season. Could this be the year? I can only hope. The Bruins quest for the Cup has taken them to Belfast and Prague, and likely through Washington, Pittsburgh, or New Jersey, but as a fan, I am looking forward to the journey.