Hockey

The team announced that they will hold a press conference at Radio City Music Hall on Friday at 11 a.m.

The 2013 Bruins are a tight-knit group, and often communicate through the group message function on their iPhones. We were able to obtain one such conversation, a group chat that took place in the hours after the B's 2-0 win on Monday night. The screenshots are below.

BOSTON -- The National Hockey League general managers endorsed all of the recommendations made by the NHL Competition Committee during a meeting Wednesday, according to NHLPA Special Assistant to the Executive Director Mathieu Schneider.   The C...

As per a report from Andrew Gross, the New York Rangers will officially announce Alain Vigneault as the new head coach on Friday afternoon. Due to ongoing renovations at Madison Square Garden, the press conference will take place at Radio City Music Hall. Vigneault was officially signed to a 5-year contract back on June 15, according to Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. The contract will pay Vigneault $2 million per year, which is about $200,000 more than he received with the Vancouver Canucks. This is the first official confirmation that we have seen from the New York Rangers, as they have kept Vigneault's hiring on the down low for quite some time. Glen Sather also spoke with the Pat Leonard at the General Manager meeting in Boston, and shed some light on what led to the firing on John Tortorella. The biggest issue was the lack of puck possession in the offensive zone, and low-scoring offensive production with the amount of talent on the roster.

The Bruins were the first Boston team to play at home after the bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, and they were happy to give the city something else to think about.

April 20, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; Philadelphia Flyers center Danny Briere (48) takes a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes at the PNC center. The Flyers defeated the Hurricanes 5-3. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports Last night, what was already suspected around the league became official when Pierre LeBrun reported on ESPN.com that Danny Briere’s contract would be bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers. A source told ESPN.com that Briere and Paul Holmgren met last week, at which time the Flyers’ GM informed the veteran center of the team’s decision. No bitter feelings, though, as I’m told Briere feels Holmgren handled it with class. Briere, 35, spent the past six seasons with the Flyers after signing an eight-year deal with the orange and black in the summer of 2007. With the Flyers up against the salary cap limit of $64.3 million next season, it was a relatively easy decision to use one of their two amnesty buyouts on Briere, whose cap hit was $6.5 million over the next two years. Now that Briere is an unrestricted free agent going into the upcoming offseason, two questions must be asked around the league: How many teams are going to be interested in Briere? How much money are teams going to be willing to give to a player in the twilight of his career? In only 34 games this past season, Briere put up only 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists). In addition, Briere has been injury prone throughout his career, only playing a full 82-game season once in his career (2003-2004 in Buffalo). Given this, many teams around the league may be skeptical of giving a hefty contract to what they perceive to be an injury-prone player in decline. While free agency is always unpredictable, one would have to think that Briere will have to settle for a short-term deal (1-2 years) with a significant pay-cut. This is where the St. Louis Blues may enter the picture. As many fans know, the Blues have a desperate need for a top-line center. However,  as many fans also know, first-line centers do not grow on trees. While Briere is not necessarily a top-line center by NHL standards anymore at this point in his career, he would instantly become the Blues most offensively talented center. Captain David Backes is a superb two-way centerman and Patrik Berglund has a deadly shot, but neither can hold a candle to Briere’s offensive talent. Therefore, a case can be made that, at the right term and price, the Blues may very well be in the market for Briere once free-agency starts. If the Blues are interested in Briere, there are a lot of risks that must be taken into consideration. Players in the twilight of their career are always a risk, especially when they have a history of injuries like Briere does. Blues fans are quick to point out Paul Kariya as an example of why you shouldn’t sign a player on the down-slide of their career. However, many forget that Kariya had a positive impact during his first season (2007-2008) with the Blues, when he tied Brad Boyes for the team lead with 65 points (16 goals, 49 assists). If Briere can stay healthy, he is more than capable of posting 60-70 points, which is something the Blues would be more than interested in at the right price. Last season, only one player, Chris Stewart, was on pace to eclipse the 60-point mark (61.5 points). While the risk would definitely be high, the reward could be even higher, especially come playoff time. Briere is one of the most dominant playoff performers in NHL history. He ranks 67th on the all-time playoff scoring list with 109 points (50 goals 59 assists) in 108 games. That is exactly the type of production the Blues missed in the playoffs this past season. While some Blues fans point to Brian Elliott as the reason the Blues lost to the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, the fact remains that the Blues forwards dropped the ball, missing numerous open nets and botching glorious scoring opportunities. Briere is the type of player

We know that the NHL's general managers are meeting in Boston today, and will discuss the competition committee's proposed rule changes. We also know that the Glendale City Council is supposed to meet on June 25th to determine the Phoenix Coyotes' fate. Well, Fox Sports Arizona's Craig Morgan reported that the City Council won't be voting on the Coyotes' lease on the 25th... Glendale City Council vote unlikely for June 25th, but June 28 & July 2 remain possibilities. — Craig Morgan (@cmorganfoxaz) June 19, 2013 And, via Pro Hockey Talk's Jason Brough, the delay throws a huge wrench in things, because the Arizona Republics Paul Giblin reports that the NHL's Board of Governors are going to both rubber-stamp the rule changes approved by the GM's and conduct pre-summer meetings on June 27th (3 days before the draft). The fact that the Glendale City Council's debate over the Coyotes' fate has gotten bitter, yielding some serious-ass delays that may or may not push the NHL to simply move the team to Seattle.Continue reading "Glendale City Council’s delays in determining Coyotes’ fate are worrisome"

Updated 6x at 3:52 PM: Good news from the general managers' meetings per Yahoo Sports' Nicholas J. Cotsonika and the CBC's Elliotte Friedman: NHLPA's Mathieu Schneider says NHL will implement hybrid icing next season if everyone likes test in preseason. — Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) June 19, 2013 Schneider said they're still working out details of how hybrid icing will be officiated in NHL. Not just race to dot. — Nick Cotsonika (@cotsonika) June 19, 2013 NHL GMs have approved all of the competition committee's recommendations, according to Mathieu Schneider (1/2)... — Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 19, 2013 Continue reading "NHLPA’s Schneider: GM’s approved competition committee suggestions, hybrid icing a work in progress"

From the Canadian Press: A person familiar with discussions confirms Danny Briere is set to become a free agent after the Philadelphia Flyers informed the veteran forward they intend to buy out the final two years of his contract. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Wednesday because the Flyers have not announced their decision. ESPN.com first reported Briere's pending buyout Tuesday evening. The Flyers still owe Briere $5 million as part of the eight-year, $52 million contract he signed in free agency on July 1, 2007. He's a 15-year NHL veteran, who had six goals and 10 assists in 34 games last season. A seven-time 25-goal scorer, Briere's production has tailed off as a result of various injuries, including a concussion. The move will shave $6.5 million off the Flyers' salary cap.

From a CBC press release: CBC'S HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA WANTS YOU TO WRITE THE NEXT GREAT CANADIAN HOCKEY SONG Jun 19, 2013 CBC's HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA and CBCMusic.ca are putting the call out to Canadian songwriters with the launch of Song Quest. CBC's HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA is looking for an arena-sized song that will excite hockey fans from coast to coast and get the nation's heart pounding. Alongside CBCMusic.ca, the call is out to Canadian songwriters to come up with the next great Canadian hockey song for this year's edition of SONG QUEST. Continue reading "Here we go again: CBC asking fans to write ‘Canada’s Next Great Hockey Song’"