Past: Andrew Ference & Nathan Horton

Andrew Ference was a class act on and off the ice for the Boston Bruins. He really went out of his way to immerse himself as member of the community. Whether it was serving food at soup kitchens or even stopping and talking with fans on the street he was always polite and willing to share his time with us Normal Joes. You could not ask for more in a team leader. He always united and lead the team through his playoff jackets/chains as well as giving fans behind-the-scenes insight with his Twitter account @Ferknuckle. My favorite on-ice Andrew Ference moment will always be scoring his tying goal in Game 6 in Montreal back in 2011 and his subsequent ‘equipment malfunction’. If that is not a way to endear yourself to Bruins fans everywhere I don’t know what does. So long Andrew Ference, you will be missed and you will always be a Bruin.

Nathan Horton informed the Bruins this weekend that he will be looking for a “new beginning” and he will be moving on. I will always look back fondly on the playoff heroics of Nathan Horton. Including when he was injured when Nathan Horton poured water on the ice in Vancouver. His playoff game winner against Montreal will be burned into my mind as a turning point when I knew that Bruins team would be something special. All I knew my entire life watching and believing in the Bruins was that, when it comes to playing Montreal in the playoffs, we always lose. That is, until Nathan Horton scored in Game 7 in overtime. Thanks for the memories Horty.

Present: Tyler Seguin

All weekend BruinsBeliever found myself checking my phone all weekend because every time I looked, there was a new trade rumor that included Tyler Seguin. My first thought was that the Bruins were only using trade talks as motivation for Tyler Seguin to get his ass in gear this off-season. I agree that a message needed to be sent to Seguin because his post-season performance was completely unacceptable for someone making over 6 million dollars per year. Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli all but confirmed that the Boston Bruins were actively shopping him prior to Nathan Horton’s announcement that he will not return. Chiarelli also had this gem of a quote regarding Seguin: “He needs to focus all his mind and energy on hockey. He needs to be a better pro.” That quote makes it crystal clear that the Bruins were dissatisfied at how Seguin handled himself in the off-season last year and that they thought he got a little lazy after signing the big contract. Seguin could be playing for with his Boston Bruins career on the line next season, and I hope he shows some urgency.

The Future: Linus Arnesson and Vincent Lecavalier?

Once the top 10 picks of the draft went by, and Tyler Seguin took a deep breath knowing he was still a Bruin, it was clear that the Bruins were not going to do any trading up and would be stuck with their first pick of the draft being at the end of the 2nd round, pick 60. There, the Bruins selected Linus Arnesson from Sweden. I will be honest and say that my subscription to Swedish League Hockey expired, so I have not seen Arnesson play with my own eyes. I can only share with you what I have read. He is a big defenseman who usually makes smart plays with the puck. He is also an offensive minded defenseman which should help him in an organization filled with stonewall defense-first defenseman. He is still many years away but it is always fun to think about how he could fit on the Bruins down the line.

Vincent Lecavalier would be an immediate fix to a hole in the Bruins top forward line. The Boston Bruins had a secret meeting with Lecavalier and his agent over the draft weekend. Although he has been a center his throughout most of his career, he has expressed willingness to move over to wing. He doesn’t have much speed left in the tank but he as plenty of creativity left and would be a welcome addition to the Bruins, especially on the power play.

BruinsBeliever is looking forward to following the Bruins this off-season as free agency is coming. Don’t forget to follow BruinsBeliever on Twitter for all of the latest updates.

Game 6 Recap

All things considered this BruinsBeliever will keep my head held high. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in this team. Did the way it went down suck? Yup, it certainly did. The Bruins went from a 2-1 lead to a 3-2 deficit in 17 seconds. Another defensive collapse from a team that was full of them during the regular season, finally reared its ugly head during the postseason in a collapse eerily similar to that of the Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs. The Bruins gave the solid effort that I knew they would give. Right now it is not worth placing any blame or rehashing this game. We all saw how it went down and nothing else needs to be said.

The Chicago Blackhawks were the better team from the start of the season all the way through to the end. They play the game the right way and I have no issues losing to a team like Chicago. Before the playoffs started some fellow BruinsBelievers and myself were discussing our 2nd favorite NHL team and we all agreed that Chicago would be that team. So hats off to you Chicago, you earned it.

Already, some injury news has leaked just minutes after the season finale. We now finally found out what was ailing Patrice Bergeron. Perhaps I should just rephrase to what is healthy for Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron was suffering from a broken rib, torn cartilage, and a separated shoulder. The trip to the hospital in Chicago was prompted by concern over his spleen due to his broken rib. I know many more injury stories will be coming out in the days ahead for both teams and you can count on Zdeno Chara to be on that list. The Boston captain had to be playing with some kind of injury with the effort he was putting forward towards the end of the playoff run. Nathan Horton can now finally get his shoulder fixed, as it was clear it has been hanging by a thread. I am going to let the injury stories play out before I cast judgement on the finals performance of any player.

What’s Next for BruinsBeliever

So I am sure you are wondering, what is next for BruinsBeliever now that the ride has ended? Well, we will have plenty of off season chatter to keep me busy over the course of less than 3 months. One of the few benefits of the lockout was an extended season which means a shorter off-season. The NHL Draft is this weekend and I will have some thoughts on that, even though the Bruins do not have a first round pick thanks to the Bruins advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals in the Jagr deal. I will also be handing out grades to every player on the Bruins, one for the regular season and one for the post-season, as well as an overall positional group grade. I will give my take when there is a big off-season signing. Tuukka Rask is a restricted free agent and big names like Nathan Horton and Andrew Ference are unrestricted free agents. There will be plenty of time to get ready for next season and it will be nice not having a lockout hanging over the off-season.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @BruinsBeliever and I will be tweeting throughout the off-season whenever new blogs are posted. Thanks for reading and keep Believing, I know I will be. Let’s go Bruins!

@BruinsBeliever

Tag Archives: Andrew Ference

2013 Boston Bruins Off-Season: Past, Present, & Future, 2013 NHL Draft