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BU’s Eichel Traded from Sabres to Vegas

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BUFFALO – (Staff and wire service report) – The Jack Eichel era at Boston University ended with a Hobey Baker Award and his rights being selected by the Buffalo Sabres with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Now, Eichel’s career in Buffalo is over because of an eight-month feud which came to a conclusion when the Sabres traded their former captain and face of the franchise to the Vegas Golden Knights.

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The trade ends a stalemate between Eichel and Buffalo over how to repair his herniated disk, which has sidelined him since March. The dispute revolved around the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement giving teams the final say over the treatment of injuries.

Until Eichel was Knighted, surely Boston Bruins, Boston U. and Chelmsford, Massachusetts ice hockey fans hoped for a return to Boston to skate for the Boston Bruins but the $10m a year salary combined with a bad back left the Sabres with a limited number of NHL takers, especially until the results of his back surgery and rehabilitation are known.

Though Eichel remains sidelined, the Golden Knights lived up to their Vegas name and took a gamble to address their biggest long-term need, obtaining a top-notch scorer and first-line -line center, by trading forward Alex Tuch, rookie center Peyton Krebs and two draft picks to the Sabres. Eichel is expected to have the disk replacement surgery he preferred, though the recovery timetable means he’ll likely miss most, if not all, of the remainder of the season.

Boston Needs to Make Texas Toast

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – In a recent Digital Sports Desk column which had a general theme, “When they go low, we go high,” the finer points of the City of Tampa were underlined and applauded as opposed to the B.S. that the New York Post threw at the City of Boston when the New York Yankees were the guests at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, Fenway Park. While the Post proclaimed, “Boston Sucks,” Digital Sports Desk took the high road and pointed out that Tampa had a title-town winning streak ongoing with the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL and the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning of the NHL. Tampa also claimed direct connections with the likes of hometown heroes such as musicians Ray Charles, Cannonball Adderley, Stephen Stills, David Sanborn and the model and actress Lauren Hutton.

The obvious question as the weekend of October 15-16-17 approaches and the fans of Houston wonder “What Say You?”

Houston is NOT a “HELL HOLE,” as the New York Post’s Wallace Matthews once wrote when the Knicks faced the Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals. It is the most populous city in the State of Texas and the fourth most populous city in the United States with 2.3 million people and growing.

Certainly, Houston’s most famous claim to fame is the Johnson Space Center and “Mission Control” for the many NASA missions exploring outer space. Houston is called “Space City” and “H-Town.” The Houston Astros, once the “Colt 45s,” won the World Series in 2017 but not without controversy of sign stealing and drum-banging that cost GM Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch their jobs, along with Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora (who was then a bench coach for the ‘Stros before taking the reins in Boston for the 2018 World Series title season).

Houston was home to the then “mod” Astrodome, then known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” The indoor baseball venue was the very first “dome,” built beginning in 1962 and opened in 1965. It hosted rock shows (Elvis, The Stones, Pink Floyd), heavyweight title fights (Ali) and the college basketball game of the century which featured 52,963 fans watching Elvin Hayes (39 points) and the University of Houston defeat the UCLA Bruins of Coach John Wooden and center Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) 71-69 on January 20, 1968.

Houston was the home of United States Presidents George H.W. Bush and his son, George W. Bush. It claims a wide variety of famous singers, songwriters, actresses and models, from Kenny Rogers to Lyle Lovett to Kelly Emberg (model) or Charlies’ Angels star Jaclyn Smith. Boxing great George Foreman hails from Houston, as does the greatest gymnast of all-time, Simone Biles.

Houston has active arts and theatre, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, and is widely known as a tech and medical center of the world, especially fighting every dreaded form of cancer.

How could Matthews ever call Houston a hell hole when it is the hometown of Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter and Destiny’s Child and two-time Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger is from nearby Katy, Texas?

The Red Sox will have their hands filled with the Astros this weekend, as the American League Championship Series (ALCS) opens up in Texas. The Astros went 95-67 this season and took the American League West title. This year will be the ‘Stros fifth consecutive appearance in the ALCS. The Astros lost the likes of outfielder George Springer (Toronto) and pitcher Gerrit Cole (NY Yankees) to free agency and are still great.

As MLB’s version of a “Final Four” has arrived, the sports world of Boston is not focused solely on baseball. Out in Foxboro, another Texas team, the vaunted Dallas Cowboys, will pay a visit to play the New England Patriots this Sunday (4:25pm). NFC East leader Dallas arrives with a 4-1 record and as winners of four straight, while the hometown Patriots are 2-3 and will need to compete mightily in order to gain a wild card berth in the NFL Playoffs. Nevertheless, the Cowboys vs Patriots will have “big game” status and higher TV ratings than the other three major sports combined.

Speaking of other major sports, the Boston Bruins will open their 2021-22 NHL season with a home game against another Texas team, the Dallas Stars, on Saturday night. The Bruins’ season begins with high hopes for another trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and maybe even another appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals, largely dependent on the backline defense and goaltending sans the great, but injured, free agent Tuukka Rask (hip surgery).

It doesn’t end there, as the 75th Anniversary season of the NBA is soon to begin and the Boston Celtics will open on the road against longtime rival New York Knickerbockers with a Wednesday, October 20 appointment at Madison Square Garden. That game will be up against a possible Game 5 of the ALCS, as the series will move to Fenway Park for Game 3, 4, 5, scheduled October 18-19-20, with seasonal weather forecasts to delight the faithful fans at The Fens.

Lastly, the Boston College Eagles (4-1, 0-1 in ACC) will play a make it or break it ACC matchup in Chestnut Hill this Saturday night when the N.C. State Wolfpack (4-1, 1-0 in ACC) visits The Heights. Although it’s still relatively early in the college football season, the outcome of the game for the Eagles — especially at home — will determine their ability to compete for the upper echelons of the ACC. Believe it or not, this game is likely to determine Bowl eligibility and/or destinations for B.C.

The week of Boston sports festivities begins tonight in Houston when Red Sox ace Chris Sale (5-1) takes to the mound against Framber Valdez (11-6) of the Astros. Sale was shelled his last time out against the Tampa Bay Rays but has worked his mechanics ever since the October 8 debacle when he threw only one inning but let up five earned runs in a game the Red Sox managed to win 14-6. Boston exploded with five home runs in that game, which turned their series around and helped the Sox advance to the ALCS with a 3-1 series upset over Tampa.

Bruins Extend Defenseman McAvoy

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BOSTON – (Source: Official Team News Release) – Boston General Manager Don Sweeney signed Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy to an eight-year contract extension with an annual NHL cap hit of $9.5 million.

McAvoy, 23, played in 51 games with Boston in 2020-21, recording five goals and 25 assists for 30 points and a plus-22 rating to lead all Bruins defenseman. In 11 playoff games, McAvoy recorded one goal and 11 assists for 12 points. His 12 points tied with Brad Marchand for second on the team in playoff scoring, trailing only David Pastrnak.

Following the season, McAvoy finished fifth in the voting for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s top defenseman.

The Long Beach, NY native has appeared in 235 career NHL games with Boston, totaling 24 goals and 98 assists for 122 points. In 65 career playoff games with the Bruins, McAvoy has recorded five goals and 27 assists for 32 points. Since entering the league in 2017, McAvoy ranks second among all defenseman in plus-minus with a plus-80 rating.  McAvoy was originally selected by Boston in the first round (14th overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Bruins: Bergeron to Play-Out Contract

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BRIGHTON – (Staff and wire service reports) – Boston Bruins team captain Patrice Bergeron will play the final season of his current eight-year, $55 million contract before deciding if he’ll return to the team in 2022-23. Bergeron, 36, has played his entire 17-year NHL career with the Bruins. He will be an unrestricted free agent in July.

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“I’m going to play out this year, and then talk about that after,” Bergeron said this week as the team assembled for rookie camp and captain’s training sessions in Boston.

A four-time Selke Trophy recipient as the NHL’s best defensive forward, Bergeron previously said he is focused on winning a Stanley Cup this season. After that, he’ll let the chips fall where they may.

“That’s something that a lot of people have asked me this summer,” Bergeron said. “I think for me, the way that I approach this year is I want to concentrate on this year. I have a year left on my contract, and I think it’d be useless of me to think about the future.

Bergeron recorded 48 points (23 goals, 25 assists) in 55 games last season. He was named a finalist for the Selke for a record 10th consecutive season in 2020-21 after winning the trophy in 2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2016-17. A Stanley Cup champion in 2011, Bergeron has 917 points (375 goals, 542 assists) in 1,143 career games since being selected by Boston in the second round of the 2003 NHL Draft.

“I think I want to create something special, as I said. We obviously want to work towards winning a Stanley Cup. I know everyone says that, but it’s definitely our goal as a team. And I think we always are competitive to be in that group of teams. So, I think that’s where that’s where my focus is at right now.”

Bruins Affiliate with Maine Mariners

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BOSTON-PORTLAND (Maine) – The Maine Mariners hockey club announced its become the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins. The Mariners had previously been affiliated with the New York Rangers since they joined the ECHL in 2018. The affiliation agreement with the Bruins completes the “trifecta” of Portland-Boston affiliations, with the Portland Sea Dogs and Maine Celtics (formerly Maine Red Claws) having existing agreements with the Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics, respectively. Boston is less than a two hours drive from Portland, and the Bruins fanbase makes up the majority of the NHL rooting-interest in the state of Maine.

“We can’t wait to bring live hockey action back to Portland this fall, and we know that Mariners fans will be thrilled to watch players from the Bruins organization playing right here in Maine,” said Mariners President Danny Briere.

The Mariners will be affiliated with the Providence Bruins at the AHL level. Ironically, Providence represents the original Maine Mariners AHL franchise. The AHL’s Mariners were Bruins affiliates from 1987 until 1992, when the franchise was relocated to Rhode Island. The Boston Bruins are among the oldest NHL franchises based in the United States, founded in 1924. Like the Rangers, they are one of the “original six” NHL teams. They are six-time Stanley Cup Champions, most recently in 2011.

“The Boston Bruins are excited to establish an affiliation agreement with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL,” said Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney. “The Bruins and Maine Mariners have a long player development history, as well as having a passionate fan base in Portland and throughout the state of Maine. We are looking forward to building a strong working relationship with Comcast Spectacor, Daniel Briere, and the coaching staff of the Mariners.”

The Bruins have had an ECHL affiliate since 1991.

Bruins Sign Blidh

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BOSTON – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced the club signed forward Anton Blidh to a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $750,000.  Blidh, 26, has played five seasons for the Bruins. In 2020-21, the 6-foot, 185-pound forward skated in 10 games, scoring one goal. In 38 career NHL games, Blidh has recorded two goals and one assist.

Blidh has appeared in 278 games with the Providence Bruins since coming to North America in 2015, totaling 46 goals, 42 assists, a plus-31 rating and 247 penalty minutes.

The Molnlycke, Sweden native was originally selected by the Bruins in the sixth round (180th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

While We’re Young (Ideas) & Notes

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The most telling “official” sponsorship package in all of sports might be the “official window” company for every sports franchise. The official window might determine the “window of opportunity” and just when the windows open and close for your local professional club.

Maybe you can blame it on the quick-changing New England weather, but here in Boston, the windows seem to be closing all too often these days. When quarterback and team leader Tom Brady departed from the New England Patriots and tight end Rob Gronkowski soon followed him to Tampa Bay, the window of opportunity closed on the Patriots, like a guillotine at Marie Antoinette’s execution.

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This spring, the double-hung windows at TD Garden were shuttered quite abruptly, as both the Boston Celtics of the NBA and the Boston Bruins of the NHL took early exits from their respective league playoffs.

After winning their 17th NBA Championship in 2007-08, the Celtics have remained (mostly) competitive with the exception of missing the NBA Playoffs in 2013-14. Boston made NBA Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2016-17, 2017-18, 2019-20 (in the NBA Bubble).

This season, they advanced through a first-ever NBA Play-In game but lost to the Brooklyn Nets, 4-games-to-1, in the first round of the playoffs. Soon after, the Celtics accepted the retirement papers from their head of basketball, Danny Ainge, and decided to move their talented head coach, Brad Stevens, up the ladder to head-up basketball ops as GM.

While the Celtics’ core is young, strong and capable, team chemistry, size and frequent injuries remain as obstacles in front of the Celtics in order to advance in future NBA Playoffs. The window of opportunity for the current team seems to be closing before they could make it to the NBA Finals.

On the ice rink along Causeway Street, the Boston Bruins are realizing a similar fate.

Last season, the Bruins finished the “normal” season leading the NHL and in prime position for the approaching 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Then, the Coronavirus hit, and the Bruins lost momentum, and re-started by going 0-3 in the NHL bubble ‘seeding round.” The Bruins regained some confidence with a strong showing in the 2020 first round with a 4-1 series win over the Carolina Hurricanes but fell flat and dropped their second-round series to eventual champion Tampa Bay, 4-1.

This season, the Bruins finished third in a re-configured “East,” then won a competitive first-round series against the tough Washington Capitals before being eliminated, 4-games-to-2, against the upstart New York Islanders.

Suffice to say, the core of the Boston Bruins team is aging from the Stanley Cup Championship of 2011 and Stanley Cup Finals appearance and losses to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and St. Louis Blues in the spring of 2019.

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“Every year, as you don’t achieve your goal and the further you go in your career, you get to realize it’s a year closer to retirement,” said veteran center and team captain Patrice Bergeron after the Bruins were eliminated. “So, obviously, it’s tough. From one year to the next, it’s always a missed opportunity and you want to keep going at it. It’s hard. As you get older, you know that you don’t have that many chances to achieve your goal and have a team that can actually compete for a Stanley Cup, so it’s always disappointing. About changes, I’m not sure. It’s not up to me. You always want to keep the same group and I feel like we have a great group here. We’ll see what happens.”

Unfortunately, in the world of sports, we all know what happens.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: For the Boston Bruins, the status of starting goalkeeper Tuukka Rask will be a key factor. Rask will soon have surgery for a torn labrum in his hip. The surgery will be scheduled within a month and recovery time could take five or six months from there. While some have speculated that Rask might test the free agent market upon return, much like former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara (now with the Washington Caps), Rask confirmed this week that it’s the Bruins or retirement. … “I’m not going to play for anyone else than the Bruins,” said Rask. “This is our home. We have three kids. The kids enjoy it here. They have friends in school. We have friends. At this point of my life and my career, I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else, especially with the health I’m looking at now and a recovery time of five or six months. Hopefully it works out that I recover well and we can talk about contracts when the time is right for that,” he concluded.

TRACK & FIELD AND TRACK SOME MORE? – According to The Japan Times, the Tokyo Olympic Organizing Committee plans to use GPS as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The GPS tracking devices are not intended to monitor the real-time whereabouts of people from overseas, but to trace and confirm their movements retroactively in the event infections are confirmed, Toshiro Muto, the Olympic Organizing Committee CEO said. … He told reporters that everyone entering Japan from abroad, including athletes, officials and members of the media, will be required to submit plans for their first 14 days in the country and turn on the GPS function on their smartphones. … “We’re not going to be tracking every single movement,” he told a news conference. “I want to trust they will follow the rules first.” … The system for possible COVID-19 contact tracing came at a high cost. Japan’s digital transformation minister Takuya Hirai said the development cost for the app was $35 million, according to the Tokyo-based newspaper Nikkei.

For the full collection of while we’re Young (Ideas), sent right to your inbox, click HERE.

Marchand Scores in OT to Lead Bruins

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UNIONDALE – (Staff and Wire Services Report) – Boston winger Brad Marchand scored 3:36 into overtime Thursday night as the visiting Bruins edged the New York Islanders, 2-1, in Game 3 of an Eastern Conference second-round series on Long Island. The Bruins now lead the best-of-seven series two games to one.

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Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday night in Uniondale.

The Islanders were outshot 39-24 in regulation but opened the overtime with momentum following Mathew Barzal’s goal with 5:26 left. New York had five of the first six shots before Marchand, leaping over the boards in a shift change, took a pass from Long Island native Charlie McAvoy and fired an angled shot that sailed past defenseman Ryan Pulock and over the far shoulder of Semyon Varlamov.

Craig Smith scored in the first for the Bruins.

Boston goalkeeper Tuukaa Rask made 28 saves while NY’s Varlamov recorded 39 saves.

The Islanders outshot the Bruins 7-5 in the first, but Smith, who missed Game 2 with a lower-body injury, put Boston ahead a little less than six minutes after faceoff.

Barzal and the Bruins’ Taylor Hall battled each other for the puck as they skated into the Boston zone. Hall finally won the duel and handed the puck off to Matt Grzelyck, who raced up the neutral zone before dishing back to Hall, who was stationed at the right faceoff circle. Hall passed to Smith, whose shot from the slot sailed beyond the outstretched stick of Jordan Eberle and over Varlamov’s glove at the 5:52 mark.

Both teams had plenty of chances during a scoreless second, during which the Bruins held a 13-8 shot advantage. The Islanders had four shots during a power play created when David Pastrnak was whistled for slashing, but Rask stopped Anthony Beauvillier from point-blank range with 10:15 left.

Varlamov turned away back-to-back shots in the crease by David Krejci and Smith with a little more than five minutes left. Those near-misses began a period-ending sequence in which the Bruins had eight of the final nine shots, including five unanswered in the final 2:58.

The Bruins continued peppering Varlamov in the third. Smith was stymied at the doorstep a little more than a minute into the period and Chris Wagner couldn’t finish a wrap-around eight minutes in for Boston, which outshot the Islanders 15-4 to open the third before collecting four more shots after Josh Bailey was whistled for tripping at the 11:04 mark.

Barzal finally tied it for the Islanders with 5:26 left when his second attempt of a wraparound trickled between Rask’s legs. New York almost took the lead with 3:15 left, when Rask cradled a point-blank breakaway by Beauvillier off a Bruins turnover.

Bruins Dominate Caps, Advance

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WASH DC – Boston’s Patrice Bergeron scored twice while high-scoring line-mate David Pastrnak added a goal and an assist while goal-keeper Tuukka Rask turned away 40 shots as the Bruins won their East Division first-round playoff series with a 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 5.

The Bruins won this series 4-1 and must now await to play the winner of the Pittsburgh-New York Islanders series in the second round. That series is deadlocked at 2-2, with Game 5 set for tonight in Pittsburgh.

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Rask was up to the task once again as Boston seemed content to play defense most of the time after it took the lead in the second period. Washington outshot the Bruins, 41-19, and Rask remained steady throughout.

The Washington power play was ineffective, once more, going 0-for-4 in this game and just 1-for-10 in the past two games when the club had a man advantage. Washington had problems finding good scoring chances against a Bruins’ defense that seemed to be faster than the Caps, which slowed the usually high-scoring team down throughout the series.

Pastrnak gave Boston a 1-0 lead 2:28 into the second period. He got the puck near the left boards in Washington’s end and made two slick moves — the first coming when he slid the puck between his legs — that beat two Capital defenders and put a quick shot past goalie Ilya Samsonov (16 saves).

Bergeron made it 2-0 later in the period after a Washington turnover near the blue line. Pastrnak pushed it to Mike Reilly, who fed Bergeron, and the forward ripped a hard shot past Samsonov with 5:55 left in the period.

Bruins Win in Double-OT, 3-2

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) –  Overtimes are us!

Boston’s Craig Smith took fast advantage of a momentary lapse of judgement by Washington’s reserve goalie Ilya Samsonov to deposit the game-winner 5:48 into the second overtime to lead the Bruins to victory over the Capitals, 3-2, in the key Game 3 of their East Division first-round series at TD Garden.

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Smith went behind the opposing net to pounce on a loose puck, then wrapped it around the left side of the goal before Samsonov could get back into position after he misplayed a puck behind his own goal.

Smith’s fortunate – right place, right time – goal gave the Bruins a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

Taylor Hall and Brad Marchand each had a goal for the Bruins, who kept their momentum rolling after a 4-3 overtime win on the road in Game 2. Goalkeeper Tuukka Rask made 35 saves for Boston.

Washington’s all-star Alex Ovechkin and Nic Dowd scored for the Capitals. Samsonov made his series debut in net after being activated from the COVID-19 list and he made 40 saves.

All three games in the series have been decided in overtime and each of the last 12 playoff games between the Caps and Bruins has been decided by one goal, extending the longest such streak in NHL history.

Game 4 is Friday night in Boston.