“I think you’ll see us progress over the summer at a slower pace,’’ said Chiarelli, taking an afternoon break from his team meetings just up the street from the Bell Centre, where tonight’s draft will be held.
Slower, in terms of Kessel, could mean more dangerous, too, because next Wednesday, when leaguewide free agency kicks off, any of the other 29 teams can sign Kessel to an offer sheet. The Bruins then would have their choice of matching the offer or letting Kessel go for draft picks (level of compensation to be determined by his new salary).
For the record, Chiarelli has said he will match any offer to Kessel, and he might - to a point. Chiarelli is nothing if not methodical and calculated, as he has been with the recent free agent signings of Tim Thomas (four years/$20 million) and David Krejci (three years/$11.25 million).
The fact that Kessel remains unsigned, with free agency less than a week away, in itself must be interpreted as a sign of how highly the Bruins value their 21-year-old right winger with 66 lifetime goals. They’ll get to him, sooner or later, just as they’ll get to defenseman Matt Hunwick and winger Byron Bitz. Sooner or later.
Let’s face it, if Chiarelli truly believed the market would shake out big bucks for Kessel, then he already would have done a deal. But if Kessel is not going to come in right now for a figure similar to the $3.75 million average Krejci pocketed, then maybe the open market will set his price - be it north or south of $3.75 million. Remember, Kessel runs the risk that a tepid market only empowers Chiarelli to bring him in under Krejci’s number.
The entire free agent market, by Chiarelli’s view, is going to be a very interesting place, for a couple of reasons:
1. Many clubs, like the Bruins, don’t have a lot of financial elbow room with the cap expected to remain near last season’s level ($56.7 million). With Kessel, Bitz, and Hunwick only three of maybe six players they’ll need to add to their 2009-10 roster, the Bruins already are around the $50 million mark.
