Bruins match on Tim Connolly

After extended trade discussions failed to land Tim Connolly in a new home, the Boston Bruins chose to match on the offer from the St. Louis Blues GM, the Green Engine.

"We believe the offer was excessive, and we had to scrimp, save, and look for change in the couch cushions of the office waiting room. But ultimately, we are not in a position to let players leave with little return. We now must be proactive in preventing the same thing to occur with Oleg Saprykin, but we simply MUST find some defensive help," GM Joshua Anderson said in a written statement released by the team.

The statement continued, "Just because Mr. Connolly has been resigned does not necessarily mean he will remain part of our long term plans. We had a pair of very interesting trade offers for him, but due to time limits with the matching period, talks were cut short. We look forward to resuming those discussions now that we are not under a count down, and welcome other parties to get involved. As it relates to Mr. Connolly, any such trade would be expected to net us some cash, as well as a defensive player. We are not adverse to picks, either."

The team continues to expect to be aggressive in the free agent market with what little talent is left, and is aggressively pursuing trade options to make something happen for the squad defensively. With their logjam of centers, any of the players at that position could be put on a flight from Logan at a moment's notice to their new home.