Boston Bruins decline to make offers to five free agents

In a second press release, the Boston Bruins have announced they will not be making offers to five players whose contracts expired with the final horn of the season.

None saw action last season with the Bruins, which is probably a telling statement on their abilities.

The five players were thirty-four year old center Kip Miller, thirty-three year old center Brian Holzinger, thirty-four year old goaltender Jim Waite, twenty-eight year old right wing Kevin Caulfield, and thirty-two year old right wing Mike Peluso.

Most were signed last year to complete roster requirements, which the Bruins feel they have under appropriate control now.

The decisions were not terribly difficult to make, General Manager Joshua Anderson said, due to the influx of talent from the junior club. From there, the club promoted a center (Pierre-Luc Emond), two right wingers (Jiri Jakes and Rick Kozack), a left winger (Martin Samuelsson) and a defenseman (Tuuka Makella). At this time, the club is also still negotiating with defenseman Andrej Meszaros and left winger Andreas Lindstrom on their contract options.

"The influx of five players, and potentially seven if we can reach agreement all around, frankly meant something had to give," Anderson stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Unfortunately, these guys had contracts coming up. That made the decision an easy one. If they had negotiated longer terms with us last year, well, they'd still be wearing our sweater."

When pushed for comment on goaltending, Anderson said the decision was not complex. "We wish Jimmy the best. Honestly. But we wanted to try the market for goalies and see if a more suitably priced option was out there. If not, we'll work with his people to bring him back - after all, he knows our system and our defenses. But we out it to the greatest fans in the world - right here in Boston! - to try for an improvement. And who knows - maybe everyone will get the bump down if we pick up the right player. But for now, Jim was the odd man out."

How this plays out will be an interesting experience for the Bruins and their fans. Two other Bruins goaltenders are pending free agency as well - primary backup John Grahame and lead farmtender, Roman Malek.

"If either of those guys reject our offer outright, we will consider making an offer to Wait to ensure we stay in compliance with the league rules," Anderson stated.