Meszaros comes to terms

With the simple phrase "We have reached an agreemeny with Andrej Meszaros", a vast sigh of relief was exhaled from Boston Bruins fans across New England and the world.

The stud defensive prodigy had been holding up the completing of the call-up announcements while and his representatives taunted the Boston franchise with threats of plaing in Europe.

"Our hands were tied by CLUTCH rules which mandate the length of contract," General Manager Joshua Anderson explained. "Andrej's people wanted a shorter term deal to try and milk more frequent bonuses out of us, but frankly, we couldn't do anything different there. But we finally came to terms, and we cannot be happier."

The prospect was a fine player in Providence last year, but was unable to showcase all of his skills due to the defenses focusing on him. "The way we saw it," Anderson continued, "what we witnessed was him develop as a player, and we believe he has some potential to bloom even further. We want that to happen in a Bruins sweater."

Already all but handed the number three defensive spot in Boston, Meszaros will contend for the second spot as well. "As we said before, we expect to need to play our hand in free agency for some defense. That may move Andrej down the chart a bit, but it may be safer for him so he is not exposed right away to unnecessary risks," Anderson said.

With that, the call-up class of 2006 was completed. The Bruins added seven rookies, split five - two between front and back ice. Addressing the state of Providence's squad, Anderson said, "Thankfully, we are not taking all of the talent from Providence this year. And frankly, its not as if the play there can drop off at all after this season's results. Plus, there is still the draft, where we hold several picks, in addition to our bonus pick after the second round."