Tuuka Makela gets "the call"

The Boston Bruins made the second announcement of the day when they debuted Tuuka Makela in his Boston third sweater at a press conference late in the morning.

"Tuuka net nine goals and twenty assists for us in significant minutes with Providence last season, but more importantly, while his plus-minus may not show it, he was a force for the defense - and he did so cleanly," GM Joshua Anderson proclaimed while singing Makela's praises. "He was credited with two hundred and twelve hits over the season in seventy-seven games, yet was assessed only fifty-four penalty minutes. Not too shabby, if you ask me. More importantly, what we saw 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."

As the roster is made up currently, Makela would fall in as likely the fourth defenseman. "Our defensive corp is passable but needs some improvement," Anderson stated. "Tuuka could well be part of that improvement, we hope. However, we also expect to have to be a player in some free agents to shore up the defensive unit, and frankly, so be it. We're not done with our call-ups and negotiations, and we'll do what we have to."

As with all Bruins signings, the terms of the deal were unannounced, but inside sources report the twenty-five year old defenseman will receive $700,000 a year, supplemented by a $600,000 signing bonus.

A third Bruins press conference is scheduled for shortly after lunch, and the team has pledged to have sandwiches. This will likely be the most well-attended conference of the year, since sportswriters are known for their love of free food.