What have the Bruins been up to during the lockout?
Over the three and a half months that the lockout has taken place, many of the players took to the ice in Canada and overseas. Others chose not to play any hockey while they waited for an agreement to be reached. Here at She’s Game, we’ve compiled a list of what the Boston Bruins have been up to over the past 113 days.
Gregory Campbell considered joining Czech team HC Mountfield so that he could stay in game shape. However, he decided to stay in Boston. Over the lockout, Campbell was spotted about town skating at Boston University. He also more or less interned for the Roxbury police, doing ride-alongs with officers. “It’s something that fascinates me and I’ve always been interested in it,” said Campbell.
Tyler Seguin found tons of success playing for Swiss team HC Biel. He had 25 goals in 29 games with 15 assists. He also had the funny honor of wearing a bright orange helmet and a jersey that said “Top Scorer” on the back.
Andrew Ference played for Czech team HC Ceske Budejovice for a while, but made his way back to the states to ride out the lockout. He was the one to break the news of an agreement being reached when he tweeted a “thumbs-up” emoticon at 4 a.m.
According to reports, Zedeno Chara, was pulled from his KHL game with HC Lev Prague and told to pack his things for Boston as soon as news that the lockout ended reached the Czech Republic. Chara was the only Bruin to remain overseas at the time of the announcement.
Assistant captain Patrice Bergeron suited up for Swiss team HC Lugano, but came back just before Christmas in hopes that an agreement would be reached soon. He played for Canada in the Spengler Cup and will be returning to Boston very soon.
On his blog, Brad Marchand posted that he was spending more time with his family. “The only positive thing about the lockout is that this is the first time in a very long time that I can remember that I’ve had this time of year off. I’ve been traveling back and forth between Canada and Boston. I’ve had the time to watch my brother play hockey and spend time with family that I normally wouldn’t be able to,” he wrote.
David Krejci used the lockout as an opportunity to play in his native Czech Republic. He also notably said that Gary Bettman “treats us like animals. Really a shame that he is in the lead”.
In addition to skating every day, enforcer Shawn Thornton stayed in fighting shape by practicing boxing and jujitsu at the gym. He also joined teammate Milan Lucic in the conference room at some of the CBA meetings.
In December, Daniel Paille became the 12th member of the Bruins to play overseas when he signed a contract with Finland’s Ilves Tampere team, which fellow Bruin Tuukka Rask played for from 2004-2007.
Rask scared fans in October when it was reported that he was injured while playing for Finnish team HC Plzen. The injury, however, turned out to just be a pulled groin and he was back in the net a few days later.
Fellow goalie Tim Thomas seems to have gotten the last laugh from the lockout. Thomas said last spring that he wouldn’t be playing this season because of impending financial doom.
Rich Peverley played his last game with Finnish team JYP Jyvaskyla on January 5. He was planning on ending his contract with JYP short and waiting out the remainder of the lockout. Lucky for him, his wait was only a day!
Adam McQuaid started the lockout skating with teammates, but suffered a blood clot underneath his collarbone and had to undergo surgery in October.
Dennis Seidenberg chose to sign with Adler Mannheim in his native Germany.
Defenseman Johnny Boychuk went over to Austria and signed with EC Red Bull Salzburg.
Forward Chris Kelly signed with the Swiss HC Red Ice on Halloween.
Concussion-riddled Nathan Horton made the decision not to play overseas. His agent, Paul Krepelka, told NESN that Horton is “doing well” and that his decision to not go overseas “has nothing to do with his health. Just his personal choice.”
