WickedBruinsFan's Blog

I'll address the Bruins thing making the most news right now, or at least a little bit of news. The practice recap and photos will come later this afternoon.

Defenseman Andrew Alberts was traded this morning, during practice, to Philadelphia.

The Bruins receive Ned Lukacevic and a conditional 2009 fourth-round pick. The draft pick becomes a third-rounder if Alberts signs with Philadelphia when he becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

I went to practice, arriving late and only saw Alberts for part of a drill. Then I saw him make his way over to the door to exit the ice while a drill was still going on. At first I thought it was weird because I never saw players leave for bathroom breaks before. Then the bad feeling started to seep in. He wasn't coming back. He was taken off the ice and he was taken off the Bruins.

At the end of practice I saw Dennis Wideman go over to the door and get the attention of the equipment manager. He talked to him for a minute, returned to the ice skating alone at center and shot a puck, then grabbed his extra stick and was the first one to leave the ice. Wideman is never first to leave after practices. That was the point I knew Alberts was traded or at least something had happened. Wideman and Alberts are close, often riding to practices together.

It seems the trade was a salary cap space saving move, which had to happen. I know that. It just sucks seeing another favorite player go to another team, especially to a team that came close to ending Patrice Bergeron's career and even Alberts' too. That is the only factor that makes Montreal look like a better option.

I never saw a "deal go down" before, so this is one for the hockey memory books. It ranks up there with finding out Adam Oates was traded after a game against the Flyers while waiting outside the old Boston Garden for his autograph.

6:12 p.m.

Peter Chiarelli broke the news to Alberts this morning, and said the defenseman was disappointed to hear the news. "I told him that sometimes you've got to do things now that you don't like doing," Chiarelli said. "I like him as a player. I like the way he competes. The way the system is now, you've got to be a little more proactive. He was a casualty of that."

The Irony

The Flyers needed a defenseman because Randy Jones, the player who knocked Bergeron out, is injured along with a couple of other defensemen. That's pretty much how Alberts got there.

Alberts will also have Scott Hartnell as a teammate, the same player who put him on the injured list last season.

Isn't that ironic?

“Yeah, that is ironic, but I don’t think that will be an issue,” Flyers’ general manager Paul Holmgren told Comcast SportsNet.com. “Andrew did miss a lot of time after that injury, but he’s fully healthy now. For whatever reason, he didn’t fit into the Bruins plans this season, but we can use him.”

Alberts answered some questions on the Flyers website.

Q: What is your reaction being traded to the Flyers?

AA: “I’m just excited for a new opportunity. Things were not apparently working out in Boston. The fact that I get to come here and contribute, I’m fortunate and excited.”

Q: What are your strengths?
AA: “I like to get back to being more physical. In the Boston system it is a little bit tough to run around and be physical. Hopefully I can get back to the way I played the first couple of years and be more physical. I just want to make smart plays and move the puck up the ice.”

The Flyers host the Montreal Canadiens tonight. Alberts is questionable for the game pending his arrival in Philadelphia.