So I was at Kohl's finding some cool Bruins ornaments that I've never seen before. (Bruins stuff is hard for things like ornaments and other things, while the Red Sox and Patriots stuff is never hard to come by.)
I was checking Twitter after checking out and as I was closing Tweetie 2 on my iPhone I saw the words, "Kobasew" "trade" and "Wild." I said out loud to nobody in particular, "did I just read what I think I read?"
I sure did. I expected Chuck Kobasew to be traded after James Murphy (of Inside Hockey and NESN) tweeted during the Dallas game that the Wild and Bruins were talking about Kobasew.
The Bruins acquired the Wild's 2011 second-round pick, the rights to forward Alexander Fallstrom, and forward Craig Weller.
Weller, a fifth round selection of the St. Louis Blues in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft (167th overall), has played in 95 NHL games with the Phoenix Coyotes and Minnesota Wild and has 4-10=14 totals with 127 penalty minutes. This season, Weller has played five games for the Houston Aeros (AHL) and has one assist and seven penalty minutes. Last season, Weller played in 36 games for the Wild and earned 1-2=3 totals and 47 PIM's. - press release
There is no doubt Kobasew had a slow start to the season and draft picks are valuable nowadays. I am a little surprised about the return Bruins' general manager Peter Chiarelli got in the trade. But that does show what the value of Kobasew was to another team and it all evens out.
In other news, the Bruins recalled forwards Brad Marchand and Vladimir Sobotka from Providence. Guillaume Lefebvre was loaned to Providence and recalled again. Milan Lucic has been placed on the long-term injured reserve with a broken thumb.
As a fan of Kobasew, I can't say I am happy about the trade. However, since it makes room for a player like Marchand when there is barely any room, I'm all for it. Wish Kobasew the best in Minnesota and hopefully this will kick the Bruins a kick in their pants.
I am a fan of Kobasew as well but this move could work out well for the B's. Better to trade him for something now, free up all that money before you lose him at the end of the season for nothing.
Very true. The Bruins need all the cap space they can get, without the help from the LTIR. And I understand the message that was sent. I hope it works out for the long-term for both, which it should.
BTW, Kobasew scored his first goal against the Hurricanes on Friday night.