Non-Rumor: The Bruins Agree To Wheeler's Arbitration Ruling

With the Arbitration ruling handed down, the Boston Bruins agreed to the decision, and Blake Wheeler is off the Free Agency market reporting a $2.2 million dollar 1-year contract.

The 6 foot 5, 208 pounder of Robbinsdale,MN had a somewhat disappointing season last year, but most of the Bruins' roster were also in the same boat.  

Still, he did not do that bad considering it was just his second year in the NHL with 18 tallies , and 20 helpers for 38 points.  It certainly doesn't hurt to have played all 82 games in the season as well.

Part of the criticism is that he is such a large player on the ice, and is not imposing his will by throwing the body around to create plays and mix it up more.

According to the Bruins official website, GM Peter Chiarelli was happy with the decision:

"It is never a pleasant experience for either side to go to arbitration," said Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli. However, as a manager, you know that the player will be under contract for the following year either way. We talked to Blake before, and after the hearing and we are satisfied to have a good, young player under contract for another year."

Wheeler spoke with NHL.com in a conference call,and said  he couldn't have been happier to be back in the Black and Gold.  He spoke about his shortcomings and how he plans to move forward:

"I'm really excited to be back in Boston for another season. It was a long process, but we’re both very excited. I’d like to thank the Jacobs family and also Peter Chiarelli and the entire Bruins organization."

"At the end of the day I think it was very fair on both ends and now it is just all about business and getting back to the right spot for the Bruins organization."

"I think, for me, it’s all about – especially on the forecheck – just being more physical and more of a presence," said Wheeler, who finished last season with 53 penalty minutes. "I've gotten so focused on the offensive production and the numbers side of things, especially last year [and] I think there are definitely more ways to be a contributing factor out on the ice.

"It’s just all about understanding your areas of strength and areas of weakness. I think if can assert myself more physically, especially, like I said, on the fore check and things of that nature, then it’s going to create a lot more opportunities for myself, and the guys I'm playing with."

"Sometimes it’s about less is more. When you kind of take a step back from things it’s a little bit easier to notice where you maybe need to improve on things," he also added.

For the second straight summer, Wheeler has hit the gym looking to improve his strength and conditioning.

"Well I think pretty much I’m doing the same thing as last summer. I came into camp probably in the best shape I’ve ever been in, physically, mentally, all of the above," said Wheeler. "My training is pretty much the same as it was last year."

"The thing I’m really focusing on is shooting pucks," he mentioned. "I’ve been working on my shot quite a bit this summer to do whatever it takes to extend my range a little bit and I set up a shooting tarp in my garage and when there is nothing to do I just go out there and pump some pucks at the tarp.

"I guess that’s the only real difference."

When asked about the shocking ending of the 2010 playoffs, Wheeler was just as frank as his team mates were.

"I don’t think you can maybe find too many guys that would say they were necessarily content or happy with the way last season went," he said. "The regular season itself was a frustration for our entire team.

"We ended on a positive note and went into the playoffs with a lot of confidence and playing well. We played great until those last four games.

"It really is too bad, because we were finding our rhythm and the way we ended things [was] the whole season with the ups and downs in it."

Wheeler also said, that the start in Europe might help the B's focus more on the regular season when they return from Prague.

"Yeah, I think certainly the Winter Classic, and even the Olympic break were, I don’t want to say distraction; they were great events obviously for the guys that were involved, and we were certainly very fortunate to have such a great event at Fenway park, but you know it’s going to be nice to have that out of the way.

To be able to go to Prague and get the season underway," he said. "The beginning of this season is going to be really fun and exciting for everyone especially probably Mr. [David] Krejci.

"I think every guy is excited to get over there and experience this as well and once that’s over we’ll be able to focus on the next 80 games of the season and getting into a good rhythm."

With the young gun now going into his third year as a pro and as a Bruin, maybe a bad year isn't such a bad thing for Wheeler and the Bruins.  Most importantly, he fully recognizes and verbally confirms his shortcomings as a hockey player, and that he knows what he has to do to improve.

A true athlete with true team mates will hash out their individual issues, and get motivated to play better in the next season.

After such a huge let-down at the end of their season at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers in Round Two, the Youngers and Veterans alike will be hungry to want more.

The Boston Bruins now have to find a way to get the cap under the ceiling of $59.4 million as they are currently at $2,187,771 over according to capgeek.com—over the cap space,and still have yet to sign second overall pick Tyler Seguin who will most likely command approximately a $3.5 million cap hit with the entry contract and possible bonuses.  

Plus the fact that Steve Begin and Miroslav Satan has yet to be determined.

NESN.com reported that in terms of the Black and Gold, they are not quite out of the picture yet: "I haven't moved on from them yet," said Chiarelli. "Obviously we're tight right now. There's still a lot left in the summer. We'll see where we go."

There have been some talk about Marco Sturm, who will be out until about November on the LTIR list.  Although this will free up about $3.5 million, it will only be temporary relief at best.

Other rumors are circulating and some do make sense, but nothing official so it will not be reported here.

With the end of July on us, time is ticking, but still plenty of time to make some noise.

Welcome to the Cap World.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean"