ttp://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/leone/index.ssf?/base/columnists/1242788110250810.xml&coll=1
Two other points to factor: 1. Glen Murray’s arbitration hearings ended Wednesday. If the ex-right winger is made whole on his $4.15 million salary, Chiarelli’s obligations for next season increase by $1.4 million; 2. Peter Schaefer, ditched to the AHL at the start of 2008-09, is on the books for another year at $2.1 million. If the Bruins decide to buy him out – which could be linked to Murray’s payout – then some $700,000 would be added to Boston’s cap figure for each of the next two seasons.
P-Bruins’ Schaefer brings the right attitude
09:41 AM EDT on Friday, October 17, 2008
PROVIDENCE –– If Peter Schaefer is down in the dumps over losing his job in the NHL, he’s hiding it well.
“It’s tough to go from the NHL to the AHL, but everything has been great so far,” Schaefer, a veteran of 556 NHL games, said before practice at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center yesterday.
Providence Bruins coach Rob Murray echoed Schaefer’s thoughts: “He came down with a good attitude. His ultimate goal is to get back to the NHL, and he knows he needs to push hard down here to get back there.”
Schaefer scored a career-high 20 goals for Ottawa in 2006 but slumped to 9 goals after being traded to Boston before last season. With 98 career goals, he could help another NHL team, but in the salary cap era his $2.3-million ticket for this season is pricey.
While Schaefer had never laid eyes on Providence before the Boston Bruins demoted him on Oct. 7, he’d heard good things about the city from his brother Nolan, a goaltender for the AHL’s Houston Aeros, who graduated from Providence College in 2003.
Peter Schaefer said he’d been told by his brother that Providence “is a beautiful city with great restaurants. He gave me some tips on the town.”
When the P-Bruins visit Houston on Halloween night, the Schaefer brothers could face each other for the first time as professionals.
Peter, 31, and Nolan, 28, grew up in Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan, and have played against each while training during the summer but never with money on the line.
“It’ll be exciting. Maybe we can go out to dinner (the night before the game) and I can bribe him to let a couple go by him,” said Peter Schaefer.
Injured Oct. 19
Dec. 10
Schaefer to top line
Peter Schaefer will replace Sobotka on the P-Bruins’ top line with Martins Karsums and Martin St. Pierre, Providence coach Rob Murray said yesterday Mikko Lehtonen will take Schaefer’s place with Zach Hamill and Matt Marquardt. The Brad Marchand, Byron Bitz, Jeremy Reich line remains intact.
The Bruins made their first roster move of the day, reportedly placing Peter Schaefer on waivers. Schaefer did not have a good training camp, going pointless in the pre-season. He was hindered by hip flexor stiffness during camp. Schaefer’s salary…
Stephen Harris in the Boston Herald writes that B’s GM Peter Chiarelli “said there’s a good chance he’ll make a trade in the coming days, and no doubt he has been trying to deal [veteran winger Peter] Schaefer ($2.1 million). Barring that, though, if the team decides that rookie Blake Wheeler has made the club, it seems likely Schaefer will have to be waived and sent down to Providence.”
“We’re not drawing enough penalties, and to do that, we have to cycle more. Some of it is a function of size; we can’t get in there and protect it long enough to get the cycle going. Ryder is good on the half-wall and corners. Bergeron, too. [Peter] Schaefer didn’t do it much in the regular season, but he had it going in the playoffs.”
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2008/09/20/a_recipe_with_all_the_fixings/?page=2
By Fluto ShinzawaGlobe Staff / October 8, 2008
WILMINGTON – With no takers for the two years and $4.6 million (annual cap hit of $2.1 million) remaining on Peter Schaefer’s contract, the Bruins placed the 31-year-old forward on waivers yesterday, effectively cutting ties with a player once projected to be the club’s No. 1 left wing.
Schaefer, who scored only nine goals in 63 regular-season games last year, was pushed out by Blake Wheeler, the impressive rookie who made the team after his first pro training camp.
“He’s been in the league for a while,” said general manager Peter Chiarelli. “I think he knew what was coming, especially with the play of Blake Wheeler. He pretty much expected it, is what he told me.”
Chiarelli was an Ottawa executive when Schaefer played for the Senators. On July 17, 2007, Chiarelli acquired Schaefer for Shean Donovanin what was viewed as cap relief for the Senators. In exchange, the Bruins believed they received a gritty wing who could do the dirty work along the wall and scoop out pucks for Marc Savard andGlen Murray.
What they got, however, was an inconsistent player who quickly dropped off the top line. Schaefer was slowed by leg and foot injuries last season, but when healthy, he found himself on the fourth line or in the press box.
Schaefer rebounded at the end of the regular season and in the playoffs (one goal and three assists against Montreal in the first round), but he didn’t have a good training camp. He also was bothered by hip flexor stiffness.
He is expected to clear waivers by today’s noon deadline, at which point he can be assigned to Providence. If a team claims Schaefer on re-entry waivers, it would pick him up at half his remaining contract (the Bruins have to pay the other half).
“Just because we’re professional coaches or a professional team doesn’t mean we always have the answers,” said coach Claude Julien. “In his case, it just didn’t seem to pan out for him. It created a situation where somebody else had come in and taken that spot over.
“It’s unfortunate, and you just hope, because he is a good individual, that things do work out for him.”
http://www.blackandgoldheads.com/news_hype/53458/17353
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KASPARAITIS SET TO HAVE SHOULDER SURGERY
… and did not return after he was caught with his head down while carrying the puck
through the middle when he was checked by Ottawa’s Peter Schaefer in the …
Realities of a ‘space’ age
CBA option year calls for foresight
By Kevin Paul Dupont
Globe Staff / October 12, 2008
Peter Schaefer may see the NHL light of day again, but given that this is what amounts to a “spacer” year in the league’s collective bargaining agreement, it’s a far better bet that the veteran winger will toil in Providence with the Wanna-B’s for 2008-09. Come next June, and the league’s annual two-week buyout period, he’ll probably be bought out, his lingering footnote to be a cap hit of some $750,000 for the two seasons through 2010-11.
Had it not been for the “spacer,” in play because the Players Association has yet to decide whether to extend the CBA beyond this season, Schaefer could have been kept on Boston’s books. Perhaps his game would have improved, making him a vital member of the Black-and-Gold varsity, or more attractive as trade bait. Doubtful, but possible.
To call him back to Boston now, or any time this season, the Bruins run the risk of getting stuck with half his cap number (what would be $1.1 million) fixed to their bottom line for this season and next. Right now, with the payroll less than $1 million from the $56.7 million maximum, it’s not a move that general manager Peter Chiarelli is allowed to consider.
Frankly, among the few positives of waiving Schaefer to the minors is the fact that his salary – though still paid by the Boston Professional Hockey Association – reads as $0.00 against the cap.”
http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/articles/2008/10/12/realities_of_a_space_age/
By replacing Schaefer with Wheeler, the Bruins continue their makeover into a team that plays big up front and emphasizes tight defense in back, with solid goaltending from Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez.
oct 1
Peter Schaefer (hip) on the sidelines. Julien said Schaefer was close to practicing yesterday but was kept off the ice by the training staff; he could skate today.
Savard recorded those numbers with some significant limitations.
During training camp, his projected running mates on the No. 1 line were Peter Schaefer and Glen Murray.
If Kobasew is not available tonight, Peter Schaefer will return to the lineup. Schaefer was once projected to be Savard’s left wing on the No. 1 line, but he has been a bust, especially at his $2.1 million price tag. Schaefer has been a healthy scratch in the last five games, last appearing March 13 in a 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. Yesterday, Schaefer (8-15 -23 in 57 games) skated with Vladimir Sobotkaand Phil Kessel.
“Peter Schaefer hasn’t played because he hasn’t played as well as we’d like,” said Julien. “I’m not going to hide that fact. We all saw that. But I still think he’s an experienced player that I can put in the lineup. Hopefully, he’s going to be able to step it up just like everybody else has. He’s capable of doing that. If that situation arises, I hope he’s ready to do that for us.”
Peter Schaefer suffered a fractured left foot after blocking a shot by Ottawa defenseman Christoph Schubert, but the winger didn’t miss any games.
Chuck Kobasew (groin) skated on his own yesterday morning but missed his second straight game. Kobasew was replaced by Peter Schaefer, who returned after sitting out eight matches because of a shin laceration. Schaefer, on a line with Milan Lucic and DavidKrejci, skated 19 shifts for 13:11 . .
Peter Schaefer didn’t practice because of a cut on his shin, opened when he blocked a shot Tuesday. Julien said Schaefer required five stitches . .
Ice-cold Schaefer not bitter
Unproductive Bruin deals with injury, illness, demotion
As a veteran, 30-year-old Peter Schaefer has earned the status necessary to forgo the optional practices and morning skates occasionally called by Bruins coach Claude Julien.
But as a bottom-six forward battling for regular shifts and an opportunity for more ice time, Schaefer might not be able to afford any more days off, despite a battered body.
Schaefer, acquired by general manager Peter Chiarelli from Ottawa counterpart Bryan Murray July 17, 2007, was projected to be Marc Savard’s wingman on the No. 1 line – a two-way player with a winning pedigree, soft hands, good vision, and a reputation for being one of the NHL’s toughest grinders.
But in three of the last four games, including Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Nashville, Schaefer skated mostly on the fourth line. Last Thursday, in Boston’s 4-1 win over the Islanders, Schaefer was a healthy scratch for the first time since he became an NHL full-timer.
“I think we’re entitled to get a little bit more out of Peter,” said Julien. “I think anybody who’s seen him play before when he’s at his best [will say] he’s an elite player, a really good player. I think this is what we need from him – to step it up and make that difference.”
Last weekend, Schaefer spent the All-Star break at his downtown home, which his parents used as base camp while also visiting his younger brother, Nolan, the former Providence College standout goaltender who saw action in Monday’s AHL All-Star Game in Binghamton, N.Y.
It was a time for Peter Schaefer to reflect upon a season that’s been as disappointing for him as for his employers.
While the Senators, pressed against the cap when they traded Schaefer – they had yet to extend the contracts of impending free agents Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley, Mike Fisher, and Ray Emery – viewed the deal as a salary dump, Chiarelli gave up plugger Shean Donovan for what he viewed as a top-six forward.
But Schaefer, who has two years remaining on a deal that averages $2.1 million per season, has scored only seven goals in 47 games.
“If you go through all the guys in the league, some have nice seasons. Others have bad slumps and bad years,” said Schaefer. “You just try and get through it. You’re not going to have great years every year. I still have half a year to go at it, get healthy, and take the positive out of it.”
Schaefer, a former third-round pick of Vancouver in 1995 (the same year Savard was selected in the fourth round and Boston took P.J. Axelsson in the seventh round), busted out in 2005-06, putting up a 20-30 -50 line in 82 games for the Senators. The following summer, former Ottawa GM John Muckler re-signed Schaefer to a four-year deal, a contract the Senators soon would be looking to shed
Last season, Schaefer scored 12 goals and had 34 assists in 77 games, but he fell into disfavor with Murray – the current GM stood behind the Ottawa bench before taking over for Muckler – and skated mostly on the third line.
After plucking him from Ottawa, the Bruins projected Schaefer to be a 20-goal man who could be the grinder to complement the pass-first Savard and trigger-happy Glen Murray. In the season opener against Dallas, Schaefer, while skating on the top power-play unit, set up Patrice Bergeron for a goal with a sweet behind-the-back pass.
Ten games into his stay on the No. 1 line, however, Schaefer had netted only one goal. On Nov. 1, Schaefer was dropped to the third line. Then on Dec. 8, to open a spot for Milan Lucic on the line, Julien shifted Schaefer, a career left wing, to the right side.
Ten days later, Schaefer stepped in front of a shot by Ottawa’s Christoph Schubert. Schaefer blocked the shot that resulted in a breakaway – goalie Martin Gerber stuffed the winger’s attempt – but Schubert’s blast had cracked a bone in Schaefer’s left foot. It was the first broken bone he ever suffered.
Busted feet have sidelined Axelsson, Shawn Thornton, and Aaron Ward this season. But Schaefer didn’t miss a game because of the injury, taking numbing shots before three or four games to stay in the lineup. He still cannot tie the laces tightly on his left skate.
Schaefer, however, couldn’t avoid a virus that caused flu-like symptoms and dropped him like a bad egg for two matches: a 3-2 shootout loss to Toronto Jan. 17 and a 4-3 shootout victory over the Rangers Jan. 19.
“Five days at home,” said Schaefer. “Didn’t even leave the house. Couch and back to bed. I wasn’t tired, but I didn’t want to open my eyes because there was so much pressure built up. I had three or four meals in five days.”
Upon his return, Schaefer skated on the fourth line for two games, then was a healthy scratch last Thursday. It was the first time he’d been scratched for anything other than an injury since becoming a full-time NHL player.
“I’ve got no issues with being out of the lineup,” said Schaefer. “Guys were playing well. And it gave me that much more of an opportunity to get healthy, kick the bug, and hopefully get on a roll. I’m not going to go out and do the role that [Shawn Thornton] and [Jeremy Reich] do. They do a great job.”
Unable to shake the virus, Schaefer was prescribed penicillin. But Schaefer, who had never contracted such an illness before, learned he was allergic to penicillin when he suffered digestive problems after taking his prescription.
“I’d never gotten sick like that before,” said Schaefer. “After pretty much five or six days of doing nothing and not eating much food, I tried to come back and contribute, even if it was just a little bit.”
Looking to rebound
He’s been a No. 1 left wing. A member of the top power-play unit. A regular penalty-killer.
But now, Schaefer finds himself lower on the depth chart than rookies Vladimir Sobotka, David Krejci, and Pascal Pelletier, fighting to reclaim the minutes Julien has doled out elsewhere.
Axelsson faced a similar situation at the start of the season, when Julien skated the winger on the third and fourth lines. By late October, after doing the little things – killing penalties, playing stout defense, contributing offensively – Axelsson was rewarded by Julien, who promoted him to the first line.
“He’s put himself in a position where he’s got to work his way up the ladder again,” said Julien of Schaefer. “Axelsson had the same issue at the beginning of the year. He responded well. We’re hoping Peter’s going to do the same thing. His play will dictate how much he plays. His play will definitely dictate whether he makes a difference on this hockey club or not.”
In Tuesday’s third period, with the score tied, 1-1, Julien bumped the left wing up to the third line to skate with Krejci and Pelletier, figuring that Schaefer’s experience could help the threesome produce some offense. Earlier in the game, while skating with Thornton and Petteri Nokelainen on the fourth line, Schaefer showed flashes of his old game by grinding along the wall and entering the dirty areas.
“Even when he was on that other line with Nokelainen and Thornton, I thought that line was good,” said Julien after the victory. “I think he certainly took some steps in the right direction tonight.”
jan. 25
Peter Schaefer was a healthy scratch for the first time this season. Schaefer had sat out two games because of flu-like symptoms. But he skated on the fourth line Sunday against the Rangers and Tuesday against Montreal.
Since Dec. 18, tying the laces tight on his left skate has been difficult for Peter Schaefer.
That day, during a 3-2 loss to Ottawa, Schaefer suffered a fractured left foot after blocking a shot by defenseman Christoph Schubert.
But the injury hasn’t forced Schaefer off the ice. He has dressed for all 11 games following the injury, and is one of only six Bruins to appear in every match this season.
“A lot of guys are a little achy, have pains, and have little injuries,” Schaefer said. “That’s part of a long season.”
Schaefer’s busted foot – the 30-year-old is approaching the front end of the four- to six-week time frame for such fractures to heal – is just another variable in an eventful nine months. Schaefer advanced to the Stanley Cup final with Ottawa in May. He was traded to Boston in July for Shean Donovan, giving the Senators cap relief from his $2.1 million annual hit.
Schaefer started 2007-08 as Savard’s left wing on the No. 1 line and skated on the top power-play unit. But through 10 games as Savard’s wingman, Schaefer had only one goal and two assists. He often floated in the offensive zone, where he didn’t skate consistently and struggled with his confidence. On Oct. 27, Schaefer skated a season-high 23:40, but it would be his last game as Boston’s No. 1 left wing, as Julien dropped him to the third line.
“If I’m skating and moving my feet, that’s when my game is at its best,” Schaefer said. “When I’m standing still and not getting in there, that’s when my game starts to struggle. It’s about skating, being physical, and battling in the corners.”
Last Saturday, when P.J. Axelsson (bruised right foot) was unavailable, Julien promoted Marco Sturm to the No. 1 line and bumped Schaefer up to the second line. Schaefer responded with his first goal since Dec. 12. It also was Schaefer’s second point in two games, only the third time he has turned that trick this season. Last Thursday against Montreal, Schaefer assisted on Milan Lucic’sthird-period goal.
“We need that from Schaef,” Julien said. “Schaef can be a real good player, like I told him, if he uses his assets. He’s a pretty good skater. Sometimes he needs to move his feet a little more to make things happen. We need him to bring that game at that level right now with our injuries.”
lllll
BOSTON — This is what Peter Schaefer really wanted.
A fresh start. A different coach. A chance to play a bigger role.
A pad near a rink that isn’t called Scotiabank Place.
A Senator from 2002 until he was traded to the Bruins July 17 for Shean Donovan, Schaefer says he “never directly asked Bryan Murray” to deal him.
But he also made it clear to the previous GM, John Muckler, that he was unhappy with his situation.
“I had little conflicts with Bryan Murray all last year,” Schaefer said before last night’s game against his former team. “Once John got fired and (Murray) became the GM, I pretty much knew I was going to be moved.
“At the end of year meeting, (Murray) told me he expected me to come back (this season) and have a good year. Two days later, he called me in Vancouver and told me I had been traded to Boston. I just chuckled and said thanks.
“I think it’s a business and any time you tell someone one thing and something better comes along, you do it. There’s no hard feelings against (Murray).
“At the same time, I’m probably not going to go and bake cupcakes with him at Christmas, either.”
Schaefer, who played most of last season with Mike Fisher, had 12 goals and 34 assists in 77 games. He yearned for more responsibility, more of an offensive role.
He felt he was sliding down the company ladder beneath guys like Antoine Vermette and Chris Kelly.
“I wanted the opportunity not to be a top guy, but part of the second flow,” he said. “I felt that they wanted to give that to younger guys like Vermie and Kells, that maybe they wanted the second flow to come from them. I just felt I wanted an opportunity at that position.”
Schaefer averaged more ice time (16:43) than Vermette (15:42) and Kelly (15:18), and he had 2:18 of power play time per night, working often on the second unit.
As a Bruin, he had six goals and nine assists through the first 32 games and was averaging 16:54 of ice time per night, including 2:31 per game on the power play.
He has slid down the depth chart of late, however. After playing the early part of the season as a left winger with Marc Savard and Glen Murray, Schaefer is now a right winger on the third line, with youngsters Phil Kessel and teenager Milan Lucic.
He likes his new home, a two minute walk from TD Banknorth Garden. But his new position?
“Next question,” Schaefer replied, smiling. “It’s different. I’ve been a left winger my whole life.”
He is, however, happy to be a Bruin.
“It was kind of hard for me to swallow,” Schaefer said of the trade. “It was a new city, and it’s a great organization, but it was hard because I was leaving a lot of great friends. It’s two totally different challenges. We’re trying to get into the playoffs here. They’re defending the conference (title).”
Murray felt he’d be better equipped to take a run at a few championships by swapping Schaefer for Donovan, not because he was adding a better player, because he wasn’t, but in making the trade he was freeing up almost $2 million US in salary.
It’s safe to assume he wasn’t and is never thinking about losing a baking buddy.
hree veteran NHLers have been placed on unconditional waivers, for the purposes of buying out their contracts.
The St. Louis Blues intend to buy out the final year of defencemanJay McKee‘s deal, as McKee was slated to earn $4 million next season.
McKee, 31, had eight points and a plus-11 rating in 69 games for the Blues in 2008-2009. The renowned shot blocker has had trouble staying healthy, playing more than 70 games just once in the last six seasons.
”It’s not something I expected, especially after my most productive season in St. Louis,” McKee told THE CANADIAN PRESS. ”I understand they had a decision to make and I was one of them.”
Boston has waived winger Peter Schaefer, who spent all of last season with the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League, scoring 26 points and putting up a plus-5 rating in 47 games. The soon-to-be 32-year-old was scheduled to make $2.1-million in 2009-2010.
Thirty-year-old Brett McLean has also been put on waivers by the Florida Panthers. Set to make $1.7-million next season, McLean’s production dipped to a career-low 19 points and minus-12 rating in 80 games last season.
Contract buyouts come at two-thirds the cost to the club, with the team gaining the ability to spread out the cost of the buyout over twice the amount of time remaining on the contract (eg. with one year left on the contract for each of these players, the cost against the team’s cap is spread out over the next two seasons).
CrashingTheGoalie 