Welcome to another week, folks!
For the first time in what feels like quite a while, we had some wintry weather in the greater Boston area Sunday afternoon into Monday morning.
I’m sure this is wrong, but I feel like it hasn’t snowed this much (and it’s only 4-5 inches where I am) in a year. Winter wonderland, etc.
If you’re an all New England sports fan, you had yourself a decent Sunday thanks to the Patriots’ playoff win over the Houston Texans, meaning a return to the AFC Championship for long-suffering Patriots fans.
In a nice bit of crossover content, the recently honored Zdeno Chara was on hand at Gillette for Sunday’s showdown:
Feel like Chara could earn a special teams spot trying to block field goals/punts, right? Give him another endeavor to cross off during retirement, along with marathons, speaking 390 languages, etc.
Aside from Saturday’s win in Chicago, the big Bruins news over the weekend was what didn’t happen, as defenseman Rasmus Andersson ended up being dealt from Calgary to Las Vegas.
As recently as Sunday morning, the internet was abuzz with rumors of a pending deal between the Bruins and Flames, allegedly centering around Mason Lohrei, Matt Poitras, and a first-round pick.
Instead, the deal never materialized, with Vegas shipping Zach Whitecloud, prospect Abram Wiebe, a conditional 2027 first-round pick, and a conditional 2028 second-round pick to Calgary in exchange for the pending UFA.
Notably, there is not contract extension as part of the deal, meaning Andersson does, in fact, remain a pending UFA.
Per Elliotte Friedman, that sticking point was too much for the Bruins:
While it’s disappointing to miss out on Andersson (now), it was certainly the right call by Don Sweeney to not give up a bunch of assets for a guy who could walk on July 1.
The B’s have been a nice story this year, but they’re very much not in “win now” mode, so a more shrewd approach is wise.
The Bruins will practice in Dallas on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s game with the Stars.
What’s on tap for today?
