For Peter Chiarelli, it’s a start.
Facing an offseason where he’ll need to re-up with key players like Gregory Campbell, Chris Kelly, Mike Mottau, Greg Zanon, Tuukka Rask and Benoit Pouliot, the Bruins GM started small on Friday by signing forwards Daniel Paille and Chris Bourque.
Paille, 28, signed a three-year, $3.9 million deal while Bourque inked a two-year, two-way deal with an NHL value of $550,000 for both seasons and a salary of $200,000 at the AHL level. It should be noted Bourque’s deal turns into a one-way in 2013-14.
The Paille signing shores up Boston’s fourth line, though Chiarelli might also lock up Paille’s fellow grinder, Campbell, to fill it out entirely. As CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty writes, Paille’s “biggest value is his skating speed, his tenacity and his toughness in all phases of the game while serving as a valued member of the penalty kill.”
For more on Bourque, click here.
Finally, it’s been reported that Chiarelli will hold a conference call this afternoon to discuss the Paille signing and, possibly, the rumors that Tim Thomas might be taking a year’s sabbatical.