Bruins Sign Bergy

With the Boston Bruins' season just a day away, there's more than just the opener in Prague to be excited about. GM Peter Chiarelli has finally dotted the i's and crossed the t's on Boston's contract extension with center Patrice Bergeron. The deal is reportedly worth a total of $15 million and will keep Bergy here through the 2013-14 season.

It's a relief for the B's to not only extend arguably their top centerman (and future captain if Zdeno Chara departs) but also to do so in an affordable fashion. If the reported specifications of the deal are correct, Bergeron's salary cap hit should be just about the same as it has been for the past few years. Any Bruins fan can speak to the quality of his all-around game -- three-zone players like Bergeron don't come around often when you're talking about first and second line players.

After tallying 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 points last season -- tied for the team lead with fellow center David Krejci -- Bergeron will look to keep improving and hopefully have a true breakout season now that he's more heavily surrounded by scoring talent. Newcomers Tyler Seguin and Nathan Horton are both candidates to be wingers on a line centered by Bergy, as well as other promising young talents. Mark Recchi is likely to occupy one wing, though, as he and Bergeron have developed pretty good chemistry playing together over the past year.

The Bruins drop the puck on their 2010-11 campaign tomorrow at noon from Prague in the Czech Republic. They will face the Phoenix Coyotes, who finished 4th in the Western Conference last season. Get ready, Bruins fans. The painful waiting period that has festered in our wounds since Game 7 is finally over. Let's play some hockey.