Bruins re-sign Paille and Bourque and some Thomas news

Today the Bruins have re-signed two players, Daniel Paille and Chris Bourque. Paille was signed to a 3-year, $3.9 million extension. Bourque was signed to a 2-year contract, with the first year being a two-way deal making $550K in the NHL and $200K in Providence (AHL), and the second year being a one-way deal making $500K in the NHL or AHL.

In other news, a little weird news, Tim Thomas apparently may take next season off due to family/personal reasons. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli answered questions today regarding Tim Thomas and the possibility of him not playing next season.

"As of right now I'm operating under the premise that there's a strong possibility that he'll be taking the year off and we'll have to go about our business without Tim Thomas for the year," Chiarelli said.

"We've got two very capable goalies in Tuukka and Khudobin so I'd be more than satisfied if that's who we have to go with," Chiarelli said.

"I remember one of the things that he told me after, the year before, we met, that he was really tired," Chiarelli said. "And we had exit meetings after we won the cup and he was really tired. And he said to me after these exit meetings he definitely was worn down a bit."
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According to Chiarelli, Thomas conveyed his thoughts through Bill Zito, his agent, sometime in May. Thomas cited fatigue and the desire to spend more time with his family. Thomas and wife Melissa have three children.

If Thomas follows through, the Bruins will most likely suspend the goalie for 2012-13. However, the team must carry Thomas’s $5 million annual cap hit. The team would most likely have to place Marc Savard on long-term injured reserve to negate some of Thomas’s hit. Savard carries an annual hit just north of $4 million.

"I'm disappointed," said Chiarelli, who acknowledged being surprised by Thomas’s declaration. "These things happen. You've got to roll with them. You've got to deal with them. When someone talks about their family, you have to respect that. You've got to deal with it. We're not too disabled on the cap side. But sure, that's the strength of our team."
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