Anatomy Sr. Assessment

Matt LaMalfa
Anatomy Final Assessment

One of the most important and complex organ systems in your body is the cardiovascular system, which includes the heart as well as all the veins and arteries of the body. The main function of the cardiovascular system is to transport blood, hormones, and cell waste. By far, the most important part of the cardiovascular system is the heart. The heart is a muscle, which weighs about one pound and is about the size of your fist. It is located around the fifth intercostal space, on the left side of your sternum. To insure the heart is protected, it is covered by a special covering called the pericardium, which looks like plastic wrap made into a sack. Inside the pericardium is serous fluid, which keeps the heart lubricated and maintains a frictionless environment for heart processes to take place. The heart is divided into three layers, the epicardium, which is the outermost layer, the myocardium, the layer in the middle, and the endocardium, which is the innermost layer. The epicardium is made up mostly of connective tissue, and its main function is protecting the heart. The myocardium has special muscle cells you can’t find anywhere else in the body. As the inner layer, the endocardium lines the chambers of the heart. All these layers are combinations of skeletal muscle, which helps to pump blood, and smooth muscle, which aids in involuntary processes.
The heart is made up of four chambers, two atria and two ventricles. The atria, which are located above the ventricles, serve as receiving chambers for blood and play no role in the pumping of blood. The ventricles serve as the pumping chambers, and are made have thick, muscular walls, unlike the atria, which have walls made up of smooth muscle. Because of these multiple parts, the heart is sometimes referred to as a double pump. One of the major jobs of the cardiovascular system is pulmonary circulation, the process when blood without oxygen is transported to the lungs, oxygenated, and then returned to the heart. Pulmonary circulation begins on the right side of the heart, when the blood returns to the right atrium after all the oxygen has been used. The heart moves from there into the right ventricle, from where the blood leaves the heart for the lungs via the left and right pulmonary arteries. After the blood picks up the needed oxygen in the lungs, it returns to the heart at the left atria. From the left atria, blood flows into the left ventricle, where it departs for the rest of the body via the aorta.
Opposite pulmonary circulation is systemic circulation, which includes carrying oxygenated blood away from the heart, to the body, and returning deoxygenated blood back to the heart. The first organ supplied with blood is, obviously, the heart, through the coronary arteries. Then we go to the aortic arch, where the first branch, the brachiocephalic, supplies the right common carotid and the right subclavian. The left common carotid branches into the internal carotid, which supplies the brain, and the external carotid, which supplies skin and muscles. The third branch of the aortic arch, the left subclavian, supplies the vertebral artery. Moving away from the aortic arch, you hit the axillary artery, which goes into the brachial artery and supplies the upper arm and then goes into the radial and ulner arteries, which take care of the lower arm. The thoracic aorta in the chest goes into the intercostal arteries, which provides blood to the muscles of the thoracic wall. In the abdomen, the abdominal aorta leads to the celiac trunk which has three major branches, the left gastric artery, splenic artery, and common hepatic artery. These arteries supply the stomach, the spleen and the liver. The superior mesenteric supplies half of the entire small intestine and half of the large intestine, the renal artery supplies the kidneys, the lumbar artery supplies the lower back, and the inferior mesenteric takes care of the remaining portion of the large intestine. The left and right common iliac arteries both split into internal iliac arteries that are responsible for supplying the pelvic region. The anterior and posterior tibial lead to the dorsalis pedis which supplies the foot.
For all this movement to happen, there has to be something in the heart regulating the flow of blood, and that is the valves. There are four sets of valves in the heart, the atria ventricular valves and the semilunar valves. The atrioventricular valves separate the atria from the ventricles and makes sure blood only flows in one direction. Semilunar valves are located in the pulmonary artery and the aorta. Valves make sure there is no backflow of blood to areas where it should not be going. If there is some backflow, leaky valves is probably the culprit, a condition that isn’t fatal, but needs to be corrected if recognized.
The heart is always working; it pumps about six quarts of blood one thousand times a day, meaning the heart pumps around six thousand quarts of blood a day. To keep the heart going, it has an internal conduction system that is split up into two parts, the autonomic nervous system and the intrinsic conduction system. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for speeding up or slowing down the heart; while the intrinsic conduction system forces the heart to beat it’s seventy plus times a minute. For the heart to beat, a nerve impulse starts in the sinoatrial node, in the upper right part of the heart. It then travels to the AV node at the bottom of the right atria, which causes the right atria to contract. After a short pause, the impulse travels to the Purkinjey fibers, which causes the ventricles to contract, and atria relax. If something happens to the SA node, a person’s heartbeat and pulse can slow down, which may cause the need to have an artificial pacemaker installed.
Since circulation is incredibly important to your survival, you probably want to monitor it, which you can do by keeping track of your vital signs: arterial pressure, the expansion and recoil of the arteries, blood pressure, the pressure against the vessels walls, respiratory rate, and finally body temperature. There are two things to consider when measuring blood pressure: the systolic pressure which measures pressure in the arteries when the ventricles are fully contracted, and the diastolic pressure, which is measured when the ventricles are relaxing. Normal systolic pressure is between 110 and 140; normal diastolic pressure is between 70 and 80. A myriad of different factors can cause blood pressure to fall outside of that range. A person is considered hypertensive if blood pressure is above 140/90, and considered hypotensive if the systolic pressure is below 100. The two things blood pressure relies on are cardiac output, the amount of blood pumped out of the left ventricle in one minute and peripheral resistance, the amount of friction encountered as blood flows. It’s also important to keep track of the pressure points on your body located at your temporal artery, facial artery, carotid artery, brachial artery, radial artery, femoral artery, popliteal artery, posterior-tibial artery, and the dorsalis-pedis artery.
Since the heart works as a double pump, it is able to complete a cardiac cycle, which is one full heartbeat and usually takes about .8 seconds to complete. This takes place in three phases with the first being mid-to-late diastole. During this part, blood flows passively into the heart, deoxygenated blood into the right atrium, and oxygenated blood into the left atrium. At the end of this phase, the blood travels to the ventricles. The second phase to begin is called ventricular systole, when the ventricles contract, the AV valve shuts, and blood flows into the relaxing atria. In the third phase, early diastole, the ventricles relax, semilunar valves close, the AV valves open, and blood flows to the atria.
A case of special circulation takes place in the Circle of Willis. Located in the brain, the Cirlce of Willis is made up as a combination of veins and arteries. Its biggest function is another pathway to the brain in case the primary one gets blocked. Another case of special circulation is in a fetus. The lungs and digestive system of a fetus are inactive, so all nutrient and gas exchanges take place through the placenta. In the umbilical cord are three blood vessels, the very large umbilical vein, which brings nutrient rich blood and two smaller umbilical arteries that get rid of waste. The ductus venosus bypasses the liver bringing the blood right into the fetuses’ placenta and the foramen ovale allows blood to bypass the lungs and enter directly into the heart.

11/26 - @ Flyers

Whatever happened at Claude Julien's practice yesterday was super-effective. For the first period, the Bruins outplayed the Flyers in every facet of the game. Maybe there were a few lucky bounces, but this wasn't the same team from Saturday night. Glen Murray has finally hit his stride, Glen Metropolit is filling in admirably for Patrice Bergeron, and Matt Hunwick is doing a nice job back on the point. Tuukka Rask was good enough in his second NHL start though its obvious he isn't ready to carry the load yet. The main downer was the PK, which was horrendous allowing all three goals. This is an area that desperately needs improvement.

*The Flyers continue to be the dirtiest team in the league as Scott Hartnell put an awful hit on Andrew Alberts who left the game. Hartnell was ejected and hopefully suspension will follow. I think it should be steeper than Jones on Bergy since this hit was far more deliberate. The Broad Street Bullies are defiantly back.

* Jack Edwards could have used a deer tranquilizer or three in the booth tonight. He completely overreacted to a stat inaccuracy about hits, and continues to act like he knows everything about everything.

10/24 - @ Islanders

After a solid first game of the home and home against the Isles, the Bruins just looked Saturday night on Long Island. There was no jump in any ones step and and the boys with the spoked B's on their chests were thoroughly beaten down. A few bright spots were the continuing solid play of Tim Thomas in net and the emergence of Mark Stuart as a legitimate top-4 defenseman. The Bs are going to need to find some offense soon, as Rick DiPietro was never really rattled in this one. Claude Julien has his work cut out with these guys.

*Tonight marked the NHL debut for Vladimir Sobotka

11/23 - vs. NY Islanders

The Bruins notched an important win in an important contest against the Islanders yesterday afternoon at the Garden. After a very slow start for both team, the late second and third periods were pretty good. Glen Murray showed signs of life, getting his name on the score sheet and looking more mobile than usual in the process. Tim Thomas was very solid again, allowing only one goal late, but the Tank hung in for the win. This guy has to be in the All-Star Game, no questions asked. As Glen Metropolit scored the game winner Andy Brickley said Metropolit was the best tryout invitee in NHL history, take it easy Brick. Home and homes are always fun, so tonight should be another good one on the Island.

*Vladimir Sobotka will probably see his first NHL action in place of the dinged up Milan Lucic.

* Spectors Trade Site is reporting the Bruins are shopping for an experienced back-up goalie. I'm not sure that should be on the top of Peter Chiarelli's wish list. Even though Rask is young, he certainly can stay up, though after Toivonen and Raycroft, I understand his reluctance to rush young netminders.

11/11 - vs. CT Selects

Due to the fast approaching Xavier season, I changed the site over, and put the last game write-up on here. This is the end for game summaries and three stars.

*Not the way anyone wanted to end the season this afternoon, as the Red Devils fell 5-3 at the hands of the CT Selects in Cromwell. Ryan Lee kept the score out of the double digits, making over 40 saves, and stopping everything he could. After an awful start, the Devils picked it up a bit, but with Piscottano touring the Rockies and Malz battling a fever, it just wasnt meant to be. Captain Vino did what he could notching two goals, but it wasnt enough in the end, even with Will doing what he could to fire up the bench. Coach Ken stayed suprisingly calm throughout the game. After the banquet on Thursday its go time!

*The Last Three Stars: 1)Lee 2) O'Hara 3) Even

*If anyone knows a junior who wants to help me out this year, let me know.

Summer(s over) Camp

Wow, I havent written anything in a long time. I've been really busy, and as a result the site has been neglected...sorry. Camp has opened since the last time I wrote. Today, the Bruins rookie team played a game in Shelton, CT. Being a CT resident I caught the beginning of the game, and I was very impressed, especially with Tuukka Rask and Milan Lucic. Rask looked solid during his time in net, though he wasnt tested that often. Lucic looked like a really dominant big man. He dominated a fight towards the end of the game (so I heard from a friend who was there to the end)

* One interesting note: the Bruins have invited Glen Metropolit to camp on a tryout basis. Glen is much better than candidates from the last couple years (ie. Billy Tibbetts) and unlike many non-roster guys, with a strong camp, Metropolit just might make the roster.

* If you havent checked out NHL 08 yet, you need to. It is a great game, especially for PS3. One issue I had with the game is Tim Thomas has a skill rating of only 78, give Boston's real number one goalie a littlw love, but really check this game out.

Camp Coming Fast

You know we are nearing the start of the season when all the veterans have arrived at camp in Wilmington. Oh wait, almost all the veterens! "Big-time" offseason pickup Manny Fernandez is yet to strap on the pads at Ristuccia Arena. As far as I'm concerned, this is a positive since it may allow Tim Thomas to get a leg up on the number one goalie job. Bergeron, Murray, and enforcer Jeremy Reich are some of the most recent arrivals, rounding out the veteran core. The Globe put out a full list of the attendees: Andrew Alberts, P.J. Axelsson, Patrice Bergeron, Brandon Bochenski, Zdeno Chara, Chris Collins, Jeff Hoggan, Matt Hunwick, Martins Karsums, Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Matt Lashoff, Mark Mowers, Glen Murray, Jeremy Reich, Marc Savard, Jonathan Sigalet, Jordan Sigalet, Marco Sturm, Nate Thompson, Dennis Wideman.

* Among the veterans who have yet to arrive and skate: Peter Schaefer, Shawn Thornton, Manny Fernandez, Aaron Ward, and Chuck Kobasew.

* While attending the Redsox game last Friday, I was walking around before the game and saw the towering figure of Captain Zdeno Chara nearby. He was on his way to the pregame show on Yawkey Way and let me tell you, Chara is even bigger in person!

Season just around the corner

It's been too long since I posted but in this part of the off season there's very little going on. One important note is the first few Bruins players have made there way back to Wilmington. Reports say so far Andrew Alberts, Bobby Allen, Zdeno Chara, Matt Hunwick, Matt Lashoff, Mark Mowers, Marc Savard, Mark Stuart, Tim Thomas, Nate Thompson. Obviously the surprising names there are Savard and Thomas, seeing as they have very little to prove going into the upcoming season, but it is good to see some team spirit from the big guns. Timmy T usually goes to a goalie showcase in Chicago with his agent, Bill Zito, this week, but this year he is choosing to spend it with the team in Boston. Maybe Thomas can get a leg up on Manny before camp even begins, that would be nice.

Eligibility Rules: Part II

(Note: read Part I below first) Hopefully this clears up some issues with eligibility in juniors. Below is Part I about College Players and Europeans.

The start of the NHL season: A junior-aged player who is not signed to an NHL contract by this time must return to his junior team (the official deadline is usually a day or two before the opening games). That player is essentially gone for the year. He is not eligible to return to the NHL until his junior team's season is over.

The 10-game mark: A junior-aged player with a contract can play up to nine NHL games as a trial period. If he is returned to junior before the tenth game, his contract is effectively put on hold: when he goes to training camp the following season, he will be in the first year of his contract.Once the player appears in his tenth NHL game, his contract kicks in. He can still be returned to his junior club after that. But at season's end, a full contract year will expire.

The 40-game mark: This is when the clock starts ticking on a player's free agent status. Under the 2005 collective agreement, a player are eligible for unrestricted free agency after seven years in the NHL. But if he returns to junior hockey before playing 40 NHL games, the season does not count as an "accrued season," which means it doesn't count towards free agency eligibility.So an 18-year-old rookie who plays at least 40 NHL games can become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 25. An 18-year-old who is returned to junior hockey before game 40 will not be eligible for free agency until he's 26. (Assuming both go on to become NHL regulars every season after that.)

Note: also that a junior-aged player with an NHL contract cannot be sent to a minor pro league like the AHL unless he has already played four seasons of junior hockey. He must either stay on the NHL roster or return to junior.

Eligibility Questions: Part I

Sorry it's been so long aince the last post, but I've been researching this article that I'm putting up now. To me, the rules governing players after they are drafted are very confusing to me. After seeing some questions I've been asked, it seems almost no one really has a good grasp on what happens. This bothered me until I found, over many different sites, the answers to just about all of the eligibility questions.

Eligible Players
-Players who turn 18 by September 15 and are not older than 20 by December 31 are eligible for selection. In addition, non-North American players over the age of 20 are eligible.

-A North American player who is not drafted by the age of 20 is an unrestricted free agent. All non-North Americans must be drafted before being signed, regardless of age.
Re-entering the Draft

-A player not signed by his NHL team within two years of being drafted can re-enter the draft, as long as he is 20 years old or younger at the time of the subsequent draft. Players over 20 become unrestricted free agents.
-NCAA players are an exception: NHL teams retain the rights to a college player until 30 days after the player has left college.
-A team that does not sign a first-round draft pick is awarded a compensatory pick in a future draft upon losing the rights to that player.

-A player who has been drafted a second time cannot re-enter.

Recent Changes
European Players - Prior to 2005, NHL teams retained the rights to a European player until that player turned 31. Drafted Europeans must now be signed within two years, the same as North Americans, or the team loses the rights to the player.

NCAA Players - As of 2004, 18-year-old players from NCAA Division I schools can be drafted and retain their college eligibility as long as they don't play for a pro team or hire an agent. In previous years, an 18-year-old who opted into the draft lost his NCAA eligibility.

-A Post about Junior Eligibility to follow-

Random Wrap-up

This is my last post for a little while. I will be be away from tommorow (sunday) until this friday, therefore you will have to get your Bruins tidbits elsewhere. Since many of this sites readers will be on the trip with me, it may not be an issue. I leave you in the capable hands of Lyle Richardson of Spector's Hockey, who covers all the bases. I leave you till next weekend with a few random notes.

* Mike Milbury will be a NESN TV analyst next season, taking the position vacated by Tom Fitzgerald who has accepted a position with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

*THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS HAVE DEALT FORWARD RADIM VRBATA TO THE PHOENIX COYOTES IN EXCHANGE FOR CENTRE KEVYN ADAMS.

*Scott Fitzgerald (New England H.S. and College), Wayne Smith (Ontario and Quebec), Alexei Dementiev (Russia), Grant Sonier (North America and Europe), and John Weisbrod (US minor leagues) are all joining the Bruins scouting staff this season.

Chistov defecting for '07?

One player who wont be worried about winninga spot on this years Bruins team is Stan "Don't Call Me Stanislav" Chistov. According to various media reports, Chistov has signed a contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Russian Super League. This is a strange move be Stan, seeing as he was now on a team where he was going to get playing time. Also, the timing here is a bit odd, seeing as Chistov had one year left on his NHL contract with the Bruins. Since the Russian Super League doesnt have a transfer agreement with the NHL (most European leagues do) then Russian teams can sign players even with time left on there contracts. The player will be added to a suspended or "defected" list, and, good news for Boston, that players salary will not count against the salary cap. Since Chistov would have been a free agent at the end of next season anyway, this will only apply for one season. This isnt much of a loss for the Bruins seeing as Chistov was part of Boston's growing collection of "Wily Mo Pena's" (guys who just never live up to their potential, for you non baseball fans). This list includes Chistov, Brandon Bochenski, Chuck Kobasew, and to a degree Manny Fernandez.

Could you sign please?

As the Bruins continue readying for the season, they signed number one draft pick (8th overall) to an entry level contract and resigned goalie Jordan Sigalet, who to this point, has played his entire pro career with the Providence Bruins. Hamill wont wear a Boston Bruins uniform, and probably wont even don the Providence yellow and black this season. Barring an amazing performance in training camp, he will probably rejoin his junior team, the Everett Silvertips, for another year before joining the ranks of the AHL. Through his agent, Hamill said he was very happy to have his contract settled before another season on the ice began. Here's a clip from the Boston Globe describing the financials:

"First-round pick Zach Hamill signed a three-year entry-level deal today that will pay the center the CBA-mandated maximum of $875,000 per season. The salary includes an $87,500 signing bonus. The 18-year-old Hamill signed a two-way deal, so he will earn $65,000 per season in the AHL, although he's expected to return to Everett, his junior team, in 2007-08. Hamill could also earn a total of $500,000 per season in Individual A bonuses (categories include goals, assists, points, plus/minus, points per game, All-Rookie Game appearance, All-Star Game appearance), $75,000 more than No. 7 pick Jakub Voracek agreed to with the Columbus Blue Jackets last Friday. "

As I mentioned above, the team also resigned goalie Jordan Sigalet. He is slated to back-up prodigy Tuukka Rask and help acclimate the Finnish youngster to the game and life in general on this side of the pond. Sigalet's accomplishments in goal are often overshadowed by his battle with MS, which although certainly noteworthy, should not under mind his play between the pipes. Last season in Providence, Sigalet was slated to carry the load, and looked good early, but a struggling Hannu Toivonen forced Jordan to a backup role for most of the year. (Wow, now doesn't Scott Gordon wish he had Sigalet in there, rather than the newest Boston castoff) Still Sigalet finished with good numbers finishing with a 15-5 record, a 2.39 GAA, .915 save percentage and THREE shutouts. Not too shabby! Sigalet must be very comfortable in Providence, seeing as Boston had tremendous depth in goal and Jordan will probably never patrol a goal at the Garden. (I said depth, not quality depth)

Player Profile: Tuukka Rask

Tuukka Rask was born in Savonlinna, Finland on April 10, 1987. At only 16 years old, Tuukka left home to play for Ilves Tampere of the SM-Liga. He played in the World Junior Championships and the SM-Liga's equivalent of juniors, where he clearly stood out from all the other goalies his age.

2004-05: Rask faced new challenges behind poor defenses and against strong opposition in both SM-Liiga and the WJC. He collected most of his minutes in Finnish Jr. A where he won the championship after a beyond-perfect performance, 9 wins in 10 games with a GAA of 0.87 and saves at .973. The magic wore off by the year's U18 WC, however, where Rask was disappointing.

2005-06: The pecking order at the goalie position expectedly went through changes over the course of the season. Rask with his very limited experience wasn't ready to take over Juha Pitkämäki at first. The fall season was about backup duties, but once Rask returned from the WJC's, he excelled in a couple of games. Soon it became apparent that he wasn't just riding a hot streak but given a start after another, quietly taking over the starter's position. He finished with a strong 2.09 GAA and .926 save percentage in 30 games.

2006-07: Ilves headed into the year with a teenage goalie tandem Tuukka Rask (BOS) and Riku Helenius (TB). Helenius suffered a shoulder injury in practice early in the season before he got to play and the recovery took longer than anticipated. In turn, Rask had more than enough work to deal with. He played 49 games and faced the second most shots in the league, taking care of WJC duties on the side. Rask performed commendably, saving Ilves on many occasions by winning close games when the team couldn’t score. His GAA of 2.39 and the save percentage .928 were among the league’s finest. Rask streched a gap to the team’s second best player perhaps wider than in any other SM-liiga organisation. (Yearly Summaries courtesy of hockeysfuture.)

2007-08 Prediction: Starting Goalie - Providence (AHL) (though a strong camp could raise questions on where he should be)

The Basement, It's Called Bruins

Today, amid tons of excitement on the Boston sports scene, fans pretty much summed up the Bruins place in the happenings. The Boston Globe website offered this pole question. "Which Boston team will end up having the most buzz, Redsox-Celtics-Patriots-or Bruins? It was close early, but the Redsox have a commanding lead in the pole as of now with around 60%. The Celts and Pats are really close, with around 20% each. In last are the Bruins with, get this, 1.9%. If they added the New England Revolution, they would probably beat the Bruins. Hell, if you added the Ringling Brothers circus, it would probably beat the Bruins. All three other Boston teams have one thing in common, they do what it takes to field a winner, granted the Celtics took their time doing it, but they still got it done. The Bruins could never make a deal comparable to the KG move, since trading their entire roster probably wouldnt be seen as enough compensation. Soon, the seats in the Garden may be green and white rather than yellow and black since the Celtics will dominate ticket sales this season before even setting foot on the floor. Manny Fernandez just doesnt generate that kind of buzz, suprised?

Player Profile: Tim Thomas

Here is week 2 of the Player Profile series showing the candidates for the Bruins starting goalie spot this fall. This week is highlighting Tim "The Tank" Thomas. A Native of Davison, Michigan (near Flint), Thomas was the number one goalie at the University of Vermont during all four years he was there from 1993-94 until 1996-97. He was an ECAC All-Star and NCAA All-American during his sophomore and junior seasons. Tim was selected by Quebec Nordiques in ninth round (217th overall) of the 1994 Entry Draft. However, Thomas waited to sign with the team, choosing to finish his time at UVM and then signed with HIFK Helsinki of the Finnish Elite League after stumbling in the ECHL and IHL. Thomas returned to Europe until 2002, when he signed by the Bruins. It was this year Thomas finally made his NHL debut, and defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3. After playing the next season in Providence, Thomas yet again left for Finland. During the lockout, he played for Jokerit Helsinki, where he played almost every game and was the teams MVP. Thomas chose to return to Boston the next season, creating controversy when he evoked an escape clause in his contract the left Jokerit without a starting goalie. Thomas began the year in Providence, but when both Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen got hurt, Tim was called up. In his first game, nationally televised on NBC, Thomas lost a shootout 2-1 to Dallas, stopping 37 of 38 shots, and certainly should have won. We all know what happened from there. You cant finish a Tim Thomas article without mentioning the "Mage". The mage is a combination of the two headwear options for goalies, a mask or a cage. Some people love it other hate it, but Tim likes the mask he created in order to increase air circulation inside his helmet.Prediction for Thomas in '07- Backup or Platoon to/with Fernandez.

Preseason Schedule

Official Release from the Boston Bruins:

BOSTON BRUINS 2007 PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE

Tue., Sept. 18 N.Y. Islanders at St. John's, Newfoundland 7:00 PM

Thu., Sept. 20 New Jersey at Manchester, NH 7:00 PM ET

Sat., Sept. 22 Toronto at TD Banknorth Garden 4:00 PM ET

Sun., Sept. 23 Montreal at Halifax, Nova Scotia 4:00 PM AT

Thu., Sept. 27 Montreal at Bell Center, Montreal 7:30 PM ET

Sun., Sept. 30 N.Y. Islanders at TD Banknorth Garden 4:00 PM ET

(Not Really Breaking) News: Toivinen to St. Louis

Being a Bruins fan, I wasn't at all surprised by the fact Hannu Toivonen was traded today to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for centre Carl Soderberg. What did surprise me is the Bruins actually appeared to get decent value back. Soderberg has never played in the NHL, or North America for that matter. He is a big body, and at 21 he still has plenty of time left to develop. Carl pretty much killed any chance of playing in St. Louis when he refused to report to the AHL after not making the team last season. As for Hannu, everyone knew his time was up in Boston. Once thought of as the star goalie of the future, Toivonen just never found his groove, very possibly as a result of being rushed by a bad team. With a depth chart of Fernandez, Thomas, and Rask it was a foregone conclusion that Hannu and his salary weren't going to spend another year on the Providence-Boston shuttle.

*On another topic, the Bruins and Blues are becoming very comfortable trading partners, having made three deals this past year, including the deadline deal when Petie C, desperate for change, was hosed into giving up Brad Boyes for Dennis Wideman.

*Other News- the B's have resigned checking line winger Jeff Hoggan to a one year two-way contract worth $495,000. I'm not sure why this money is being spent. Hoggan was often a healthy scratch last year and really did nothing to establish himself as a keeper.

Player Profile: Manny Fernandez

This is the first in a four week series of profiles on the candidates for the Bruins starting goalie job, in order of their likely hood to get the job. The first profile is Manny Fernandez. Acquired in a trade from Minnesota during the draft, Fernandez is classified as a high risk-high reward pickup by Boston. Manny was born August 27, 1974 in Etobicoke, Ontario. His father, Marc is a native of Casablanca, Morocco and said to be of Portuguese descent. His mother is Canadian and the sister of NHL legend and current Wild coach Jacques Lemaire, and Manny's coach from '00 till last season. Contrary to popular belief, Fernandez is not Mexican and is predominately French-Canadian and has lived in the land of the leaf all his life. Manny was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 4th round of the 1992 NHL Draft. In 1994, he was traded to the Dallas Stars, the first team he played for in the NHL, and backed up Eddie Belfour after Roman Turek left for St. Louis. After failing to prove himself in Big D, Fernandez became the starting goalie for the expansion Minnesota Wild. Here, Manny appeared to find his niche, but was terribly inconsistent, loosing the starting job first to Dwayne Roloson, then to Nik Backstrom. The jury is certainly still out on Fernandez, some say he is a solid goalie and one of the most underrated players in the league, others say Manny is inconsistent, whiny and a poor teammate. Guess we'll have to wait and see in Beantown. 2007 Prediction- Starting Goalie

Donovan to Ottawa; Schaefer to Boston

Well, it's Tuesday which means its question day. No one sent any in but I have some questions for Peter Chiarelli. Spector first reported it and now various sources confirm last night the Bruins traded winger Sean Donovan to the Ottawa Senators for winger Peter Schaefer. (My hyperlink button isnt working, Yahoo sports has the player profile, just plug his name into Google.)This is just another deal I dont understand, recently Charlie Jacobs made one of his very few insightful comments "We need to get grittier", and that somehow prompts the trading of your teams grittiest player for and average scoring wing? While Schaefer beats out Donovan in assists last season and doubled his goals (11), we dont really need that guy. Stan Chistov can be THAT guy, who can be Sean Donovan, certainly not Peter Schaefer. Most strange about this deal, the Bruins took on Peter's 2.1 million dollar salary and only lost 925K on Donovan's. There is a theme here, do you have overpriced, over hyped, underachieving players, dump them on the Bruins.