BHN Daily: Bruins Sign Frederic; Karma Bites Isles; Habs Magic

Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney continued to chop away at his offseason to-do list on Friday.

Karma finally caught up to the New York Islanders and the dirty plays they’ve got away with throughout their run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals.

Are the 2021 Montreal Canadiens a team of destiny just like Ken Dryden and the 1971 Habs team that upset Bobby Orr and the Big, Bad, Boston Bruins?

That and more in the latest Boston Hockey Now Daily!

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins locked up rugged forward Trent Frederic to a very team-friendly two-year contract with an annual NHL cap hit of $1.05 million. (Boston Hockey Now)

Boston Bruins fans, it’s OK to cheer for the Montreal Canadiens. They are a great story and it will only make this rivalry better if they come into TD Garden as defending Stanley Cup Champions next season! (Boston Hockey Now)

Stanley Cup Semifinals

Bitter but well-deserved irony helped seal their 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs run as a power play for cross-checking led to the lone goal in a 1-0 Tampa Bay Lightning win. Maybe the Boston Bruins are still playing if that call was made in the second round more?  (NYI Hockey Now)

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a star-studded team but they’re not back in the Stanley Cup Final for a second-straight season without the grinders either. (The Athletic$$)

Our VHN scribe Tom Callahan calls EVERYTHING into question in Vegas. “Rip Off the Band-Aid, Make Changes.” (Vegas Hockey Now)

Will part of ripping off the band-aid be the Knights acquiring Jack Eichel? (Vegas Hockey Now)

While the Knights need to make some significant changes, they should also realize that they were beaten by what seems to be a team of destiny in the Montreal Canadiens. (Sportsnet)

Speaking of teams of fate, my good friend Mitch Melnick recalls the 1971 Habs team that reminds him a lot of this 2021 squad. (TSN 690)

National Hockey Now

As mentioned above, the Lightning, like the Canadiens, are in the Final thanks in large part to their grinders. Is that a bad thing? Dan Kingerski seems to think so. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

Seattle Kraken head coach Dave Hakstol should be pretty familiar with the Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia beat writer Ryan Gilbert wonders if it’s Jakub Voracek who is Seattle bound. (Philly Hockey Now)

It looks like Marc-Edouard Vlasic was mixing it up on Twitter and got the last word on a troll. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Speaking of grinders, forward Brooks Laich officially retired this week with an Instagram post. (Washington Hockey Now)

Will Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman speed up the rebuild with $27 million in cap space this offseason? (Detroit Hockey Now)

NHL 

The Sedin Twins are ready to dive into their NHL management careers. (TSN)

The Minnesota Wild will be active on the NHL Trade Market. Could Jack Eichel be a fit? (Spector’s Trade Rumors)