Bruins Daily: Bruins Lay Dud; NHL GMs Against ‘Kucherov Rule’?

The Boston Bruins may have only lost 6-4, but they were never in their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.

The NHL salary cap is rising to $82.5 million next season.

The NHL general managers meetings concluded Tuesday and the GMs still don’t seem to want to put their complaints on LTIR loopholes into action.

That and more in the latest BHN Daily:

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins simply could not keep up with the speed of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the neutral zone and continually paid for it in their own end.

Boston Bruins winger Taylor Hall was fined $5000 for his punch from behind to the head of Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.

As my partner-in-scribe for BHN, Joe Haggerty, Sportsnet Leafs scribe Luke Fox and I all agreed in the latest ‘Pucks With Haggs’ Podcast, there’s a different and more seasoned feel to the current Toronto Maple Leafs squad. That was on full display Tuesday night.

Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand will go down as one of the best and most effective pests to ever play in the NHL. So what does he think of Leafs winger Michael Bunting and his pest qualities?

National Hockey Now

NYI: The NHL salary cap will be rising by $1 million to $82.5 million next season. How will that affect the New York Islanders and their cap situation?

Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh Penguins have never been shy in the NCAA free agent market and on Tuesday, they signed Western Michigan Ty Glover to a three-year entry level deal.

Philadelphia: The Penguins’ cross-state rival, the Philadelphia Flyers signed another Western Michigan product Tuesday. The Flyers inked high-scoring defenseman Ronnie Attard to a two-year, entry-level contract that will begin this season. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound Attard is expected to play with the Flyers this season.

Detroit: The Detroit Red Wings absolutely collapsed over the last month but they’re hoping to build some stepping stones for next season down the stretch.

Colorado: Could the Colorado Avalanche be without forward Nathan MacKinnon down the stretch run?

Vegas: Our main man in Vegas, Owen Krepps, addresses the current state of the Vegas Golden Knights.

San Jose: Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk passed away Monday night and on Tuesday, former Senators captain and current San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson remembered his former boss as a passionate NHL owner.

Canada Hockey Now

Montreal: If Martin St. Louis wants to shed the interim tag and become the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens going past this season, the job is his says Habs general manager Kent Hughes.

Calgary: More and more, it seems like the Calgary Flames will lose Hart Trophy candidate and former Boston College star forward Johnny Gaudreau to unrestricted free agency this summer.

Vancouver: Will the Vancouver Canucks be able to handle the physicality of the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they make it to the postseason?

NHL

On the final day of the NHL GM meetings, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman seemed to think that teams using LTIR as a cap loophole is a media myth. OK, Gary. …yeah. What was worse though was the GMs that continually bash the Tampa Bay Lightning for what they did with Nikita Kucherov last season, seem to be against any changes. If you’re not going to vote for change then don’t call for it!

NHL games in Quebec again? It could happen next season but it won’t be because the Quebec Nordiques return.

Will the Arizona Coyotes lose their in-arena gambling license when they start playing their home games at Arizona State?

Congrats to the Boston Pride on winning their third Isobel Cup in six years.