CHIARELLI DESERVES CREDIT FOR MUCH OF B'S SUCCESS

Peter Chiarelli has a plan. That was all we heard when the Bruins hired Ottawa's Assistant GM to become their new General Manager in May, 2006. After a tough 2007 season, the B's improved drastically under new head coach Claude Julien a year ago. And now, less than two years since the hiring of Chiarelli, Boston has one of the best teams in all of hockey. After the club's 5-1 thrashing of Carolina earlier today at TD Banknorth Garden, the Bruins improved to 31-7-4, good for 66 points and a 12 point lead over the rival Canadiens in the Northeast Division. Much of the credit for the leaps and bounds this franchise has made in the past couple of years should go to their third year GM.

Since taking over for Mike O'Connell, Chiarelli has built a team ripe with young talent. Phil Kessel, the team's leading scorer, is only 21 and already one of the top forwards in all of hockey. Matt Hunwick, 22, Milan Lucic, 21, and David Krejci, 22, are all young talents coming into their own this season as well. Throw in free agent singing Blake Wheeler, the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NHL Draft, and the Bruins are stocked with cheap young players that bring fun and energy to the rink every night.

Additionally, Chiarelli has signed some big name free agents to bolster the roster and provide veteran leadership. 6'9 defenseman Zdeno Chara signed a five year, $37.5 million contract in July, 2006, and has been an All-Star selection each of the past two seasons. The heart and soul of Boston's league leading defensive unit, Chara has averaged well over 20 minutes per game in each season with the club. Chiarelli signed Marc Savard that same offseason, and "Savvy" has been a whiz in the offensive end during his stint in Black and Gold. Savard, who makes $5.5 million annually, has 38 assists so far this season, good for second in the entire NHL in that category.

Chiarelli has also made some key trades to improve the team as well. The GM was harshly criticized for trading fan favorite Brad Boyes to St. Louis for puck moving defenseman Dennis Wideman, but that trade has largely worked out for Boston. The offensive minded Wideman has been tremendous for the Bruins with 27 points (third most among Eastern Conference defenseman), and is a plus-24, trailing only teammates Savard (plus-28) and Wheeler (plus-25) on the season.

Other Chiarelli pickups include Aaron Ward, Andrew Ference, Chuck Kobasew, and Stephane Yelle, with each playing key supporting roles in the Bruins' current run to the top of the standings. Only time will tell how far this team can go, but they certainly have the depth to make a run. Call-ups Byron Bitz, Martins Karsums, Martin St. Pierre, and Vladimir Sobotka have all made appearances with the big club in 2008-09, and all have held their own while wearing the Spoked-B. Regular season wins may not mean much in the grand scheme of things, but Chiarelli's boys appear to be in it for the long haul. A master plan indeed.