HOCKEY'S HERE: BOSTON BRUINS

It's time to air out your gear, sharpen your skates and tape your stick -- it's hockey season. Sure, your team reeked something fierce last season, but there's hope, unless you're an Islanders fan. In that spirit, Out of Left Field offers looks at all 30 NHL teams. Presenting: The Boston Bruins.

Last season: 74 points, 5th in Northeast Division; missed playoffs
Coach: Dave Lewis (1st season with team)
Young gun: Phil Kessel
Store this name away: Tuukka Rask
Hey, get a load of the new guys: Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard
Blogs (including but not limited to): WickedBruinsFan, The Bruins Report
Pop culture moment: Name-referenced in Slapshot; goalie Hannu Toivonen's mask is apparently styled on the one worn by fictional Charlestown Chiefs goalie Denis Lemieux

Boston's cleared out the stables over the past 12 months. Captain Joe Thornton? Traded. GM Mike O'Connell? Gone. Coach Mike Sullivan? Fired.

Their successors, respectively, are Zdeno Chara, Peter Chiarelli (both late of the Ottawa Senators), and Dave Lewis. Team president-for-life Harry Sinden has been shunted into some kind of special-adviser role. Oh, and the bear's head third sweater is also gone.

The Bruins are trying to sell hope, which is what you do when you don't have much else to flaunt. SI.com's Allan Muir has been bold enough to predict B's forward Glen Murray, the pride of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, will be the first player to hit the 20-goal mark this season, courtesy of new centre Marc Savard (97 points last season in Atlanta). That and the notion of building a No. 1 line around Savard both seem a little iffy, at best. At the very least, having Savard, along with the 6-foot-9 Chara as a crease-crasher, should help Boston improve its 25th-ranked power play.

Speaking of iffy, the Bruins don't have anyone who's been a No. 1 goalie at the NHL level, but then again, Andrew Raycroft did have that experience going into '05-06, and we all know how that turned out. Fortunately for Boston, whenever a team and its fans sour on a player, there's a certain team in southern Ontario who will pay handsomely to acquire him.

Boston isn't a playoff team by any stretch, but Patrice Bergeron, Brad Boyes and Chara give them a centre, a wing and a defenceman to build around. By the way, the person most upset at Chara going to Boston wasn't an Ottawa Senators fan but Hockey Night in Canada's Bob Cole. During Leafs-Sens telecasts, Cole usually says "Big Chara" in lieu of the big lug's full name; now that Chara's still in the Northeast Division, he might actually have to learn how to say Zdeno.

Also in Northeast Division: Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs

Back with more later. Send your thoughts to neatesager@yahoo.ca