And so the Miroslav Satan experiment begins.
The newly signed 35-year-old was present and accounted for at
Bruins practice yesterday morning at Ristuccia Arena and, though he
hasn't played since winning the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh
Penguins last June, the winger hardly looked out of place.
The B's signed Satan to a one-year, prorated deal for
$700,000, and he traveled with the team to New York yesterday,
though he and the braintrust estimated it will take him 7-to-10
days before he's ready to play. But, with the Bruins ranked 26th in
scoring (2.50 goals per game), it's no secret why he's been brought
in. He has scored 354 goals in his NHL career and the B's hope he's
got a few more left in him.
"Generally speaking, you're not going to get a perfect player
on the market at this time. He's been more of a one-dimensional
player over the course of his career," general manager Peter
Chiarelli said of the low-risk move. "But we watched all his
playoff games and he was above average on the defensive side of the
puck, and those playoff games are the high-tempo, high-intensity
(kind). We really looked at that.
"We're not getting him for his defensive capabilities, we're
getting him for his offensive capabilities. And he's highly
motivated because I know he wants to play in the league next year.
He's been a world-class player his whole (career) and he took a
significant, significant pay cut to join our team. I've got to hand
it to him."
Satan (given his usual No. 81, last worn by Phil Kessel) has
been on Long Island, where he used to play with the Islanders, and
has been skating there since the summer, weighing his options and
waiting for the right opportunity to arise. It did about a month
ago when the Bruins contacted his representative.
"It came up pretty quickly. I just think it makes sense for
the team and it makes sense for me, also," said Satan. "I think
this is a team that will have a chance to go deep into the playoffs
and I think the way the team is built, I think it could use a
player like me. There are a lot of different reasons, but after
thinking about it for a while, I wanted to get back on and play
hockey again."
Chiarelli got positive feedback from assistant GM Jim
Benning, who was with Buffalo when Satan played there, and Zdeno
Chara, the B's captain and Satan's Slovakian Olympic teammate.
"He's a smart guy, especially with the puck, he knows how to
find guys when there's an opening, and he's got that soft touch
where he can put the puck in the net," Chara said.
Though Satan has been skating with some of the Isles' injured
players, he conceded it'll be a while before he's ready for action.
"The last few months I've skated a few times a week, but it wasn't
with 25 NHL guys on the ice," said Satan, who added that the
presence of Chara helped influence his decision to join the B's.
"It's usually been two or three guys and one goalie. It was
definitely different, but I felt very good. Better than expected."
