Music: {allcanada} Can Bruins, Canucks keep their teams together?

Thursday, June 16, 2011

{allcanada} Can Bruins, Canucks keep their teams together?

As the Boston Bruins prepare for an 11 a.m. Saturday parade , Vancouver is cleaning up from a postgame riot.

Here are some questions about the Stanley Cup finalists:

Can the Bruins stay together?

They are in good shape. Assuming the cap goes up to $62 million or $63 million, they will have $10 million in room, more if Marc Savard (concussion) isn't ready to start the season. Eighteen players are under contract.

They have to re-sign rookie Brad Marchand, who had a spectacular postseason with 11 goals. Based on what the New York Islanders' Michael Grabner recently got in a five-year deal, he could command up to $3 million.

Mark Recchi has retired, but Tyler Seguin should get more ice time.

Decisions must be made on unrestricted free agent forward Michael Ryder and defenseman Tomas Kaberle.

Kaberle did a good job moving the puck up ice, but he wasn't the magic ingredient on their power play. Do they let him become a free agent?

Can the Vancouver Canucks stay together?

It will be hard to retain their strong defensive corps. They have more cap room than the Bruins do, but five fewer people are under contract.

Kevin Bieksa and Christian Ehrhoff are unrestricted free agents, and Bieksa will be sought after because of his strong playoff run. Sami Salo is also unrestricted. Hurting their budget: defenseman Keith Ballard, a $4.2 million player used little in the playoffs.

Third-liners Maxim Lapierre, Raffi Torres and Jannik Hansen, plus versatile Chris Higgins, are up for contracts.

Would the city of Vancouver want another Canucks run?

Two Canucks trips to the Final in 1994 and 2011. Two Game 7 losses. Two riots.

But the Vancouver Police Department made it clear that the damage had nothing to do with hockey.

Chief Constable Jim Chu blamed the mayhem on "a number of young men and women disguised as Canucks fans who were actually criminals and anarchists. These were people who came equipped with masks, goggles, gasoline, even fire extinguishers that they would use as weapons."

Chu said some culprits were part of a group that tried to disrupt the 2010 Olympics. Police had more than 120 tips as of Thursday morning and were asking people to turn over photos and videos. The Canucks said they had preached the need to act responsibly.

"The destructive actions and needless violence demonstrated by a minority of people last night in Vancouver is highly disappointing to us all," the team said in a statement.

Around the rinks: The Minnesota Wild will name a coach today. … The Bruins' Zdeno Chara, Tim Thomas and Patrice Bergeron will bring the Stanley Cup to NBC's Today show this morning. … Former Washington Capital Olaf Kolzig joined the team as associate goalie coach.