Posted by Mike Petraglia

It might be time to start asking just who is Blake Wheeler.

Need to get Blake a Red Sox hat now that he's in Boston.

He changed his uniform number before the game from 42 to 26. He scored his first career hat trick as the Bruins beat the Maple Leafs, 5-2, Thursday night at TD Banknorth Garden.

Wheeler is now tied with Toronto’s Mikhail Grabovski for the NHL rookie goal lead with 6. … Dennis Wideman won $100 for scoring the goal on Andrew Ference’s 100th career assist. Ference said before the game he would offer the reward to the lucky goal-scorer. Thursday marked Zdeno Chara’s 700th career game.

Now for the stars of the game.

Blake Wheeler gives props to his line mates of Marco Sturm and David Krejci.

Wheeler on his number change.

Wheeler on bringing his A-game every night.

Tim Thomas said the 5-on-3 penalty kill in the third period was the key to the game since Boston led only, 3-1.

Andrew Ference collected his 100th career assist and explains why Thursday was such a big win.

Posted by Joe Haggerty

A Steel Cage match with the Looch for #17 perhaps? Then again...maybe not.

The Bruins made it five wins in their last six games with a 5-2 win over the NHL’s version of the Red Sox — the Toronto Maple Leafs – last night at the TD Banknorth Garden.

The hats were once again cascading down onto the ice for the second time in three home games for the Bruins as 6-foot-4 rookie winger Blake Wheeler poured in three different types of scores [a tip-in, a nice one-on-one move to deke out the goalie in the slot and a good old-fashioned empty netter to ice things] for his first professional hat trick — including an empty net gift from blueliner Andrew Ference with 53 seconds left to go in the game.

It’s been a big week for Wheeler as Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli pulled the rookie aside on the plane home from Western Canada and told the strapping youngster a pair of pretty encouraging things: A) start looking for some permanent housing in Boston after setting up shop in a Boston hotel for the first six weeks of the season and B) the time had come for Wheeler to change sweaters from the number 42 he had been assigned in training camp to a more desired Black and Gold sweater with the number 26 on the back. Those were a couple of encouraging signs from Bruins management that the kid belongs in the Show, and the 22-year-old may just be in Boston for good.

“I always kind of knew all along that I wanted to change numbers, and I remember a lot of good guys at Minnesota wore #26 like Thomas Vanek when he played there. And [Phil Kessel] too, but that’s not why I switched it. It’s just always been a cool number,” said Wheeler, who said he briefly considered 27 and had been #17 for his entire life but wisely didn’t attempt to battle with the Looch for his jersey number. “I guess it’s whatever perspective you take on it. I think all along I’ve just wanted to be a part of this team and just a part of this locker room because they are so many great players in here and it’s such a great organization. I take a lot pride going into the room over there and adding two points to our team totals more than anything else. We’re working towards something a lot bigger than anyone’s personal stats and obviously it’s great to contribute but there are a lot of other ways to contribute other than just putting up points. I just try to come into every game and do what it takes to help the team win. If that means scoring, then that’s great, but there’s a lot of other ways to contribute.

“I think the guys really wanted to try and get me that third [goal], though,” added Wheeler.  “You get that feeling, we were out there for quite a bit of time and you could hear [Shawn] Thornton from the bench screaming ‘stay out there.”

The big right winger now leads all NHL rookies with the six goals on the season and makes Chiarelli and Co. look extremely prescient for winning the battle to secure his free agent rights after he finished up his junior year with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Following that third college hockey season Wheeler came looking for a pro job, and nobody could have guessed he would have fit in this seamlessly. It also begs the question of what in the wide, wide world of sports the Phoenix Coyotes were thinking in letting the high first round draft pick skate away scot-free without signing him before the CBA-imposed deadline.

Perhaps that’s why the Bruins are becoming a player development machine for up-and-coming hockey players while competing in the competitive Northeast Division and the ole Phoenix Prarie Dogs are chilling in the basemen of the Pacific Divsion out west.

“Anything can happen. You could change your number and then stink it up for two weeks straight and get sent down [to Providence],” said Wheeler when asked if the uniform change meant he was a permanent member of the team this season. “It’s great to have that sense, but you can’t get too comfortable. There’s always somebody that could take your spot just as easily as you got it.”

Who doesn't love a cannolli?

After getting the word from the B’s to start looking for a permanent residence, Wheeler settled on a dwelling in the North End and is actually across the street from a unit shared by the Odd Couple of Milan Lucic and Mark Stuart, so he was looking forward to his first introduction to cannollis at Mike’s Pastry on Hanover Street.

“He’s the Real Deal and I’ve said that all along,” said Julien. “That’s why we kept him [after training camp].”

No word on whether Julien thinks that the chocolate chip cannollis from Mike’s are also the “Read Deal.”

–The Bruins “Peach Fuzz” power play, as inimitable NESN play-by-play guy Jack Edwards likes to call it, continues to rack up power play strikes and add to a growing competition between the two man advantage units. Bruins coach Claude Julien interchanged Milan Lucic and Wheeler on the second unit along with Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference, David Krejci and Phil Kessel, and the PP squad piled up two more goals within the first eight minutes of the game. One with Looch screening in front of the net and another with Wheeler redirecting a Wideman feed.

The first was a Wideman bomb from the left point that was aided by Krejci and Lucic both criss-crossing in front of the net and screening Toronto netminder Vesa Toskala. The second was a Wheeler tip of another Wideman shot from the point. In all the Peach Fuzz Unit — a moniker given to the quintet because of the young ages of many of its talented members — has accounted for an impressive 8 of Boston’s 11 total power play strikes on the season.

Wideman has clearly put the power in power play...

“It’s great. I think our power play units are very different,” said Ference. “Obviously we have the young guys that are very active and it’s no secret that Savvy is the quarterback of the other one. Even within our own power play we have a couple of different looks that we’re comfortable with.

“Both units take a lot of pride being out on the ice,” added Ference. “We have young guys that are experiencing a huge increase in power play time as compared to last year. If you look at last year’s power play, the first unit would get the lions’ share of the time and this year it’s a lot more even. It’s a healthy competition for your own pride and the opportunity to stay out there.”

Ference credits Wideman’s offensive abilities at the point as being a key component to really making the second unit thrive — and it’s pretty self-evident during an evening when the gifted Widemanis right in the thick of both power play tallies.

“Dennis and I are comfortable on either side of the ice and we definitely keep the defense on their toes,” added Ference, who was also quick to add that Wideman is $100 richer after his first period goal resulted in the 100th assist of Ference’sNHL career. “It’s definitely nice to play with an offensive defenseman– not in the sense that he’s always up in the play but offensive in the sense that he sees lanes really well and he sees passing and shooting lanes extremely well. It’s hard to explain but it’s nice to be back there with him.”

–During five-on-five play, the line of Marco Sturm/David Krejci/Blake Wheeler acted as a dominant force all evening long, with Wheeler netting the three goal collection — an accomplishment that saw him entertain a horde of curious journalists postgame and also pose for a great scrapbook-style picture with team photog Steve Babineau. The photo featured a smiling Wheeler holding the three pucks from the game inside the Bruins’ dressing room — the kind of image that the player will hold on to for a lifetime. Both Sturm and Krejci likewise finished with a pair of assists each and a +1 rating for the night.

It would seem to the casual observer that just about anybody skating on a line with the puck magician known as the Great Krejci is watching their offensive game get elevated to another level this season. The kid from the Czech Republic is simply special with the puck on his stick and he’s perhaps the best slump buster for a scorer in need of an offensive transfusion.

“David Krejci’sline has been pretty good since Day One withwhoever he’s been with,” said Julien. “I think Marco Sturm found his game again playing on that line and Blake Wheeler has also had success on that line. Players have had success no matter who we put in there.” 

–There were some defensive breakdowns in the third period that accounted for both of Toronto’s scores, but Tim Thomas offered that the first two periods were some of the best and most cohesive defensive play of the season thus far. The Black and Gold were playing Julien’s box-and-one style to perfection and forcing the Maple Leafs into rifling all manner of perimeter shoots — a strategy that cleared a good deal of traffic away from the net and bestowed Thomas with a clean look at the puck as the shots sped toward the net.

“I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping them to the outside and limiting their scoring chances,” said Julien.

Add that to a big kill on a 5-on-3 two man advantage for the Leafs in the third period when it was still a 3-1 hockey game, and Thomas was very complimentary to his team defense after another All-Star worthy 34 save effort. 

“The number of quality scoring chances for at least the first two periods had to be less than five,” said Thomas. “By the end of the second period we had played two of the most solid periods of defense that we’ve played all year. Five-on-five Toronto was like a -2 and I think we were like a +10, so if we could keep the game five-on-five then on paper we felt like we had the advantage.”

Posted by Alex Speier

DANA POINT, Calif.–Baseball executives are now in full retreat to their home cities after the conclusion of the annual G.M. meetings, which ended without any noteworthy deals. With eight days left until teams are free to bid on free agents and establish any kind of terms, there remains an air of uncertainty about the market. Despite indications that several prominent free-agent pitchers will be seeking long-term, big-money deals, the market could either spike or cool down, depending on how deeply teams believe they will be affected by the current economic downturn.

If the cost of pitching continues the upward trends of recent years, the Sox are unlikely to get too involved in bidding for the prominent pitchers. But if the economy dampens the free-agent market and forces more modest salary demands, then the Sox may seek to bolster their rotation.

Red Sox G.M. Theo Epstein suggested that the primary function of the meetings had been to lay the groundwork for future offseason activity.

“We just exchanged a lot of information. I’d say we have a better feel for the landscape now, going forward,” said Epstein. “That may serve us well down the road.”

Based on conversations with executives, here is a rundown of some of the developments that occurred during the four-day stay in Southern California:

–There is a potentially robust trade market for Red Sox centerfielder Coco Crisp. Unlike a year ago, when the presence of free agents such as Torii Hunter, Aaron Rowand, Andruw Jones and Mike Cameron were all available, Mark Kotsay is likely the best–and, to some, the only–starting centerfielder on the market. The Sox would simply seek the best available return if they move Crisp, rather than targeting a specific need. The team is under no imperative to move the outfielder, so they seem to have solid leverage in a deal.

–There is nothing new regarding catcher Jason Varitek. The Sox would like to bring him back on a short-term deal, and agent Scott Boras will advocate for a longer-term deal that would take Varitek past his 40th birthday.

–Teams with catching to offer recognize that they have a scarce commodity, and so they will remain inclined to ask for top Red Sox pitching prospects such as Justin Masterson and Clay Buchholz. The Sox will explore every available option, whether a short-term veteran acquisition  or a younger catcher around whom they can build.

–The notion that the Mariners might make catcher/first baseman Jeff Clement was dismissed. The second overall pick of the 2005 draft is being treated as a core member of Seattle’s lineup. Moreover, there are questions about whether he can stick behind the plate.

–Though the Diamondbacks would seem to have a catching surplus in Chris Snyder and Miguel Montero, Arizona is content to return with both backstops next year unless they are blown away by an offer.

–The Rangers have emphasized a desire to seek major-league starting pitching in exchange for one of their four catchers in the past, but Texas insists that it will be open-minded about the sort of players–whether lower-level pitchers, position-playing prospects or anything else–that it will target this winter. The team also has options on all four of the catchers, and given the departure of Milton Bradley, the team can use its catching surplus to occupy the designated hitter slot as well. As such, the team does not fear a bottleneck that would impede the development of anyone from the group of Taylor Teagarden, Gerald Laird, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Max Ramirez.

–The Sox were pleased to see Dustin Pedroia receive recognition as a Gold Glove second baseman. “It’s great to see him get recognized,” said Epstein. “He’s worked hard over there. He deserves it.”

–The market for shortstop Julio Lugo will likely take time to develop. Padres G.M. Kevin Towers said that he had about “a handful” of teams inquire about the availability of his shortstop, Khalil Greene, and that indications were that most would first wait to see what might take place in the free-agent market (especially with Rafael Furcal) before they got too far down the road in trade talks.

–The Blue Jays are in a bit of an in-between state. Injuries to Dustin McGowan and Shaun Marcum as well as the potential departure of A.J. Burnett could turn a rotation that was the best in the American League into one with too many holes to fill. Toronto believes that it can compete, but if they struggle to identify pieces that would address current holes, then they acknowledge that they may have to step back for a year and let some of their young players get opportunites.

–Though Toronto was interested in Sox shortstop Julio Lugo when he was on the free-agent market two winters ago, the Jays would be unlikely to pursue a buy-low scenario with the shortstop now, in part because of the importance of infield defense behind their pitching staff. The team is happy with its current pairing of Marco Scutaro and John McDonald.

Posted by Joe Haggerty

Uncle Timmy is looking for your vote

The Official Bruins fan write-in campaign to send Tim Thomas to the NHL All-Star game has quickly kicked over at hubhockey.com — where they’ve taken a rather Patriotic view of Thomas’ run to make the All-Star festivities in Montreal during late January.

Big props to the Bruins blog site HubHockey.com for creating a little PhotoShop magic when they combined a poster of Good Old Reliable Uncle Sam with the B’s netminder. The actual voting doesn’t begin until Nov. 12 — and yes, there is a write-in campaign component for wronged puck players like Thomas — and fans can go to www.Vote.NHL.com to let their voices be heard.

No word on whether Tim the Goalie Man is going to start growing a white billy goat/Billy Koch beard to match with the poster. 

–Dallas coach Dave Tippett “addressed some things”with Sean Avery and Steve Ott in light of turning last Saturday night’s game against the Bruins at the TD Banknorth Garden into their own personal Romper Room. The Mike Modano comments about his team being “idiotic and stupid” are being downplayed by the coach, but for a team that I picked to win the Stanley Cup this year the Stars are making me look really, really bad.

–The Joy of playing in New York. If you’re a fan of the NHL then the Puck Daddy blog  at yahoo.com should be required reading – in addition to something I like to call Pucks with Haggs. The Daddy goes on a New York Rangers/media rant that sounds more than a little like something that could just as easily be scrawled on these pages as well. Here’s a good one that’s just as relevant in Boston as it is in the Big Apple: “2. When combined with the amplifier of sports talk radio, they can literally run an athlete or coach out of town if they all get behind the campaign. Or, at the very least, make even the most dedicated athlete look like a greedy bum. ”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

–Even-strength scoring is up 6 percent from what it was last season and a whopping 22 percent from the the final 2003-2004 season of hockey prior to the NHL lockout. Interesting story in USA Today about how the European influence — among other things — has opened up the game along with the change in rules following the lockout.

“I think puck movement…is at an all-time high,” said Anaheim GM Brian Burke in the story. “I think the European influence has really made a difference.”

Scoring is up, fighting is up…looks like the pieces are in place for the NHL to make a real comeback, doesn’t it?

Posted by Rob Bradford

Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia confirmed that he had received word Wednesday afternoon that he was the winner of the 2008 Rawlings American League Gold Glove for his position. Pedroia’s reported that his first two calls upon learning the news were to former Sox infield/first base coach Luis Alicea and fellow infielder Alex Cora. The second-year major leaguer led all American League second baseman who played more than 115 games with a .992 fielding percentage, making six errors in 733 chances.

The news was first leaked out publicly on the Sporting Goods News Wire.

“I really didn’t think about it,” he said of winning the award. “I take pride in my defense, it’s a huge part of my game. In fact, my biggest (priority) is defense. I need to be extremely important to our pitching staff. I put in a ton of time with Luis Alicea and Alex Cora from Day One. It’s only my second year playing second base. I took extra ground balls every single day and it definitely paid off.”

Pedroia was the only member of the Red Sox to earn Gold Glove status, with last year’s winner at first base, Kevin Youkilis, being replaced by this season’s recipient, Tampa Bay’s Carlos Pena. Major League Baseball’s official announcement will take place at 4 p.m.

Pedroia, who began his workouts two days after the completion of the season with Dodgers outfielder Andre Ethier, also credited his diligence last offseason at Athletes Performance with his success in the field throughout the 2008 campaign.

“I got a lot faster in the offseason,” he said. “I put in the time, did all the cardio workouts, speed work, and agility. That really paid off where my range got a lot better and my arm strength got better. I’m not the biggest guy in the world but I can make up with effort in the offseason.”

As for his thoughts on the Red Sox deciding not renew the contract of Alicea, Pedroia would only say, “He’s helped me out a ton. I definitely wouldn’t be a Gold Glove winner if he wasn’t part of it.”

Posted by Alex Speier

Executives and agents are starting to clear out of the St. Regis Monarch Hotel in Dana Point, preparing to go back into hibernation until the winter meetings. We’ll offer final details from these meetings as they trickle in.

An N.L. official suggested that the Marlins’ interest in acquiring a catcher has subsided since the summer, when they explored possible trades with the Rangers on July 31. At the time, the Marlins thought that the Rangers’ demands for pitching prospects were too high to make a deal. Since then, the team has been enthused about the work of John Baker as a signal-caller and hitter. Baker hit .299/.392/.447 in 61 games, and while Florida is still exploring the trade market for catching, the work of the 27-year-old has made their explorations less urgent. The Marlins, it is worth noting, also spent their first-round pick this year on high-school catcher Kyle Skipworth.

“(The Marlins) have one eye on the present, one eye on the future,” the official said.

The Tigers have also said that they are shopping for a catcher, and given that they are parting ways with one expensive veteran in Pudge Rodriguez, it seems unlikely that they would pursue Jason Varitek. Detroit would appear interested in discussing the Rangers’ catchers, but it is unclear whether they have the major-league ready starting pitching that Texas seeks.

Posted by James Stewart

Michael Holley returns to the program!

But wait, there’s more! The Managing Partner and Alternate Governor of the Boston Celtics, Steve Pagliuca will join us at 11:10. Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports will join us at 12:10 to talk about the GM meetings on the west coast. Mo Vaughn will join us at 1:10 to talk about the Red Sox Hall of Fame dinner coming up on Friday Night. You can purchase tickets by CLICKING HERE!

Also we’d like to welcome our new sponsor of the behind the glass blog Flemings.

Posted by Joe Haggerty