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EDIT (3 PM): The Bruins have confirmed the roster moves in a press release.
Welp.
Jeremy Smith? Sure, he was up here to get a few NHL looks.
Justin Florek? Yeah, a bottom-6 guy who will fill in when needed.
Alexander Khokhlachev? OK, maybe he needs to work on his skating and defense a bit longer.
Ryan Spooner? True, Claude thinks he can't play defense.
But keeping Bobby Robins and going back to the "we don't want to play like that anymore" gritty fourth line? Over Spooner? Yikes.
Prior to the official announcement, this was leaked by a Twitter user with a source at the Garden:
Smith, Florek, KoKo, Spooner got ✂ today #InsiderBollz
— Jay Bõllz (@Jayboats) October 1, 2014
@bruinshockeynow indeed they will. They want Spoonah but Claude apparently isn't feeling the vibe.
— Jay Bõllz (@Jayboats) October 1, 2014
@bruinshockeynow per my equipment guy sources that just packed them up and sent them on their way yes
— Jay Bõllz (@Jayboats) October 1, 2014
@bruinshockeynow especially with 2 games left. That's why I thought it was weird but that's how they're rolling I guess.
— Jay Bõllz (@Jayboats) October 1, 2014
Jay Bollz has been right about Bruins stuff before, and it still hasn't been confirmed. Honestly, prior to the official word, it seems hard to believe. Bobby Robins was staying in camp longer than Ryan Spooner? Woof.
No disrespect to Robins, who has had a good camp. But he's the epitome of the "heart and grit and not much skill" fourth line the Bruins said they were moving away from. Robins would be great as a fill-in player, stepping in during rough-and-tumble contests. Instead, the Bruins feel he's more prepared to be a regular than highly skilled Spooner.
Prepare yourselves for another season of truculence on the fourth line. Who needs skill anyways? More on this later.