Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli has acknowledged more than once this summer that he is working on contract extensions for center Patrice Bergeron and defenseman Zdeno Chara.
But it has been a very busy summer for Chiarelli as he has re-signed the likes of Shawn Thornton, Dennis Seidenberg and Mark Stuart as well as signing top draft pick Tyler Seguin. He also traded for forwards Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell and defenseman David Warsofsky.
That's why it's not surprising to hear that there is nothing new to report on the Bergeron and Chara extension talks. Chiarelli and Chara's agent were unavailable to comment on the matter Tuesday but a source told ESPNBoston.com that it's status quo on Chara, and Bergeron's agent Kent Hughes said the same regarding the center.
"Nothing to report at this point on the contract front," Hughes told ESPNBoston.com.
There has been speculation that the recent arbitration ruling that rescinded Ilya Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102 million deal for circumventing the spirit of the CBA, and the subsequent focus and continuing investigations of similarly front-loaded deals like that of Bergeron's teammate Marc Savard could have an effect on the extension talks with Bergeron and Chara.
But Hughes said he doesn't expect that issue to impact Bergeron because the 25-year-old isn't about to sign a "retirement" contract.
"Kovalchuk is unlikely to impact Patrice on this contract," Hughes said. "He is 25 years old and I don’t anticipate him signing past his 40th birthday. I don’t expect this to be his last contract."
As for Savard -- another one of the Bruins gifted centers in a depth chart that also includes David Krejci, Gregory Campbell and Seguin -- there is no news regarding trade rumors about him. Savard told the Ottawa Sun he was "hurt" by the constant rumors of him being shipped out of Boston and told TSN recently that he has "no idea" what may happen with his seven-year contract that is being investigated.