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Scott Burnside discusses Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk's decision to trade Jaromir Jagr to the Bruins and Derek Roy to the Canucks.

Bruins president Cam Neely was on Boston sports radio station 98.5 The Sports Hub on Tuesday afternoon and was asked about his team’s acquisition of forward Jaromir Jagr.

* What did he see in Jagr?:

“Offensively, he’s put up numbers year after year after year. He’s still doing it. He’s a big body, he protects the puck extremely well, especially inserting him into our game. … He’ll help us on the power play, so all those things combine made it fairly easy for us to try to acquire him.”

* Where does he envision Jagr playing for the Bruins?:

“It’ll be interesting to see where it shakes out. I’m sure that he will be inserted in various lines just to see where the best fit might be. Right now, [Nathan] Horton’s got it going, [David] Krejci’s played fairly well, pretty consistent throughout the year. I would assume that he may start on a different line than [the top line], but you never know how things will shake out. We’ll have 13 games after tonight, and we’ll see what makes the best fit and gives us the best chance to get production from all three lines.”

BOSTON -- When Lane MacDermid learned he was traded Tuesday morning to the Dallas Stars in exchange for veteran forward Jaromir Jagr, he was surprised but accepted the news with a positive attitude.

“I didn’t see it coming,” MacDermid said. “This could be an opportunity to get some games. I knew it was going to be hard here to get some games in, so it should work out for both parties.”

MacDermid, 23, heads to Dallas along with unsigned draft pick Cody Payne and a conditional second-round draft pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for the future Hall of Famer. Jagr will join the Bruins on Wednesday and will wear his traditional No. 68.

As MacDermid left TD Garden around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon carrying his sticks and with his equipment bag over his shoulder, he joked that he’s been telling everyone he was traded straight up for Jagr.

“It’s kind of cool. Actually, I grew up watching Jaromir play and he’s an amazing player. To be a part of that deal is pretty cool,” he said.

MacDermid played a total of three games for the Bruins this season. Because of his contract status, the Bruins would have lost him through waivers if he were assigned to Providence, so MacDermid remained in Boston as a healthy scratch.

“I was happy to be up here,” he said. “I wasn’t totally expecting to stay up here, so I was happy to be around the club and learn from the guys and coaching staff. It was a good experience.”

As far as being traded, he holds no ill feelings toward the Bruins organization.

“I try not to take things too personally,” he said. “It’s a business and they’re trying to do what’s best for the club. I totally understand.”

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli spoke with MacDermid after the deal was complete.

“He just said, that’s the way the year’s been going and he didn’t want to lose me on waivers, so he’s kept me up,” explained MacDermid. “It was tough to get me in, so this will be an opportunity for me to maybe play some games and get some experience with [Dallas].”

BOSTON -- Jaromir Jagr might not be the answer for the Boston Bruins in 2013, but they’re hoping he’s at least part of it.

The Bruins fell victim to Jarome Iginla's no-movement clause last week when the forward decided he wanted to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins rather than Boston, so Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli turned his focus to another veteran forward and landed Jagr in a deal with the Dallas Stars. The Bruins sent Lane MacDermid, Cody Payne and a conditional second-round pick to Dallas. The draft pick could become a first-rounder depending on how far Boston goes in the playoffs.

The 41-year-old’s presence in Boston will be interesting.

Bruins coach Claude Julien could insert Jagr onto the team’s third line along with Rich Peverley and Jordan Caron right now. Once Chris Kelly -- currently out with a broken left tibia -- returns, a possible line of Jagr, Kelly and Peverley could be a strong combination for the Bruins, with speed and playmaking ability.

One place Jagr should help is on the Bruins’ power play. Boston is ranked 24th in the NHL in power-play percentage at 15.2 percent (14-for-92). Jagr has scored six power-play goals this season with the Stars. Don’t be surprised if he lands on Boston’s top power-play unit.

In the past, Jagr’s reputation as a teammate around the league hasn’t always been great. But some have said that’s changed since he played for the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2011-12 season.

Adding a future Hall of Famer to the locker room could have a positive impact. Look how the Bruins fed off Mark Recchi during his stint in Boston, which ended with a Stanley Cup in 2011. Jagr should be motivated by the possibility of a deep run in the playoffs.

On the ice this season, Jagr has 14 goals and 12 assists for 26 points in 34 games. That would put him fourth on the Bruins in scoring, behind Patrice Bergeron (31 points), Brad Marchand (28) and David Krejci (28).

With the Bruins hosting the Ottawa Senators tonight at TD Garden, it’s too bad Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs doesn’t have his private jet on the ground at Love Field in Dallas. In 62 career games against the Senators, Jagr has 36 goals and 41 assists for 77 points.

Even with Jagr in tow, Chiarelli might not be done dealing. With a little more than 24 hours until Wednesday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, the Bruins could land a defenseman, too.

The Dallas Stars have dealt Jaromir Jagr to the Boston Bruins, but the transaction is still pending a trade call with the league, a source told ESPN.com Tuesday.

The Stars had been talking to Jagr's camp for three weeks about a possible extension but over the past few days had second thoughts with the team fading in the standings.

BOSTON -- Newly acquired Boston Bruins forward Kaspars Daugavins remains a non-roster player because he’s still waiting for approval of his U.S. work visa.

The Bruins claimed the 24-year-old forward off waivers from the Ottawa Senators on March 27, but due to Good Friday and Easter, Daugavins could not obtain permission to work in the states. According to Bruins coach Claude Julien, Daugavins is scheduled to arrive in Boston today, but it’s unclear if he would be available to play against his former team tonight at TD Garden.

“I doubt it,” Julien said. “I’m not going to say ‘no’ and if he shows up, and we feel we need him, but I haven’t talked to upper management about that situation, more than right now they’re trying to get his visa status resolved more than worrying about anything else right now.”

In 19 games for the Senators this season, he had one goal (against Boston) and two assists for three points, including a minus-7 rating.

“I don’t know when he’s going to play his first game, but I’m obviously excited to see a new member of the team and I’m looking forward to meet him,” said Bruins forward David Krejci.

BOSTON -- Boston Bruins forward David Krejci grew up with a poster of Jaromir Jagr on his bedroom wall.

So when informed that the Dallas Stars now seem keen on trading the 41-year-old before Wednesday’s trade deadline, Krejci turned reflective about his boyhood idol.

“He was the best for a long time, and he’s still one of the best right now,” said Krejci, who was just 4 years old when Jagr made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990. “It’s good to see him still do well at his age. I had posters of him when I was a kid. He was obviously my hockey idol.”

The Bruins, a source told ESPN.com, covet Jagr, so you can bet general manager Peter Chiarelli will be on the phone with Dallas executives trying to strike a deal.

The Bruins know their dressing room is likely to change before Wednesday’s 3 p.m. deadline, but they’re trying to remain focused on what is immediately in front of them: a matchup against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

“You try not to think about it because we have a game tonight,” Krejci said. “The trade deadline is tomorrow and we’re not stupid, we know anything can happen. On the other hand, there are things you can’t control, so we’ll focus on the game tonight and whatever happens tomorrow afternoon happens.”

ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Dallas Stars have decided to trade Jaromir Jagr and Boston is a potential landing spot. Writes LeBrun:

The Dallas Stars have decided to trade Jaromir Jagr rather than sign him to a contract extension, a source told ESPN.com Tuesday.

The Stars had been talking to Jagr's camp for three weeks about a possible extension but over the past few days had second thoughts with the team fading in the standings.

Jagr, a pending unrestricted free agent, is certainly a player that the Boston Bruins covet, another source told ESPN.com.

Earlier today in his Bruins mailbag, ESPNBoston.com's James Murphy mentioned Jagr as a player the Bruins should target.

The Bruins snapped a two-game losing streak with a 2-0 shutout win at Buffalo on Sunday behind a brilliant 26-save performance from Anton Khudobin. David Krejci scored his eighth goal of the season to snap a scoreless tie 12:54 into the third period and Nathan Horton got his 11th of the season just less than three minutes later to add some insurance.

Khudobin shines -- If not for Khudobin, this game could have gone awry for the Bruins. They gave up some odd-man rushes in the first period and not until about the halfway mark did they start to limit legit scoring chances from the Sabres. But Khudobin, as he has been many times despite being a backup, was up to the task and continues to be there when Tuukka Rask needs relief or the team needs a lift.

Horton, Lucic finally waking up -- While they had trouble converting scoring chances throughout the first two periods, Horton and Milan Lucic finally appear to be waking up. Both were much more physical and were able create space and scoring chances. Horton helped create the space for Krejci, who scored the dirty type of goal this line needs more of. Then Horton scored his third goal in as many games, with Lucic getting a helper. It is a good sign to finally see Horton and Lucic do their jobs, helping the crafty Krejci out.

Another goalless first period -- For the seventh straight game, the Bruins failed to light the lamp in the first period and failed to have the start they need to climb out of their current funk. They need to set the tone early and make opponents know they’re in for a difficult game.

Men in stripes answer Julien’s call -- Claude Julien has been very vocal recently about how he believes embellishment is ruining the game. He saw two such calls in one period Sunday night. Sabres pest Steve Ott got sent to the penalty box for embellishment after he was hit from behind by Zdeno Chara, who got a cross-checking penalty on the play. Then just less than five minutes later, Bruins forward Tyler Seguin got the same treatment as the referee deemed he embellished after being held by Christian Ehrhoff.

Thankfully for Bruins, no Vanek Sunday -- Sabres sniper Thomas Vanek has lit up the Bruins this season with three goals and two assists in three games against them this season. Thankfully for the Bruins, Vanek wasn’t in the lineup Sunday as he missed his third straight game with a muscle strain. Vanek leads the Sabres in points with 33 and goals with 16.

Bartkowski returns; Johnson sits -- After being scratched for the last two games -- one of them because he was supposed to be traded in a package for Jarome Iginla -- defenseman Matt Bartkowski was back in the lineup and Aaron Johnson was up top in the press box with Lane MacDermid as a healthy scratch. Bartkowski logged 11:05 on ice and got his first career NHL point assisting on Krejci’s goal.

Here’s what the lineup looked like:

Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Tyler Seguin
Jay Pandolfo-Rich Peverley-Jordan Caron
Daniel Paille-Gregory Campbell-Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Andrew Ference-Dennis Seidenberg
Aaron Johnson-Johnny Boychuk

Anton Khudobin
Tuukka Rask

For numerous reasons, the NHL's trade deadline can't come fast enough for the Boston Bruins.

There seems to be a sense of nervousness with the Bruins, and even coach Claude Julien admitted recently he could feel a tense environment with the team. It didn't help when star-studded forward Jarome Iginla, this year's biggest trade chip, decided to waive his no-movement clause and join the Pittsburgh Penguins instead of the Bruins.

Before April 3, Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli needs to make additions to this current roster. The Bruins need a spark. They can't continue to play like they did on Saturday, losing to a struggling Philadelphia Flyers team, 3-1 at Wells Fargo Center.

The Bruins entered the game with a 9-1-1 record in the last 11 games versus the Flyers, but Boston could not generate any sustained offense against Philadelphia and were sluggish for the first 40 minutes. The Bruins played better in the third period but it was too late.

"Another one of those nights where you're not able to sustain anything," coach Claude Julien said. "Whether we had a better start even though we had fallen behind 1-0, I thought we were moving the puck quick and we had some jump. But we allow a power play goal and fall behind."

The Bruins lacked desire and failed to gain control of the Northeast Division. With the loss, Boston's fifth in the last seven games, the Bruins sit in second place with 46 points. The Montreal Canadiens have 47 points and host the New York Rangers tonight at Bell Centre.

The Bruins missed an early opportunity when they couldn't convert on their first power play of the game, less than a minute in against the Flyers.

Philadelphia, however, has the best power play in the league and proved it again when the Flyers took a 1-0 lead at 15:19 as Mike Knuble provided his fourth goal of the season. It was the fifth consecutive power-play goal for Philadelphia. Overall, the Flyers have capitalized on 32 of 129 chances while on the man-advantage.

Philadelphia gained a two-goal lead when the Flyers' Matt Read scored at 3:18 of the second period. The Bruins did not respond in any aspect of the game for the rest of the period.

Whatever Julien said to his players during the second intermission worked because the Bruins showed a little bit of life at the start of the third. Nathan Horton cut Boston's deficit to one goal when he pumped in a rebound at the five-minute mark. That's all the Bruins could muster and Philadelphia added an empty-net goal with 58.4 seconds remaining in regulation for a 3-1 final.

"Yeah, we had our chances," Horton said. "I think we were working hard but just couldn't buy a goal and maybe [we were] gripping our sticks a little too much. Once they got the lead they were playing back. Like I said, we had our chances, though."

Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov finished with 33 saves. The Bruins' Tuukka Rask made 19 saves.

The Bruins need to find their identity and soon.

"You get some spurts where you're seeing some good things but then the next line going up can't follow up," Julien said. "So we are not able to sustain much right now. The biggest challenge is every game we have one line that's scoring and the other three don't do a thing. Then it's a different line another game and then the other three don't do it. We can't win hockey games with just relying on one line per night producing for us.

"It's not always the same line it's a different line. There's definitely some catching up to do. I thought the second period was probably the most disorganized or erratic from our end of it. Guys fanning on one timers, bobbling pucks, and just guys squeezing their sticks. We have to relax a little bit but we also have to wake up and start playing Bruins hockey because that's not what we are playing right now."

BOYCHUK BACK: After missing three games with a foot injury, Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk was back in the lineup. He was hit on the foot by a puck during practice on March 25 in Ottawa and was placed on injury reserve last Wednesday. He practiced on Friday and showed no ill effects.

"I feel pretty good," he told NESN's Naoko Funayama during the first intermission.

As a result of Boychuk's return, fellow defenseman Matt Bartkowski was a healthy scratch.

KRUG ASSIGNED: On Friday, the Bruins assigned defenseman Torey Krug to Providence of the AHL. The 21-year-old prospect was recalled Wednesday afternoon after the Bruins thought they had a trade in place for Iginla and scratched Bartkowski. Krug logged a total of 15:47 of ice time and registered an assist against the Montreal Canadiens. It was his third NHL game since the Bruins signed him a year ago after he finished his collegiate career at Michigan State University.

UP NEXT: It's a quick turnaround for the Bruins. They leave Philly and travel to Buffalo where the Sabres will host Boston at 7:30 p.m. Sunday night.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- The Bruins are probably relieved that the April portion of their schedule is about to begin. It wasn't quite "The Ides Of March" for them but they admittedly have not been the team that got off to such a great start this season. The Bruins are 8-5-2 this month as they hit the road for their final two games of March -- in Philadelphia on Saturday and Buffalo on Sunday. They would like nothing more than to close the month out with two wins but to do that they realize they need to regain that mental state of consistency with themselves and in the dressing room atmosphere.

"Consistency is a mindset and that's a mindset we need to get back in this dressing room," defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. "If we can do that every day and maintain that, we'll win more hockey games."

In recent games, specifically their last two against Montreal, the Bruins have seemed more concerned about what the Canadiens were doing or how the referees were calling the games, citing embellishment by the Habs and losing focus on what they needed to do to improve. While Seidenberg sees less complaining overall, he realizes it's time for the Bruins to take care of what they can do to improve and not blame others or bad breaks.

"I notice less complaining now on the ice but not in the dressing room but everybody does that with the referees but again we need to start looking at ourselves," Seidenberg said. "If you just focus on being the hardest-working guy out there and focus on that and not worry about anything else then we'll be in that mindset. That's what we have to start doing again. If we do, and we make ourselves tough to play against then we'll start winning more consistently."

Seidenberg believes his team can get that consistency going this weekend as long as they don't overlook two teams that are struggling in the Flyers and the Sabres.

"You always have to consider your opponent is motivated to beat you regardless of where they are in the standings or what may be going on there," Seidenberg said of the Flyers. "I'm sure they haven't quit and they want to make the playoffs if they can. They have pride and they're always a tough team to play against."

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Less than 24 hours after Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli publicly explained how a trade for Jarome Iginla fell through because the veteran forward chose Pittsburgh over Boston, the Bruins' players showed no animosity toward the future Hall of Famer.

The Bruins held practice at Ristuccia Arena late Friday morning in preparation for their road game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. After the 80-minute skate, coach Claude Julien and several players said they believe they can compete for a Stanley Cup without the addition of Iginla -- or anyone else, for that matter.

“That was his entitlement,” Julien said. “He’s got a no-trade clause, and when you look at what Pittsburgh’s done, you’ve got to respect the guy’s decision. It was his decision to make, and he made that. It’ll be at the end of the year he’ll see whether he made the right decision or not. Certainly there’s no animosity here. We’re a good team. If he came here, he would have made us better. He’s not here because he went somewhere else. We turn the page because it’s about us right now, it’s not about him.

“I’m still one of those guys who believes we have a really good team here," he added. "Just because we haven’t played our best lately doesn’t make us less of a team. My belief is we will get better here and we’ll move on. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

Bruins assistant captain Andrew Ference was a teammate of Iginla's in Calgary and said he thinks the nondeal is a nonstory.

"You can do fantasy hockey all you want. You can do that with any guy around the league,” Ference said. “We’d love to have [Tampa’s Steven] Stamkos; he’d probably help our power play. I’m sure you could keep doing that, but until something happens, until someone is putting on your sweater, I don’t think there are too many guys who get wrapped up in it. It makes for good TV, I guess, and it’s fun for people to speculate, but within the locker room, we have what we have. If something gets added, it gets added. I don’t think too many guys get wrapped up in it.”

During Chiarelli’s news conference Thursday, he made a point to say the Bruins weren’t going to lie down for any team, especially the Penguins just because their roster is loaded with talent. The Bruins host the Penguins at TD Garden on April 19, and if these teams meet in the Stanley Cup playoffs, no doubt it’ll be high drama given the recent events.

According to Ference, winning a Stanley Cup should be motivation enough no matter what happened with Iginla.

“It’s not sore feelings or insulting,” Ference said. “We have a great team. It’s fully in his right to make that choice where he wants to go. That’s what he’s earned throughout his career with the type of contract that he had, and so be it. It’s no less or more motivating to go win a Stanley Cup. I don’t think anybody’s feelings in this room have changed about that. If you need to look for that much external motivation, I don’t think you’re fit to win one anyways.

“From a team perspective, we’ve had high expectations of ourselves the whole way through and it hasn’t changed," he added. "We fully believe in our ability to win, and that hasn’t changed.”

Thanks to social media, everyone in the hockey world knew the Bruins were on the verge of acquiring Iginla from the Flames in exchange for defenseman Matt Bartkowski, prospect Alexander Khokhlachev and a first-round draft pick. It did not come to fruition because Iginla picked the Penguins, saying he wanted an opportunity to play with Sidney Crosby.

Bruins assistant captain Patrice Bergeron is a close friend of Crosby's (and a Team Canada teammate) and said he understands Iginla’s decision.

“He’s definitely a great player, probably the best player in the world,” Bergeron said of Crosby. “It is fun to play with him, but it’s his decision and there’s nothing we can do about it.

“They’re a great team, so there’s always motivation to play Pittsburgh, so I don’t think it should change anything. We’re confident in our team, and it’s always been that way. To me, it doesn’t matter.

"It comes down to the game’s got to be played on the ice. It’s never on paper you win games. They’re a great team, obviously, but so are we.”

Realistically, there has to be some sort of disappointment for the Bruins. Still, they said all the right things after practice, and seem focused on improving their game down the stretch and into the playoffs.

“I can guarantee there’s no deflation here,” Julien said. “We’re a good team, and our guys believe in themselves in there. Would he have made our team better? Sure. We know what he brings, but we’re still a good team. We’ve got good chemistry in that dressing room, and right now we’re very comfortable with what we’re going to move forward with and we’ll get the most out of everybody because they’re committed to it.”

Chiarelli explained to Bartkowski the business aspect of the game, then the GM reiterated what he said during Wednesday’s news conference, that the young defenseman is a talented player. On Tuesday, the Bruins signed Bartkowski to a one-year, one-way deal worth $650,000, which seemed to be a precursor to a trade. When the Iginla deal did not go through, Bartkowski said he was happy.

“It was out of my hands,” Bartkowski said. “During the game, I was hearing rumors and everybody was saying, ‘It’s a done deal,’ and stuff like that. Then at 12:30, look on the Internet and he’s traded to Pittsburgh, so I was pretty relieved and happy because I wouldn’t have signed that deal if I didn’t want to be here and didn’t like it here. I was pretty happy when I heard it didn’t go through.”

Since Chiarelli already had the discussion with the young defenseman, Julien did not talk with Bartkowski.

“Players know, just like coaches, that we’re expendable and it’s part of the business. I look at it in a different way where no matter what, [at least] somebody wants you, and you’re good enough that you’re considered, so I certainly wouldn’t take it as an insult. To get that kind of player, you had to give up something good, and that’s what he is, a good player,” he said.

There was one player in the Bruins' locker room who seemed anxious to play the Penguins on April 19.

“Every time we play against them, it’s a tight battle, so I’m sure it’s not going to be any different when we play them in three weeks,” Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said. “We love having challenges in this room. We seem to thrive in them, and it’ll be a good game.”

Let’s put those Martin St. Louis trade rumors to bed.

For whatever reason, the star winger’s name has been bandied about in media speculation ahead of Wednesday’s trade deadline, most recently as a possible fit for Boston, but it won't happen.

At least not according to the GM of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"Marty St. Louis is not going to be traded," Steve Yzerman told ESPN.com on Friday. "He remains one of the best players in the league and an extremely important player to our team, both on and off the ice. We are a team in transition, we just made a coaching change, Marty is one of the leaders of the team, he is not going anywhere."

From the beginning, the St. Louis trade rumors never made a whole lot of sense. He has two more years on his deal, so it’s not like he’s a pending unrestricted free agent who would top the rental market like Jarome Iginla did before being moved this week.

Yes, St. Louis is 37 years old, and perhaps people wondered whether he’d want to go elsewhere to win a Cup with Tampa struggling. But St. Louis matters so much more to the Tampa organization than just what he does on the ice, which on its own remains impressive enough. He’s still an all-world player. But that’s just half the story in terms of his value to the Lightning.

At a morning skate last month at Madison Square Garden, I was sitting beside Yzerman in the stands, watching his team practice.

One by one the players left the ice at the end of the skate, leaving only St. Louis and superstar Steven Stamkos on the ice -- the pair sticking around longer to take more shots on goal.

Which prompted Yzerman to talk about how much it means when your stars also are among the hardest-working guys on your team, leading by example with their work ethic.

So when the St. Louis trade rumors began recently, I thought back to that moment and felt there was no way Yzerman could even think that way.

St. Louis has a full no-move clause, but that’s not even the point. The GM needs his veteran star around to continue to be a model for his group.

Would he be a fit in Boston? Well, yeah. He’d be a fit on about almost any team in the league, aside from perhaps Pittsburgh, where the Penguins have run out of locker room stalls.

However, I will repeat one of my famous "no-trade" anecdotes, when one year I quoted then-Calgary GM Darryl Sutter as saying he wasn’t trading Dion Phaneuf, only to see him traded to Toronto about three weeks later.

But in this case, I’m taking Yzerman at his word.

BOSTON -- So where do Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli and his staff go from here? After not winning the Jarome Iginla "sweepstakes," as he referred to it Thursday afternoon, can the Bruins still go out and find the pieces that will help them win their second Stanley Cup in three seasons?

"We will continue to try to improve our team. We're in a lot of these deals, and we feel that we can improve our team. We have some days left and opportunity to try and to do it," Chiarelli said after explaining the collapse of a trade for Iginla, whom the Calgary Flames instead dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in accordance with his wishes.

"There's players out there, and we're in on players," Chiarelli said. "There's always other players, and that was a good player, that was a real good player. There's always other players. The circumstances change, as far as, from the [salary] cap perspective for next year. It's going down, so you have to look. It makes rentals a little bit more valuable this year to a group of teams, including ourselves. So, you have to be a little bit more creative, then you have to open up your decision process to more things and take it from there."

Make no mistake -- Chiarelli didn't hide it one bit on Thursday -- the Bruins GM may very well have been Santiago and Iginla the marlin.

But Chiarelli is not about to go into a long slumber this Easter weekend. Instead he plans to do what it takes to bring in the player(s) who can help his team find its game again. He believes the players whom he already has can work harder to find it as well.

"We've got stuff to work on. It's hard to work on things when you don't have a lot of practice time," Chiarelli said. "You value rest and recovery greater than the practice time. Being patient with these dips is one thing in a full season; being patient with them in a pressed season, when you have to have this rest and recovery time, is difficult.

"But you still have to be patient because you know, you trust in your players. They're a good team. We have to be better in a number of areas, but we're getting points, and we also know that the prize is after the regular season. We're committed to fixing these things. I'm committed to trying to improve the team also."

Patience has always been Chiarelli's greatest asset. There have been seasons past when many couldn't understand why he didn't go all in as he did with Iginla. Plenty of criticism was cast upon him in 2008 when he was unable to net another big fish, Marian Hossa -- another player whom Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero was able to lure.

But while the Penguins advanced to the Stanley Cup finals with Hossa in 2008, it wasn't until the following season -- after Hossa spurned them in free agency to sign with the Detroit Red Wings, who had beaten them in the finals in 2008 -- that the Penguins won their latest Stanley Cup.

Would Iginla have helped this current Bruins team that until Wednesday, when they put up five goals in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Canadiens, has struggled mightily to score and score timely goals? Of course he would have. But while Chiarelli on Thursday sarcastically referred to the Penguins as a "lock," Iginla and the other two additions they made over the last week, forward Brenden Morrow and defenseman Douglas Murray, don't guarantee anything. The Penguins are clear favorites to hoist Lord Stanley, but the Cup will end up going to the team that's playing the best in June, not now.

That's why Chiarelli promised Bruins fans he will use the cap space he has to bring in a defenseman and a forward before the trade deadline next Wednesday. Chiarelli also noted that while he has focused mainly on rental players who will be unrestricted free agents on July 5, he understands he may need to allocate that cap space to players who have time left on their contracts.

"It's easier, or less difficult, to keep your same core and not stray from that," Chiarelli said. "But I'm open to all avenues to improve the team. We've got a lot of tools we can work with. The path of least resistance is the one you referred to earlier, regarding just adding a rental player. That's kind of been my path for a while this year. That may have to change now."

That means the Bruins are willing to do whatever it take to right this ship. They could conceivably target UFAs like Sharks forward Ryane Clowe or Edmonton defenseman and Boston native Ryan Whitney.

There are plenty of players who are under contract next season and beyond who could be acquired. Tampa Bay Lightning veteran Martin St. Louis is rumored to be available, though nothing has been confirmed.

In the end, maybe it won't be the marlin that helps the Penguins win. Perhaps Chiarelli's patience will pay off, and the potential addition of two role players -- like the ones he added in 2011 in Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly -- will awake the Bruins from their recent slumber.

BOSTON -- Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli felt compelled Thursday to explain how things went south after coming agonizingly close to acquiring this season's biggest trade chip in forward Jarome Iginla, who ended up in Pittsburgh instead.

It was a crushing disappointment for the Bruins organization, and Chiarelli wanted to explain to the fans exactly what happened.

"It's tough," Chiarelli said. "We're talking about a really good player. It's like on July 1 when you're trying to sign a player, and you do everything you can to try to convince the player, and while we couldn't talk to the player in this instance, and then you don't get him, there's a real high, then a real low. You get used to it. This kind of stuff happens all the time. It shouldn't but it does. The reality of no-move and no-trade clauses, it's going to happen more.

"It's a disappointment, but you get back on your horse and you find some more players."

Chiarelli showed no ill will toward the Calgary Flames organization or GM Jay Feaster.

"He's a gentleman," Chiarelli said. "I don't know Jarome, but I've obviously being from Canada I've followed him close over the years, and obviously his career speaks for itself."

In the end, Iginla opted for the hotter team in joining the Penguins, who've won 13 straight. The future Hall of Famer explained his decision Thursday afternoon in Calgary.

"I wasn't fully sure what was going on, but I knew Pittsburgh was in the mix with Boston," he said. "They're both amazing cities, very successful organizations, and great teams. As far as when it comes down to the choice that I had in one or the other, it's really hard as a player to pass up the opportunity to play on a team with Sid Sidney Crosby] and [[Evgeni] Malkin and the roll that they're on and the success they had."

The Bruins and the Penguins are two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and even though Pittsburgh's roster is loaded with talent and seemed to be the favorites to win the conference, Chiarelli said the Bruins aren't ready to concede anything.

"They're a lock, right?" Chiarelli said sarcastically. "They're a good team.

"Here's what I think. Pitt, and God bless them because I like [general manager] Ray Shero and the whole group there, Pitt has been on this amazing run and we've been a little in and out lately. We're a very good team and as the winds blow the last couple of days, that's how it goes."

The thought of the Bruins facing the Penguins in the Stanley Cup playoffs entices Chiarelli.

"They're a real good team," Chiarelli said. "You've seen our games against them and I would welcome it. When we're going, we play a real good game that matches up well against them. We're shutting them down and we're playing a heavier game. You see what they've added, they've added heavier players, so they know what it takes. Again, I'm not laying down for them, but they know what it takes."