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The Boston Bruins have signed ex-Star goalie Marty Turco. Boston backup Tuuka Rask is out 4-6 weeks with a lower abdomen/groin strain. Turco has to clear waivers and won't be eligible for the playoffs.

Here's an excerpt from the Bruins' release on the signing:

Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed goaltender Marty Turco to a one-year contract. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed at this time.

Turco will be placed on waivers and if he clears waivers, he will join the Bruins on Wednesday, March 7. Please also note that if he does clear waivers, he will not be eligible to play in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs should the Bruins qualify, as he is joining the club after the Trade Deadline.

The full release is here.

Former Stars goaltender Marty Turco led Austria's Red Bull Salzburg to a 3-2 victory over Helsinki Jokerit in the championship game of the European Trophy on Sunday.

Turco, who stopped 32 of 34 shots in Sunday’s game, ended the tournament with a 3-0 record, 1.95 goals against average and .950 save percentage (114 saves on 120 shots).

The European Trophy official site is here.

Former Stars goalie Marty Turco has signed a deal to play for EC Red Bull Salzburg of Austria in the Red Bulls Salute, the final tournament of the European Trophy.

Turco arrived in Salzburg, Austria Monday and said: “I feel fit and ready to win,” according to the club’s official web site.

The tournament features eight teams from around Europe and runs from December 16 to December 18.

Here are some photos from last night's Dallas Stars-Chicago Blackhawks game.You can see all Shannon Byrne's photos here or by clicking below on the image of Brenden Morrow and Marty Turco.

ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun has a good story on Marty Turco not getting the start in tonight's game against the Chicago Blackhawks. It begins:

Marty Turco won't get to start against his old team Wednesday night, but don't go sniffing for a big story from the veteran netminder.

"I'd be doing the same thing if I were [coach] Joel Quenneville. I am fine with it," Turco told ESPN.com on Tuesday.

Youngster Corey Crawford will try for his seventh straight win in the Blackhawks' net when the Dallas Stars visit the United Center, and while Turco can't wait to face his former team, it'll have to wait. The Blackhawks have three more games against the Stars, including a first game back to Dallas on Feb. 11. Now that one would be special.

"The first return to Dallas, that's the one you circle," Turco said.

The rest of the story is here.

Former Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco was formally introduced as the new goaltender of the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

ESPNChicago.com's Jesse Rogers has a video interview and a story on Turco here.

ESPNChicago.com's Melissa Isaacson has a piece on Turco here and it includes some thoughts from Blackhawks legend Tony Esposito:

"This is his prime, the next three, four or five years …" Esposito said. "You've got the experience and you're able to handle the pressure better. When I knew they had an opportunity to get him, I knew that it would be good for this team. He's a guy that's been around. He's healthy and not that old. He can play for another several years and, with this defense we've got, he'll do really well."

During his news conference in Detroit today Mike Modano was asked if he had thought about facing Marty Turco, who has gone from teammate to big divisional rival after signing with the Chicago Blackhawks. Modano said the topic came up while he, Turco and others were golfing together this week in Scotland.

“A little bit. We just spent eight days in Scotland, so we went over that scenario a lot and even with [Brenden] Morrow and players I am still obviously going to be good friends with that are in Dallas. The times have changed and players move on, but I am always going to have some good friends down there. We’re always competitive in everything we do, even in golf over there as well. I’m glad for Marty. It was a little different scenario for him, where he was kind of shown the door and had to make a choice as well. I’m happy for him that he landed somewhere that needed him. We’ll see how it happens when we play.”

Things have a funny way of working out. When Antti Niemi and Michael Leighton backstopped their teams to the Stanley Cup Final some people said it could have teams trending cheaper goaltenders.

Now, Niemi is out in Chicago because he's not as cheap as he used to be and Marty Turco, who used be anything but cheap, is taking his place. In a summer when there was a market for bargain goaltenders, Turco slapped a bargain basement sticker on himself and it paid off.

"I had offers from other teams and multiyear deals, but I had a chance to be a part of this great organization,” Turco told reporters in a conference call Monday. “Waiting, especially looking at it from today, doesn't seem that difficult."

For Chicago GM Stan Bowman, who has been struggling with his team’s salary cap situation all summer, the decision didn’t seem all that difficult. Parting ways with Niemi, who was awarded $2.75 million in arbitration, and bringing in a guy like Turco for $1.3 million was much needed cap relief.

Give Turco credit. This wasn’t about money for him. He took a big pay cut from the $5.4 million he made last season for a chance to win. If things go well this season a better contract could be down the road. But this was less about a contract and more about an opportunity.

“I’ve played a long time and seen a lot of ups and downs in the NHL,” Turco said. “I’ve been around some good teams and the last two years not making the playoffs cemented my belief in how I work and what makes me tick. And that’s to have an opportunity to win. That’s what the Chicago Blackhawks from top to bottom are all about.”

And Turco will have a chance to win in Chicago, and he can help the Blackhawks win too. Sure, he’s had a couple of subpar seasons. But he’s also had some very good stretches of play as well during that time, and his last two playoff performances were strong. Change can be good and Turco, who turns 35 later this month, can still be a very effective goaltender. Chicago might just be the place to show it. His puckhandling should be fun to watch with the Blackhawks’ mobile defense.

Chicago has taken a hit this offseason because of cap issues, but the key players left are still an impressive bunch: Toews, Kane, Hossa, Sharp and Bolland are among the forwards and Keith, Seabrook, Campbell and Hjalmarsson are the top four on defense. That’s still a very good team.

That Turco could end up in Chicago started to look like a strong possibility about a week ago. That’s when the Niemi arbitration hearing started to approach. A look at Chicago’s cap situation, a few quick calculations and the picture was clear: unless Niemi agreed to a hometown discount on a contract or lost big time in arbitration, there was no way Chicago could fit him into the mix. When an arbitrator awarded Niemi $2.75 million, the handwriting seemed to be on the wall. The Blackhawks had already lost some good players this summer, and they couldn’t afford to lose more to keep Niemi.

Chicago’s paying the price for some cap mismanagement. But at least they got a Stanley Cup before the cap crunch came. Niemi played a part in that Cup win, but he wasn’t the driving force. He had some good moments in the postseason and at the end of the day he ended up outplaying the guy at the other end in four series.

Full marks to Niemi for his playoff performance, but the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup win didn’t revolve around Niemi, and he became another cap casualty as Chicago moved forward. Turco was there to fill the void and along with it comes a great opportunity for the former Stars’ netminder.

Former Dallas Stars goaltender Marty Turco is now a member of the Chicago Blackhawk. ESPNChicago.com is reporting that the Blackhawks have decided to walk away from a $2.75 million dollar arbitration ruling for Stanley Cup winning goaltender Antti Niemi, and have signed Turco to fill the void.

Turco's contract is for one year and $1.3 million.

“Joining the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks is an unbelievable opportunity for me both professionally and personally,” Turco said in a release on the Blackhawks' official site. “The Blackhawks are a first-class organization in a world-class city and at this point in my career I am excited to be a part of a team that will give me such a good chance to win the Stanley Cup.”

Turco became an unrestricted free agent on July 1. It became apparent the Stars were moving in a different direction in net when the team acquired Kari Lehtonen from Atlanta at last season’s trade deadline. A few days after the regular season ended Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk made it official that the Stars were parting ways with Turco, who had been the team’s No. 1 goalie for the past seven seasons.

Turco, 34, posted a 262-154-63 record, 2.31 goals against average a .911 save percentage. He holds the franchise marks for games played (509), wins (262) and shutouts (40).

In the playoffs he had 21-26 playoff record, 2.17 goals against average and .914 save percentage. He was key in the Stars going to the Western Conference Finals in 2008 and tied a playoff record with three shutouts in a series in first round loss to Vancouver in 2007. But he struggled in earlier playoff appearances, when the Stars experienced quick playoff exits.

Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com is reporting that the arbitrator in the Antti Niemi case has awarded the Chicago Blackhawks goaltender a one-year contract worth $2.75 million.

It's an interesting decision. A lot of people thought Jaroslav Halak was a comparable in this case and they turned out to be right. That $2.75 million is the exact amount Halak will be paid in the first year of his four-year, $15 million deal with the St. Louis Blues.

The Blackhawks now have 48 hours to decide whether they are going to accept the Niemi offer or walk away from it. There's also the option of trying to trade him.

What ever happens here should get things moving in the goaltender market and help determine where former Stars goaltender Marty Turco ends up. Stay tuned.

The Chicago Blackhawks and goaltender Antti Niemi had their arbitration hearing in Chicago Thursday. A ruling from the arbitrator is expected by Saturday. It’s a situation worth watching if you’re interested in what could happen with former Stars goalie Marty Turco.

Once the arbitrator announces a contract for Niemi the Blackhawks will have 48 hours to make a decision. They can accept it and sign Niemi or they can walk away from it, making him an unrestricted free agent. There's also the option of accepting the arbitrator's ruling on the contracti and then trading Niemi.

If the Blackhawks decide to part ways with Niemi, then Turco could come into play as a free agent signing. His name has surfaced in recent days as an option for the Blackhawks. So has Jose Theodore's.

Chicago GM Stan Bowman wouldn’t say if he has talked to Turco.

"There are lots of goaltenders on the market we're evaluating,” he told reporters during a conference call Thursday evening.

Of course if Niemi remains a Blackhawk, then the speculation on where Turco might land will shift to other teams. Philadelphia is still one team that pops up in Turco discussions. The Flyers are tight against the cap, but they have eight defensemen and could make a move to free up some space. Although the Sharks signed Antero Niittymaki earlier this month, I still think they could be in the market for a No. 1 goalie. Perhaps there is something else out there.

But the Niemi decision appears to be the first step in the process as far as getting things moving on the goaltender front, and a resolution is coming soon.

Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com has more on Niemi’s arbitration here.

Kurt Overhardt, Marty Turco's agent, said Tuesday that the former Stars goaltender has three possible landing spots, but that nothing has been decided yet.

"We hope to have something resolved in 7 to 10 days," Overhardt said. "He's going to play with a contending team."

Turco, 35, has been on the free agent market for some time now, waiting for things to shake out. One strong possibility is Chicago, where the Blackhawks could decide to walk away from Antii Niemi, who stepped up and led them to the Stanley Cup this past season.

Check out this story on ESPNChicago.com about the Niemi arbitration hearing, scheduled for Thursday. But if the Blackhawks decide not to pay Niemi, they could opt for Turco as the backup plan.

Stay tuned. We should know something soon.

General manager Joe Nieuwendyk said Tuesday that the Stars will not re-sign goaltender Marty Turco, who just completed his ninth season with the team.

For more, click here.

DALLAS -- The Stars are outshooting Anaheim, 13-6, after one period, but we're scoreless at American Airlines Center.

Still, lots of buzz in the building tonight because the Stars are showing highlights and facts from the careers of Mike Modano, Marty Turco and Jere Lehtinen. All three have played well. Modano looks like he definitely has his legs tonight and has had a few scoring opportunities.

Modano got the biggest ovation near the end of the period, when some of his 15 franchise records were put on the big board.

The Stars got a late power play with 39.6 seconds left when Loui Eriksson was a victim of boarding. It will be interesting to see if young defenseman Philip Larsen gets some power play time when the second period resumes.

Evgeni Nabokov made 27 saves for his 50th career shutout, and the San Jose Sharks clinched a playoff berth while climbing back atop the Western Conference standings with a 3-0 victory over the Stars on Thursday night.