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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Knightfall" data-source="post: 2553589" data-attributes="member: 2012">Bruins Boynton, Raycroft waiting for dealsTSN.ca Staff9/8/2005 5:35:59 PMThe Boston Bruins are downright giddy about their chances this NHL season after a busy period of free-agent signings, but two of their core players remain unsigned with training camp days away.No. 1 goalie Andrew Raycroft and all-star defenceman Nicholas Boynton are restricted free agents who have yet to find a resolution with GM Mike O'Connell."They made a one-year offer that we don't see as being even close to being fair value," Boynton's agent Anton Thun said Thursday. "Where are we right now? I'm not sure."Boynton, 26, is two years away from possible unrestricted free agency. The Bruins declined to pick up a $1.9-million US option on Boynton. He then rejected a $1.33-million qualifying offer.A call to O'Connell was not immediately returned Thursday.A one-year deal appears the only solution unless O'Connell trades away a salary. His free-agent signing spree (Alexei Zhamnov, $4.1 million a year; Brian Leetch, $4 million; Glen Murray, $4.15 million; Dave Scatchard, $2.1 million; Shawn McEachern, $1 million) coupled with re-signing captain Joe Thornton at $6.66 million a season and defenceman Hal Gill at $1.6 million a season has left him with little room under the salary cap _ about $5 million _  to get either Boynton or Raycroft under a long-term deal. That's because it's the average of a contract that counts against the salary cap, not the actual salary this season. So backloading a deal doesn't help."I've spoken with Mike a number of times and given him a variety of proposals that we're open to doing," Thun said.Raycroft, meanwhile, only has one full season of NHL hockey under him but what a year it was.The 25-year-old won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year after going 29-18-9 with a 2.05 GAA and .930 save percentage.Like the Boynton camp, he's been waiting for O'Connell to come back with an offer."There hasn't been a whole lot of activity is really the best way to describe it," Raycroft's agent Jordan Neumann said Thursday. "The ball's in their court. It's been in their court for a couple of weeks now. We're waiting."Neumann is hoping that Rick DiPietro's signing of a $2.5-million, one-year deal with the New York Islanders on Wednesday will help expedite matters. DiPietro has played 74 career games to Raycroft's 78. DiPietro's career GAA is 2.71 while Raycroft is 2.22."Now that Ricky got done, we see that really helping define that market," Neumann said. "Their career numbers and the fact they've both had really one year as the No. 1 guy is incredibly similar."Raycroft would have preferred a multi-year deal but Boston's cap problems has nullified that."We intended to do a two-year deal, we thought that was the best way to get a fair deal," Neumann said. "But since their cap space is so limited they've let us know that a one-year deal is really all they can do. Although it's not our preference, we're certainly willing to accommodate them."But time is running out before camp starts next week."With each passing day, the chances are slimmer (that Andrew will be at camp)," Neumann said.Boynton is also coming off a huge NHL season. He played in his first NHL all-star game in 2003-04 when he had career highs of 30 points and 24 assists. He has 72 career points (17-55) in 245 career games.There's not much Boynton can do other than sit at home and wait. The ultimate scenario, barring re-signing with Boston soon, would be for another club to submit an offer sheet. That hasn't happen since Sergei Fedorov got one from Carolina in 1998 but agents around the league believe the new CBA should lend itself to a couple of offer sheets in the next few years.The Bruins would have the right to match the offer or could receive compensation in forms of draft picks.</blockquote>

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