Chiarelli On Toucher & Rich: 'Disappointing' If Turco Doesn't Clear Waivers
BOSTON (CBS) – On Wednesday, the Boston Bruins will find out if goaltender Marty Turco has cleared waivers and can join the team for the rest of the regular season.
As of early Wednesday morning, general manager Peter Chiarelli had not heard of any opposing teams putting in a claim on Turco.
"That would be disappointing, because they wouldn't be able to play Marty. You're not only hurting us, which I understand the competitive urges, but you have a player here trying to prolong his career," Chiarelli told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher and Rich.
"If a team wants to pick up the tab on his salary just to make us a little less, that's fine," said Chiarelli.
The Bruins will find out at noon if Turco has officially cleared waivers. If a team makes a claim on him, Turco would not even be able to play for them since he did not sign before the trade deadline. One team that is rumored to possibly put in a claim to block the B's from landing Turco is the Ottawa Senators, who Chiarelli worked for before taking over the Bruins.
When asked if he would take it personally if Ottawa put in a claim on Turco, Chiarelli said, "Yeah, I guess I would."
If a team does put in a claim though, Chiarelli is confident in the B's third string goaltender, Anton Khudobin, to step up and fill the void left by Tuukka Rak's injury.
Read: Chiarelli '50-50' On Turco Clearing Waivers
"He's had a shutout in the NHL, so he's more than capable of performing at a good level," Chiarelli said of Khudobin, who is 4-1 with a 1.39 GAA in his brief two-year NHL career.
Khudobin is currently hurt, but is expected back within two weeks. So if the Bruins do not get Turco it will mean more work for Thomas in the near future.
"Tim has played a number of games in a row before, but we've seen him have success when you can manage his games," said Chiarelli. "If we get Turco in the mix, or Khudobin, we'll spell Tim. If we don't get Turco, we have to rush Khudobin a bit."
Neely On Felger & Mazz: Hopeful, Not Positive, Turco Can Help
The Bruins were able to make it five straight over the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday night with a 5-4 win, snapping a two-game skid. With just 17 games left in the season,
"I'm not worried. You do have these little dips, and we've only been a .500 team, but I think worry is a strong word," said Chiarelli. "I believe in this group and I believe they will right the ship."
Chiarelli also said there was no change in injured forward Nathan Horton, who has been out since January 22 with a concussion.
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