Bruins' Boychuk on trade rumors: 'how many years did it take for us to get Kaberle?'

Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk seems to bleed black and gold, and has repeatedly made it clear he has no desire to get dealt ahead of the upcoming NHL season.

Boychuk's desires don't really factor into the equation here though. The veteran right-handed shooting defender is entering the last year of a three-year, $10.1 million contract that he signed prior to the start of the 2012-13 campaign and will be an unrestricted free agent at season's end. Considering where the market went for unrestricted free agent defenders this past summer, it's possible that Boychuk's next deal will prove too rich for the Bruins blood.

Beyond that medium-term consideration, the Bruins are in salary cap jail at the moment. The club is already exceeding the salary cap by over $800,000 according to capgeek.com, and while some relief is coming once Marc Savard is placed on Long-term Injured Reserve (LTIR) - after which the Bruins will be able to exceed the salary cap by roughly $4 million - the Bruins still have a pair of talented, young restricted free agents in Torey Krug and Rielly Smith who are in need of new deals.

Because of Boston's salary cap crunch, something has to give, and everyone knows it. There's surely ways the club can avoid dealing the sturdy blue-liner, Boychuk's salary-cap hit ($3.66 million), his expiring deal, his likely value on the market, and the likelihood that he'll receive a substantial raise at seasons end make him a prime target to be dealt.

Between preparing for the start of the season and answering repeated questions about his impending possible trade, Boychuk apparently can still find the time to crack a truly excellent joke:

By the way, the answer to Boychuk's rhetorical question is roughly two years. Kaberle-to-Boston rumors began in earnest while the Bruins were shopping winger Phil Kessel in the summer of 2009. Kaberle was finally acquired by Boston at the trade deadline in 2011, roughly 21 months later.