Stanley Cup Media Day Notebook: Chiarelli on Rask trade; Lucic confident again; Chicago management’s team effort

CHICAGO -- During Stanley Cup Media Day, Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was asked about the 2006 NHL Draft in Vancouver when the team acquired goaltender Tuukka Rask. He let it be known that the end result could have been much different.

While Chiarelli was officially on the job, Jeff Gorton, now with the New York Rangers, was was the acting GM. Gorton swung the deal that acquired Rask from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for goaltender Andrew Raycroft. According to Chiarelli, the Bruins were very close to acquiring a forward instead of the goaltender who's helped carry them to a second Final in three seasons.

"[I]n talking to the guys, it was like [Jiri] Tlusty or Rask for Raycroft," said Chiarelli. "There was a lot of discussion at both ends about it. It was decided that it would be Rask from Boston's end. I think they tried to come back and maybe flip that, consider the other guy, who is a good player in Carolina now. Eventually they said no and the deal was done. Wish I could tell you more."

Ticketing Kane

Patrick Kane is in his second Cup Final and is taking what he learned from 2010 with him for this experience.

"I think you try to soak it in a little bit more now," Kane said. "You certainly get a lot of messages and requests for tickets at a time like this. That's cool because everybody wants to be a part of it, to see two special teams go up against one another, in a series that should be great."

Zdeno Chara: Great neighbor

The Bruins captain and Blackhawks sniper Marian Hossa live across the street from one another in their native Slovakia. So while they both vie for their second Cup, they will have to put off their friendship for a little while. Knowing him as long as he has, Hossa said he has some plans to try and take Chara off his game.

"I try to joke with him because he like to be serious all the time on the ice," said Hossa. "I know he doesn't like to talk on the ice. I try to throw some funny stories on the faceoff, make him laugh a little bit."

Milan Lucic has rediscovered his postseason confidence

As the Bruins were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in the first round in 2012, Milan Lucic faced criticism for his lack of production. After a second 60-plus point regular season in a row, the Capitals held him to only three assists in the seven game series.

One year later, Lucic's confidence is back after posting 13 points in the Bruins 16 games this postseason.

"It feels good contributing and being out there with confidence again," Lucic. "It was kind of where I made my name, being a big playoff player in my first three years and it didn't go that well the last two. Even though we won in 2011, I felt like it still wasn't that great of a playoff run for myself, especially last year against Washington where I didn't do much at all.

"It took some time to get over what happened in that Washington series, especially because we lost and because how I performed individually. Every time you step off the ice you want to come off feeling like you left everything on there and have no regrets. It sure didn't feel that way after that Washington series.It's experiences like that that you learn from and that you hope make you better as a player and as an individual. That was my mindset heading into this year."

Stan Bowman's team

When the Blackhawks won the Cup in 2010, it was his first season as the team's general manager. Much of the credit for building that team was given to former GM Dale Tallon, who left a salary cap mess for Bowman to clean up. To his credit, Bowman had to make a number of changes to the roster, but also kept the team a contender.

So with his team back in the Final, Bowman isn't about to take all of the credit for a potential second Cup in four seasons.

"I try to point out that it really is sort of a team effort," said Bowman. "It's not just one man. It wasn't one man back then. It's not one man now."

"... It's a team effort. Once we get the players, we turn them over to the coaches, they have to find a way to utilize them, make them better players. They've done that.

"It's certainly not one person that got us to this point. It's not going to be one person that continues it on. It's a team effort. For that reason, it's rewarding to see that the whole organization contributed to the success that we've had here."

One timers

• Tyler Seguin on his first memory of Jaromir Jagr: "Nice hair."

• Duncan Keith on a matured Patrick Kane: "To me, he's always been a good guy, a good teammate. I think now he's got a girlfriend. You can tell, he's 24, turning 25, he's not 18 or 19 anymore. It's kind of fun seeing him and Toews get a little bit older, have girlfriends. They're starting to stay in on a Friday night, watch a movie instead."

• Nathan Horton says he did not bring any "dirty water" to Chicago. "We'll see how it goes," he said.

• Andrew Shaw has a little known skill off the ice. Asked to finish the sentence,"You might be surprised to know that..." Shaw responded, "I am a great singer." He declined to show off the pipes, saying maybe after the series.

• Shawn Thornton on if he watched hockey after the first round loss in 2012: "I did not watch one single game after we got bumped out. I can't. It's too painful."

• Thornton on playing in another Final: "I'm very happy that were here and not sitting on the couch thinking about what was going wrong if that lockout lasted a day longer."

• Patrick Sharp on the dramatic ending to Game 6 against the Los Angeles Kings: "It was an exciting game. I had to apologize to Kaner for not celebrating too much. I was too tired, couldn't use my energy."

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy