Counting the beans in Boston. (Insider).

Bruins fans can rest easy about the future because management is doing all it can to take care of the seasons ahead. As for the now? Well, it could be good, if everything goes right. But today might have to be sacrificed for the greater good. The bigger plan. The business plan.

Brains G.M. Mike O'Connell says he does not intend to sign a player to a contract that would go beyond the 2003-04 season. That's because the current collective bargaining agreement expires September 15, 2004, and he's uncertain what might happen afterward. After the CBA expires, the economic rules that govern the game will change, there's no question about that, but the details are very ...