The Bruins' offseason appeared to be full of questions from the very start. 

Taylor or Tyler? To keep Tim Thomas or to trade him? Would Michael Ryder be bought out? What would the future hold for defensemen Dennis Seidenberg, Mark Stuart, and Johnny Boychuk? Would Mark Recchi return? 

Those were just a few of the questions that have come up from the beginning. Included among them was a cloud of confusion surrounding right wing Blake Wheeler. The restricted free agent had seen a dip in statistical production in his second season and had fallen under a bit of criticism because fans didn't feel he used his 6-foot-3 frame as well as he could have. 

So the rumors began. First, it was that he could potentially be traded to Edmonton before the draft so the team could have their choice between Tyler Seguin and Taylor Hall, the two highest players rated in the pool. 

That didn't happen, and the Bruins ended up with the top-ranked Seguin. As the rest of the team's perceived priority players agreed to contracts, Wheeler remained unsigned. He, along with center Gregory Campbell, filed for arbitration, with Campbell agreeing well before a case could be heard.

Wheeler's camp and the Bruins didn't have such an easy time sorting things out, however, and the right wing became the first Bruins player to head to arbitration since defenseman David Tanabe in 2006.

From there, rumors once again flew. Wheeler's value in arbitration was projected at being anywhere from the low-$2 million range to somewhere around $3 million. If it were the latter, some speculated, the team could consider walking away.

It didn't come to that, however, and when word emerged Thursday night that the 23-year-old forward had been awarded $2.2 million for the upcoming season after making $2.8 in '09-'10, one of the biggest questions was seemingly answered. 

It seems that the Bruins have gotten good value with Wheeler at face value: He's young, still developing, and has evolving scoring ability. He's averaged 19 goals through two seasons, and that's with the most recent campaign coming in a bad offense. It seems quite unrealistic that the team would not sign Wheeler in the 48 hours allotted to do so. Wheeler's agent, Matt Keator, agrees, saying he assumes the team will pay his client rather than walking away and let him become a free agent. 

Though the team is in rough shape with the salary cap, they have to be pleased with the price at which they can sign the youngster while taking a season to evaluate whether he fits into their longterm plans. According to Keator, Wheeler is satisfied. 

"The decision came in the range we expected. There were no winners or losers in this case," Keator told WEEI.com Thursday night. "Blake is excited for camp and ready to go."

Sure, parts of what the agent had to say could be construed as politically correct, but it's hard not to think Keator hit it on the head by pointing out that there really isn't a loser in this case. Wheeler will be a restricted free agent next season anyway should the Bruins sign him, and he gets a reasonable salary. 

The true winners, however, are the Bruins. Because Wheeler was awarded less than $2.6 million, the team now can sign both Wheeler and Seguin and start the season under the cap thanks to the $3.5 million they save with Marco Sturm's longterm injury status. By signing Wheeler to the $2.2 million and giving Seguin a deal worth the entry level-max of $900,000 in salary, the Bruins will be a little less than $400,000 under the $59.4 million cap, according to CapGeek.com.

So, Wheeler gets paid a decent chunk of change and the The Bruins buy time and get to go into the season with a stronger offense. They will obviously still have to look to unload salary before Sturm returns, but the fact that they can sign both Wheeler and Seguin without technically being over the cap when the season opens in Prague is very good news. 

In an offseason with so many questions, most of which the team has been able to answer with solid acquisitions and re-signings, the Bruins are coming closer to putting together a stout roster of 22. Will it be as simple as signing Wheeler, getting their rookie center under contract, and worrying about the impending cap trouble once Sturm returns? That's anyone's guess at this point, but with Wheeler coming at an affordable rate, you may be able to cross one of those questions off the ever-shrinking list.