Boston Bruins 2023-24 Roster and Salary Cap Discussion XI: Trade Deadline March 8th

[Gee Wally]

Trade Deadline is Fast Approaching

Rocket Science is actually quite simple when you think about it. Acquiring the parts that fit together to accomplish the goal of getting to space is what is difficult. Putting together a hockey tea…

dom.hockey

 

[SwayHeyKid]

Devils go out and get the Rempe equalizer. Good job

 

[Gee Wally]

they should let lucic play then

Give it a rest. We’ve been through this. It is not up to the Bruins. Its a moot point. As long as he’s in PAP his control or not is absolute up to the League.
Aside from the little fact the Bs stated he wont be back.

 

[Bruin4]

Devils go out and get the Rempe equalizer. Good job

They got pushed around pretty badly in a game against the Caps. Apparently Fitzy didn't like what he saw.

 

[dugg133]

Finnish article interviewing Mikko Rantenan

He gets asked about who the hardest defenseman in the league to play against are, here's a part of the article:

"Colorado Avalanche's superstar Mikko Rantanen answers the question of who he thinks are the most difficult players to play against.

'Boston's d-pair Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm come to mind immediately. Especially when we're playing against them in Boston and they have the last change. Haven't been able to do pretty much anything against them in a couple of years.', the forward tells Iltalehti."

I think an underrated part of potentially trading for Hanifin is that he is capable of playing those tough shutdown minutes that come with playing with Carlo, so you could run Lindholm-McAvoy as the top pair more frequently. Those two dominate every time they play together, and especially with no Bergy to throw at top lines, having those two together could have a similar effect.

 

[Sheppy]

Who is your ideal trade candidate for this year's playoffs to add grit? Would love to know who you deem worthy. Since almost all talking heads as well as Neely and Sweeney want to address it? Honestly wondering who you think would be a good fit for that role

“Someone who doesn’t suck!”

 

[JOKER 192]

I admire your enthusiasm for change but trading away 9 players from a team just isn't it. Can you tell me the last time in sports history when a playoff team did this at the TDL? Or were cool with trotting out their minor league team in the NHL playoffs?

Playoffs can be unpredictable. Teams hedge their bets the best they can by getting players that fit their system and hope for the best with health, luck, and players performing. Trading away 40 percent of the team that got you 3/4 of the season as a top team in the league just isn't going to happen.

1st of all making players available and actually trading them are different things.
It's never happened and it never will.

Teams hedge their bets by getting players to fit their system and it usually doesn't work. This also requires assets to trade which the Bruins don't have. So any move they make will be marginal and will be waste of assets.

When your 1C is at best a 2C and really a 3C . Your 2C is clearly a 3C and probably better utilized as a winger, you have a giant gap to bridge that the Bruins simply don't have the assets to aquire. The 2 best available are already off the market .

Which team last won the cup without a legit 1C 2C ?

We'll get a better idea of which way they should go after the next 4 games.

Do you realize that since going 9-0-1 in the 1st 10 games the Bruins have since gone 26-12-13 which is really 26 -25 ? Barely .500 hockey.

The Bruins have one of the most difficult schedule of all teams. They are not exactly killing it lately.

The Bruins won just 4 of 12 games in February.

Not sure how any of this inspires confidence.

 

[wintersej]

I don’t think they need that in his spot, which is 1LD or 2LD. I think they need someone like that at 3LD since Forbort sucks and Wotherspoon is probably not it. If Lohrei is 2LD then yeah a PK/physical guy is fine at 3LD but not someone who sucks and not someone who will cost a first.

Two way guy with skill - McAvoy
Lindholm - Carlo
Lorhei - Asshole
Wotherspoon

Is my ideal by start of next season. And make PP1 an honest competition between McAvoy and Lorhei.

 

[GordonHowe]

Who is your ideal trade candidate for this year's playoffs to add grit? Would love to know who you deem worthy. Since almost all talking heads as well as Neely and Sweeney want to address it? Honestly wondering who you think would be a good fit for that role

To whom are you directing this question?

FWIW, I wouldn't pretend to know. But they're out there, everyone else seems to be able to find them.

 

[Fenian24]

My question is if they are looking for snarl, why didn't they address this in the summer? I mean, yeah, they got Looch, but he is just one guy. Now if that is what they are trying to do, they are going to pay a price for it that likely did not need to be paid.

Going into camp they had Lucic, Greer, Frederic and Wotherspoon. That would be a pretty gritty team but they decided to waive Greer, waited to call Wotherspoon up, Lucic Luciced and Frederic was alone most of the year.

I wanted them to sign Englund or Simon Benoit. Move Frodo and use the money to sign Gudas but this is what Sweeney and Montgomery have put together, a powder puff soft team.

Could have added MacDermid today who plays LW and D, but noooo. Cannot wait to see what Sweengenius acquires to address toughness. Chad Ruwedal?

 

[TobanWest]

To whom are you directing this question?

FWIW, I wouldn't pretend to know. But they're out there, everyone else seems to be able to find them.

Marchy... I replied to his comment.

 

[Gordoff]

There was a debate here about Matt Poitra's shoulder injury.
Some here feel that it was the constant hits and abuse he took with no pushback, no protection for the rookie.
others said that it was just the collision with Coyotes defenseman Sean Durzi.
Here is an explanation from Poitras himself.

Bruins Rookie Speaks On Shoulder Surgery​

MSN

 

[GordonHowe]

Marchy

I see.

Enjoy the exchange.

 

[TobanWest]

Going into camp they had Lucic, Greer, Frederic and Wotherspoon. That would be a pretty gritty team but they decided to waive Greer, waited to call Wotherspoon up, Lucic Luciced and Frederic was alone most of the year.

I wanted them to sign Englund or Simon Benoit. Move Frodo and use the money to sign Gudas but this is what Sweeney and Montgomery have put together, a powder puff soft team.

Could have added MacDermid today who plays LW and D, but noooo. Cannot wait to see what Sweengenius acquires to address toughness. Chad Ruwedal?

I'm sure we will know 10 minutes after the deadline ends. Would love to see them deal earlier to address glaring issues and give players a bit more time to gel

 

[dugg133]

There was a debate here about Matt Poitra's shoulder injury.
Some here feel that it was the constant hits and abuse he took with no pushback, no protection for the rookie.
others said that it was just the collision with Coyotes defenseman Sean Durzi.
Here is an explanation from Poitras himself.

Bruins Rookie Speaks On Shoulder Surgery​

MSN

So lingering injury going back to his time in Juniors, sounds like surgery was always gonna be inevitable then. Glad he got it done now then and is being supervised by the Bruins medical staff and trainers.

 

[GordonHowe]

So lingering injury going back to his time in Juniors, sounds like surgery was always gonna be inevitable then. Glad he got it done now then and is being supervised by the Bruins medical staff and trainers.

Absolutely. Thank you for posting, Gordon.

 

[Fenian24]

Rinaldo, Backes, Beleskey. Wagner, reupping Killer for 4 years….he certainly didn’t ignore it. Those guys just didn’t work out for the most part

Who are these mythical tough guys with snarl that would have gotten them over the hump?

This year? It's going to take more than just some toughness but it is obviously needed. Last year I don't have any answers and doubt I ever will, that team should have rolled through the playoffs. Tough, talented, seemed to have it all.

So I will use 2019 as an example. That Bruin team was intimidated and out coached. Who could the Bruins have added to make them tougher for the Blues to play against?

Jamie Oleksiak and Brian Boyle went for picks, not trade Adam McQuaid for Steven Kampfer. Those moves make them much tougher for St. Louis to push around in the final.

 

[sarge88]

Trade Deadline is Fast Approaching

Rocket Science is actually quite simple when you think about it. Acquiring the parts that fit together to accomplish the goal of getting to space is what is difficult. Putting together a hockey tea…

dom.hockey

Nothing should inspire confidence more than hearing someone as astute as Dom suggesting that someday, there might be a playoff opponent that Grzelcyk could be useful against.

Devils go out and get the Rempe equalizer. Good job

A 1995 era arms race!

Sounds fun.

 

[wintersej]

1st of all making players available and actually trading them are different things.
It's never happened and it never will.

Teams hedge their bets by getting players to fit their system and it usually doesn't work. This also requires assets to trade which the Bruins don't have. So any move they make will be marginal and will be waste of assets.

When your 1C is at best a 2C and really a 3C . Your 2C is clearly a 3C and probably better utilized as a winger, you have a giant gap to bridge that the Bruins simply don't have the assets to aquire. The 2 best available are already off the market .

Which team last won the cup without a legit 1C 2C ?

We'll get a better idea of which way they should go after the next 4 games.

Do you realize that since going 9-0-1 in the 1st 10 games the Bruins have since gone 26-12-13 which is really 26 -25 ? Barely .500 hockey.

The Bruins have one of the most difficult schedule of all teams. They are not exactly killing it lately.

The Bruins won just 4 of 12 games in February.

Not sure how any of this inspires confidence.

Ok the “really 26-25” bit is a bit misleading.

Since that 11/4 date, they have 65 points. As does Colorado. Dallas and EDM have 67. The Canucks have 68. WPG with 69. Do all those teams suck, too?

Bruins are 6-13 in that time period in OT and shootout. If it was decided 5 on 5 like in the playoffs, where would they be? I don’t particularly care about the 3 on 3 and shoot out record.

I AM worried that they have the most blown leads after leading after 2. They have to figure out how to close out games.

I think the core issue there is how often they can’t break out of their own zone under pressure. Not having a guy that can win a key faceoff is part of it, too. And they could use some more asshole crease clearers. But if they could get out of their zone better, the other two bits become less important.

It’s why I am all in on Hanifin. He can move the puck like old Gryz, but also is big enough not to wilt under heavy pressure. It changes the dynamic of the team completely. They have had 7 OT losses since 11/4 when they were leading after two. Most in the NHL. If they just became the 4th worst team at that instead of the worst they would be tied with WPG for the 2nd best record in the league since 11/4.

But, even with that horrible failure in the teams game they are only 4 points back from the 2nd best record in the NHL since 11/4.

Saying they are a 500 team since 11/4 is a way to push a narrative, but not real.

 

[wintersej]

Finnish article interviewing Mikko Rantenan

He gets asked about who the hardest defenseman in the league to play against are, here's a part of the article:

"Colorado Avalanche's superstar Mikko Rantanen answers the question of who he thinks are the most difficult players to play against.

'Boston's d-pair Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm come to mind immediately. Especially when we're playing against them in Boston and they have the last change. Haven't been able to do pretty much anything against them in a couple of years.', the forward tells Iltalehti."

I think an underrated part of potentially trading for Hanifin is that he is capable of playing those tough shutdown minutes that come with playing with Carlo, so you could run Lindholm-McAvoy as the top pair more frequently. Those two dominate every time they play together, and especially with no Bergy to throw at top lines, having those two together could have a similar effect.

You and I are of such same mind on this topic. Being able to roll out two #1 PAIRS is such a huge competitive advantage for a team that needs one besides goaltending. Having the two #1D is great, but having to bury Lindholm and Gryz’s huge huge drop off totally are muting the impact.

 

[dugg133]

You and I are of such same mind on this topic. Being able to roll out two #1 PAIRS is such a huge competitive advantage for a team that needs one besides goaltending. Having the two #1D is great, but having to bury Lindholm and Gryz’s huge huge drop off totally are muting the impact.

The Lindholm-Mac pairing really is such a weapon that they very rarely get to use. Like last time we played Colorado, they were without Nichushkin and Lekhonen, so you know their top 6 is depleted. So Monty puts Lindholm-McAvoy together and just sends them at the Rantenan-Mackinnon line every time they're on the ice and just totally shut them down. Think Mackinnon still ended up scoring a goal that game cause the Avs messed with their lines to try and get him away from that pairing, but point is for most of that game our top pair totally mitigated one of the best top lines in the league. And that's an advantage we need to be using more frequently then we do, but you can't cause if Gryz is gonna be effective he needs to be stapled to McAvoy.

 

[wintersej]

Because Sweeney clearly doesn't value it. He never has.

Look at his roster construction over nearly ten years. It tells the same story, over and over: built for regular season success with "speed and skill," which inevitably translates into a playoff flame out.

Only now, when every team in the NHL understands the way to beat the Bruins is to push them around, which has contributed to mounting losses, does "snarl" suddenly become a need.

Teams that realize what it takes to instill "anxiety" in the opposition also realize that physical intimidation opens up time and space, and most important, fear and respect from adversaries.

Don Sweeney has never learned this basic lesson and remains blind to it.

The time to build team-wide toughness is not at the trade deadline.

It's a process -- a few seasons at least -- to build such a roster, and you do so a] by valuing and drafting for it consistently, and b] by acquiring the physically willing and able players to fulfill that process. Peter Chiarelli did this for the Bruins within roughly three years.

Sweeney has had a decade to prove he understands what wins in the playoffs and construct his rosters accordingly.

The smartest guy in the room has failed, utterly, completely, and repeatedly to recognize the utility of physical intimidation in building team pride and a winning culture.

You see the result.

I mean he did go get Backes. And Beleksey. Spent first rounders on lower upside guys like Frederic and Beecher (and got slammed for it!) in an effort to find more guys that could play that game. Sweeney brought in Accari. Kuraly. Hathaway. Lucic.

I think this theory that he “doesn’t get it” is complete horse shit. He literally spent two first round picks with Bergeron’s retirement around the corner on those kinds of guys instead of taking shots at trying to get a skilled top 6 C prospect.

You CANT win in the current league without skill. Full stop. You can’t. You have to secure that first and that has been the case for the last 10 years and even more so every year.

So if you are gonna find guys in your top 9 that are going to play a heavy game they also have to have enough skill. And those guys are a bitch to find and if you don’t home grow them you have to pay up the nose to get them.

 

[weaponomega]

Two way guy with skill - McAvoy
Lindholm - Carlo
Lorhei - Asshole
Wotherspoon

Is my ideal by start of next season. And make PP1 an honest competition between McAvoy and Lorhei.

Agree. I actually think McAvoy is a bit of a weakness on the PP1 because of the threat of a shot is missing from his game.

 

[SwayHeyKid]

They got pushed around pretty badly in a game against the Caps. Apparently Fitzy didn't like what he saw.

It was the Rangers game that pushed him over the edge.

 

[dugg133]

with all the talk about wanting to add size into the top 9, I'm a little shocked no one has brought up Anthony Mantha as a trade target. 18 goals 32 points on the year, 6'5" 235lbs, with excellent underlying numbers to boot. And he's doing that all in pretty limited minutes, so he could presumably do even better in a bigger role with better linemates here. Cap space would be an issue, but they could find a way to make it work somehow. Feels like the exact guy half the people here are begging for and no one is talking about him. And he beat the snot out of Dylan Cousins recently, which is a huge plus in my book.