Boston Bruins 2023 Off-Season CAP, Trade Rumors and Free Agent Talk XI

[DKH]

What a black hole at center probably the worst in the league.

Zacha & Coyle & Frederic were tbe 3 centers games 3 and 4 and they win 6-2 and 4-2 before Monty let his kid do the lineup

Merkulov and down the road Poitras look like top 6 centers to me

And March 1 trade deadline is over 7 months away

I don’t see the black hole at all

Jozef Stumpel and Todd Elik were a black hole

What's the league average for top 6 Cs?

How many teams have 1 or 2 centers locked up making over 6 M ?

 

[SPV]

I’m bummed about Bergeron, even though I have been expecting it. I don’t think this team is going to add anyone else though. Probably just sign Freddy and Swayman, and roll.

On the plus side, the team has the same goaltending, and a slightly better defensive unit. Im not counting the loss of Bertuzzi or Orlov, they weren’t here all year long when we were setting records, and if I remember correctly, most people were calling for Hall’s head when he went through an extended slump too.

On the minus side, the center group is suspect. But if Coyle, Zacha, and Geekie can play above their heads a little bit, that might be enough to keep us in playoff contention.

And they can always add someone at the deadline, and use their cap space next season

 

[Dr Quincy]

How many teams have 1 or 2 centers locked up making over 6 M ?

Over? Most teams... not sure why that is a good or bad thing for BOS.

Unless you mean have your 1 and 2 C each making LESS than 6m:

SEA
ARI*
CHI*
MIN
NAS*
CBJ*
PHI*

*Missed the playoffs

Great company don't you think?

 

[hrdpuk]

Do faceoffs corrolate to wins?

Illustrated Review: Searching for a link between face-off wins and longterm success

One of the latest hot topics among NHL stat-heads centers around faceoffs and figuring out their long-term impact on a team. Here's a look at if there's a discernable effect.

www.si.com

 

[bruinmann77]

I think Ullmark might still be traded. But they should really look to see what Jake wants to do long term

 

[DKH]

Over? Most teams... not sure why that is a good or bad thing for BOS.

Unless you mean have your 1 and 2 C each making LESS than 6m:

SEA
ARI*
CHI*
MIN
NAS*
CBJ*
PHI*

*Missed the playoffs

Great company don't you think?

I was looking at East

Fascinating center groups

Everyone had their top guy & most had their 2 over 6 M

Point & Cirellu
Barkov 10M
Larkin
Stutzle & Norris
Suzuki
Matthews & Taveras

Montreal has Dach Newhook Dvorak after the big

Buffalo could use bug center but they got good young players and being built different

I really only did East but like you have their are other teams

 

[LSCII]

If it's F/O s you're concerned about Lindholm, Scheifele aren't all that much better regular and post season. Pageau on the other hand.

We’re not getting any of those dudes so yeah. Lol

Morgan Geekie has a career FO% of 51.1%. I’d rather give that guy better offensive wings than Coyle and see if there’s some untapped potential. We already know what Coyle is.

Wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.

 

[DKH]

I think Ullmark might still be traded. But they should really look to see what Jake wants to do long term

I’m sure they know exactly

We fans are 3 months behind Sweeney/Bruins moves/decisions/buyouts/videos so I’m sure DeBrusk decision is done

I expect between Halloween and National Fried Dough Day we find out

 

[LSCII]

Dude I know you’ve been waiting for this time for a long time and I dont want to get in the way of your glee. But 48% is not well below average.

Only 20 players who had 1,100 faceoffs last year were 50% or higher.

Tage Thompson 43%.
Stutzle 41.5%.
Petterson 44%.
Mackinnon 44%.
Bennett 47%.
Krejci 47%.

Coyle was 52.5% last year (not that we were talking about last year).

I already gave coyles numbers from last year and said I hope his upward trend continues. Besides, like I also pointed out that was his career high. And even with that jump, his career average is still 48%.

But really this has been a roundabout way to say that if Coyle is one of your top 2 centers, your team is pretty f***ed. Lol

By the way, it’s always funny as hell to me when fans like you can’t handle anything critical said about the team or a player. It’s not negative to point out the truth or to suggest areas of concern. No need to play the ridiculously tired card and imply fans are rooting against the team just because they see the failures of the front office over a period of 7 years to address the lack of center depth organizationally.

 

[JOKER 192]

This.

It's their 100th anniversary season, I say go entertaining run and gun style game with a dose of pugilism. Casual fans will love it, Pasta will thrive, but no doubt we will lose a fair # of games ...which is OK because our 2024 pick is top 10 protected. Use our 2024 cap space to entice FA talent (although it's been slim pickings as of late). The drawback is we might devalue our Goalies by constantly letting them hang out to dry .... I think Goalies are going the way of the running back in NFL anyway, it seems like less and less teams want to shell out a big chunk of $$$ long-term for the position.

As much fun as that sounds it's not happening.

 

[Shoebottom88]

Let's slow this down since you seem to be missing the point. The league leaders for FW win% are in the 63-60% range. Coyle checking in below well 50% is like finishing 2 second behind Usain Bolt in a 100 meter race. It's a lifetime of difference. For further reference Coyle was at 52.6 last year, which again is a marked difference than his 49.1 the year before. The irony is that the 49.1 the year in question was his career best until this season. Even with a 52.6 last year, his career average is still only 48%, which makes him barely a marginal faceoff man. For reference Bergeron was at 61.1% this season and 61.9% the year before.

And while I'm no Haula fan, I also showed the breakdown of key situations for their draws, and Haula simply out performed Coyle that year and usually by a lot. It simply wasn't close. So you can continue to misconstrue the numbers if you want, it won't make you correct because you're way off on this dude.

Dude you’re blowing this out of proportion again with stupid comparisons. Don’t think the average 100m Olympian runs a hundred in 11.5 sec. Losing one or two face offs more a night is not the end of the world. You like to exaggerate your points without merit. Kinda dishonest. Like someone said earlier, Coyle played with Smith, Haula had Pasta. And f/o don’t matter as much as you seem to think.

 

[JOKER 192]

What's the league average for top 6 Cs?

Excellent question and way more relevant

 

[chizzler]

They already did. They knew he was retiring.

 

[JOKER 192]

They already did. They knew he was retiring.

Of course they did. When they told us they were going forward assuming PB and DK wouldn't be back, they weren't pulling that out of their ass. I'm sure they were given the indication that it would be the case.

 

[UncleRico]

Elias Lindholm is there for the taking for the bruins. The real question is if Sweeney has the stones to make the moves required to do it.

It would be foolish to trade a fairly young Debrusk.

The tough pill to swallow for Sweeney would inevitably be the GM who traded Marchand. However marchand likely won’t be here in two years. Many people want him to “carry the torch” but it’s unnecessary really with the current veterans, especially if it results in a top center.

The maybe more difficult to find a trade partner but easier to swallow path would be trading Ullmark. As I’ve mentioned before kuemper deal (1st, 3rd, mid prospect).

Does Calgary accept a gryz/Frederic/1st (framework?) deal maybe switch out a piece or two of relative same value?

Tough decision for Sweeney. Do you bite the bullet now for the quicker turnaround? Or do you let the last of the core ride off into the sunset, and ruin 2-3 more years of the McAvoy/pasta/Lindholm/swayman window?

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Elias Lindholm is there for the taking for the bruins. The real question is if Sweeney has the stones to make the moves required to do it.

It would be foolish to trade a fairly young Debrusk.

The tough pill to swallow for Sweeney would inevitably be the GM who traded Marchand. However marchand likely won’t be here in two years. Many people want him to “carry the torch” but it’s unnecessary really with the current veterans, especially if it results in a top center.

The maybe more difficult to find a trade partner but easier to swallow path would be trading Ullmark. As I’ve mentioned before kuemper deal (1st, 3rd, mid prospect).

Does Calgary accept a gryz/Frederic/1st (framework?) deal maybe switch out a piece or two of relative same value?

Tough decision for Sweeney. Do you bite the bullet now for the quicker turnaround? Or do you let the last of the core ride off into the sunset, and ruin 2-3 more years of the McAvoy/pasta/Lindholm/swayman window?

So if he doesn’t trade for Elias Lindholm he’s going to ruin 2-3 *more* years? That’s it?

 

[PlayMakers]

Coyle was 52.6% at the dot last year and has improved every year he’s been here. He’s basically got 5 consecutive years of improvement ever since he was made a full time center.

If he plays with Marchand I could see that number tick up again. There isn’t a better winger in the league at exploding off the line and coming up with loose pucks off a draw.

 

[The don godfather]

Zacha & Coyle & Frederic were tbe 3 centers games 3 and 4 and they win 6-2 and 4-2 before Monty let his kid do the lineup

Merkulov and down the road Poitras look like top 6 centers to me

And March 1 trade deadline is over 7 months away

I don’t see the black hole at all

Jozef Stumpel and Todd Elik were a black hole


How many teams have 1 or 2 centers locked up making over 6 M ?

Mathews and taveras will vs zacha and Coyle no contest. Lucky for us our D and goaltending will crush them.

 

[JOKER 192]

Elias Lindholm is there for the taking for the bruins. The real question is if Sweeney has the stones to make the moves required to do it.

It would be foolish to trade a fairly young Debrusk.

The tough pill to swallow for Sweeney would inevitably be the GM who traded Marchand. However marchand likely won’t be here in two years. Many people want him to “carry the torch” but it’s unnecessary really with the current veterans, especially if it results in a top center.

The maybe more difficult to find a trade partner but easier to swallow path would be trading Ullmark. As I’ve mentioned before kuemper deal (1st, 3rd, mid prospect).

Does Calgary accept a gryz/Frederic/1st (framework?) deal maybe switch out a piece or two of relative same value?

Tough decision for Sweeney. Do you bite the bullet now for the quicker turnaround? Or do you let the last of the core ride off into the sunset, and ruin 2-3 more years of the McAvoy/pasta/Lindholm/swayman window?

I get how no one wants to trade JDB. You solve one problem and your creating another. Problem is there will be way better offers than what you propose for Linholm.

If you have one thing that could perk the Flames ears it is precisely JDB. Why? Because he's from there , more likely to want to stay there, has family there.

You gotta give to get and a 1C has more value than a winger. Is it Ideal ? Of course not. Would we all love to keep JDB? of course we would but he is the one edge the Bruins have to swing things their way.

Adding Grizz to the deal , unless he's willing to extend , which I really doubt, is going to do precious little to excite the Flames.

If the Bruins are going to trade for Linholm it will likely be at TDL and Grizz will be regarded as a rental, thus lowering his value. There will have to be other important pieces going the other way and it starts with JDB.

Hanifin would be a real nice add to the Bruins D. If you can swing something bringing back both Hanifin and Linholm then sending important pieces going the other way starts to make more sense.

The main reason you have to include JDB is that the Bruins have precious little to offer otherwise. If your getting Lindholm the 1st rounder you're offering is gonna get you guys like Beecher or TFred. Doesn't move the needle a whole bunch.

Another consideration will have to be cap space . The Flames are in a very similar position as the Bruins , so it will likely have to be dollars in dollars out deal. unless you can involve a 3rd team which usually lowers your return.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

I get how no one wants to trade JDB. You solve one problem and your creating another. Problem is there will be way better offers than what you propose for Linholm.

If you have one thing that could perk the Flames ears it is precisely JDB. Why? Because he's from there , more likely to want to stay there, has family there.

You gotta give to get and a 1C has more value than a winger. Is it Ideal ? Of course not. Would we all love to keep JDB? of course we would but he is the one edge the Bruins have to swing things their way.

Adding Grizz to the deal , unless he's willing to extend , which I really doubt, is going to do precious little to excite the Flames.

If the Bruins are going to trade for Linholm it will likely be at TDL and Grizz will be regarded as a rental, thus lowering his value. There will have to be other important pieces going the other way and it starts with JDB.

Hanifin would be a real nice add to the Bruins D. If you can swing something bringing back both Hanifin and Linholm then sending important pieces going the other way starts to make more sense.

The main reason you have to include JDB is that the Bruins have precious little to offer otherwise. If your getting Lindholm the 1st rounder you're offering is gonna get you guys like Beecher or TFred. Doesn't move the needle a whole bunch.

Another consideration will have to be cap space . The Flames are in a very similar position as the Bruins , so it will likely have to be dollars in dollars out deal. unless you can involve a 3rd team which usually lowers your return.

Everyone assumes Debrusk would resign in Calgary. I don’t see why he would.

 

[bruinmann77]

I guess the only way to get a top center is via trade at this point

 

[JOKER 192]

Everyone assumes Debrusk would resign in Calgary. I don’t see why he would.

Really? He's from there, played his amateur hockey there, has family there , his dad, whom he seems to be very close to works in the province (close enough) don't know if it's true but I read he has a GF there as well, bro, what do you need?

 

[Kegs]

I’m surprised ppl think coyles contract is too high. He is easily worth 5 mil. If Fredric is worth 3 coyle is worth 6. He can carry the third line no matter who his line mates are. He is big and strong as hell. A lot to like with coyle. He isn’t a point machine. But he is an excellent third line centre. 1-2 centres are 7-13 mil currently I believe.

 

[Fenian24]

Zacha & Coyle & Frederic were tbe 3 centers games 3 and 4 and they win 6-2 and 4-2 before Monty let his kid do the lineup

Merkulov and down the road Poitras look like top 6 centers to me

And March 1 trade deadline is over 7 months away

I don’t see the black hole at all

Jozef Stumpel and Todd Elik were a black hole


How many teams have 1 or 2 centers locked up making over 6 M ?

And Stumpel was twice the offensive player Coyle is. Not a great second line center but much, much more suited to it than Coyle.

We will see about Merkulov but I expect him to be Koko's linemate in a couple years.

If they are going to try and win with defense and goaltending the D needs to be improved. There is a need for another top 4 D and they need some physicality desperately. You aren't winning with defense with Forbort, Grczelyk and Zboril as your 4-6 D.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Really? He's from there, played his amateur hockey there, has family there , his dad, whom he seems to be very close to works in the province (close enough) don't know if it's true but I read he has a GF there as well, bro, what do you need?

A competent franchise where every good player isn’t leaving. Modern facilities. A chance to win a Cup.