Boston Bruins 24-25 Roster/Cap thread XVI

[Knight]

Rantanen - Pettersson - Pastrnak

Easy peasy Don Sweeney

 

[22Brad Park]

Ironically 2 of those players Carlo and Jake came out of the 2015 draft . Hall wanted to be a Bruin and forced Buffalo's hand on an expiring contract, it was Boston or no-where. Orlov where is he now? McAvoy was a Great pick when most wanted Fabbro, as was Swayman. Not much there in 10 years though. I just fear what this team will look like in 4-5 years down the road with Sweeney leading the way, these next couple of years decisions will go a long way on determining just that. I hope I'm wrong, because I don't see him going anywhere and Imho the future will be very bleak with him at the helm.

Orlov in Carolina and I wanted Chychrun .But you are right in saying not much there in 10 years.I hope you and me are both wrong & Donny fixes this mess, but I have serious doubts .I agree with you about him not getting fired.Saw rumor today Rangers and Bruins interested in Boeser.

 

[22Brad Park]

They got Savoie by trading away a fast, big, 3rd/4th line F who has 2x as many points as Frederic this year.

They aren't trading Savoie back for a lesser version of what they traded away.

They need goaltending help though.Sweeten the pot with Korpi.Find a way to make salary work

 

[bruinmann77]

DS going to have to work some magic

 

[Dr Quincy]

They need goaltending help though.Sweeten the pot with Korpi.Find a way to make salary work

Skinner 2.81 .898
Pickard 2.69 .896
Korpisalo 2.86 .892

Korpisalo doesn't sweeten that pot at all. If they want goaltending there are better options available.

 

[Gee Wally]

With Bruins leaning toward being sellers at trade deadline, players acknowledge the ‘business’ of hockey - The Boston Globe

In a season that never got on track for a variety of reasons, including the lackluster contributions of pricey free agents and injuries, the Bruins appear likely to make deals with an eye toward the future.

www.bostonglobe.com

While Joe Sacco talked about “meaningful games” left on the calendar, such as Tuesday night’s stop on Causeway Street by the Maple Leafs, the co-narrative around the Bruins’ training site on Monday was that of players acknowledging the “business” of hockey and the possibility of how it could be time to bid familiar faces farewell in the run-up to the trade deadline a week from Friday.

Team captain Brad Marchand, fellow unrestricted free-agent-to-be Trent Frederic, and potential RFA Morgan Geekie all expressed their desire to remain Bruins through March 7 and into the future. Yet all also noted the harsh reality of the current standings and a season with only 24 games remaining between now and … who knows when.

“Even in the best years,” noted Marchand, who Tuesday night will log his 1,088th regular-season game, all of them as a Bruin, “guys are moved … things happen.”

Marchand later added, “It’s part of the game. It’s part of the business. Not a part you always love, but at the end of the day, it is what it is.”

For a team careening toward its first postseason DNQ since 2016, and in dire need of infusing crucial speed, youth, and top-end talent into the lineup, it’s inevitable that a body, two, three, or more will be on the move in these next 10 days. It’s not official yet, but these look like selling days.

All of it is the consequence of a season that never got on track for a variety of reasons, including overestimation of roster talent and depth, the lackluster contributions of pricey July 2024 hires Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, injuries to key contributors, and the limited contributions of players promoted from AHL Providence.

There also was the extra large dollop or two of bad luck, underscored on Sunday when general manager Don Sweeney delivered word that injured defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who cracked a kneecap Nov. 12, will be lost for the season and that fellow blue liner Charlie McAvoy (shoulder injury/infection) will not be seen for the foreseeable future.

Consider McAvoy out for the duration, too, unless he heals up sooner than anticipated and Sacco somehow, some way, keeps the Black and Gold in the multi-team .500 mosh pit mixer for one of the Eastern Conference’s two wild-card seeds.

Both Lindholm and McAvoy have their shortcomings — noted here on a fairly routine basis — but both are nonetheless the club’s top two defensemen, particularly in terms of helping to generate offense. They’re being paid a combined $19.5 million this season. Sacco is left with a quirky patchwork six-pack back there that makes opposition forwards ever the more thirsty for offensive zone time.

Sweeney and team president Cam Neely, still empowered to call all roster shots, have the ability to move everyone on the roster except forwards David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm, as well as backliners McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Zadorov.

Marchand, the second-year captain, can be dealt to any of 23 teams per puckpedia.com. He is allowed to designate eight he will not accept in a trade. Marchand, like Frederic, is on course to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. The Bruins could deal him prior to the deadline, keep the assets, then turn around and sign him to an extension on July 1.

Following the workout in Brighton, Marchand acknowledged the chance he could be dealt, expressed his desire to be a Bruin for life, and also reiterated the sides have continued to talk about a new deal here. Otherwise, he didn’t care to add details.

“I’ve always planned on playing here my entire career,” he said. “That hasn’t changed. They’re aware of that. I think everyone’s aware of that. It’s a gift to be playing for this team. I take a tremendous amount of pride in it so, yeah, it’s always been a goal [to remain a Bruin].”

Geekie, finishing up the two-year, $4 million UFA deal ($2 million cap hit) he signed in the summer of 2023, noted how much he and his wife enjoy the city, and how much he, too, wants to stay.

“Everything about this place is everything I dreamed of and more — the guys in the room, the memories I created, the friendships,” said Geekie, who set a career high Saturday night with his 18th goal. “I’d love to be a Bruin as long as I can, but at the end of the day it’s a business. They are going to make business decisions and that’s above my pay grade, so I am just going to go out there and do my job and have fun while I do it.”

Asked if he were disappointed to not have been signed to a contract extension here, he added, “They’ve got decisions to make and I don’t think I’m more important than anybody else. Like I said, I am just trying to do my job out there and not get too tied up in that.”

Frederic, 27, has been Bruins property since being drafted (No. 29) in 2016. He is on an expiring two-year deal ($2.3 million cap hit). Like Marchand, he could be dealt (to any of the 31 other teams) and signed here again on July 1. He is from St. Louis, where ex-Bruins coach Jim Montgomery is the bench boss. Montgomery often was complimentary of Frederic’s play in his time here.

“I’m obviously aware of the situation,” said Frederic, after acknowledging his desire to stay here. “If something happens, I’ll react off that.”

The 27-24-7 Bruins, losers of their last three (0-2-1), face off against the playoff-bound Leafs (35-20-2, best in the Atlantic) at 7 p.m. The clock is ticking. Time flies, and so could a few bodies.

 

[Gee Wally]

https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/bruins/blow-it-up-should-not-be-an-option-for-bruins

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Thoughts on 28 year old Mikko Rantanen in free agency? Could he be effective skating opposite Pastrnak?

Rantanen • Lindholm • Pastrnak

Saves you from wasting money on plugs. Poitras would have an elite winger to play with.

If we follow through on the firesale he might be out of reach but we can probably line up the Winnipeg guys who want out.

 

[GordonHowe]

Brad Marchand, Trent Frederic ponder future as Bruins brace for potential sell-off

Following Don Sweeney's comments on Sunday, both Brad Marchand and Trent Frederic discussed their uncertain future with the Bruins.

www.boston.com

Bruins could still buy at trade deadline, on one condition

The Boston Bruins reportedly could still be buyers at the NHL trade deadline - if it's for a certain kind of player that they identify.

985thesportshub.com

 

[bp14]

My only thought on Rantanen or free agency in general is that if Sweeney signs the guy as one of his top targets, he isn’t gonna work out.

 

[smithformeragent]

What do we think of the building blocks on this roster?

Are they pieces you can work with, and be in cup contention within say three years?

The 2007 Bruins had Savard, Bergeron, and Krejci down the middle.

To me, until you find a way to acquire a number one center, you’re screwed.

Who?

How?

 

[DKH]

What we need is Sweeney to go on vacation and let the Universe magically create a team like 2019, 2020, or 2022-23.

I really can’t give him any credit because the Universe did this

Hopefully he has time share at Disney the week of the trade deadline

My concern he trades Frederic for Les Stempniak or Graham Nash