Only an absolute Pejorative Slur gives up a starter signed at $5m for a back up junk with $3m cap hit and then tells to a RFA, "Hey, I want to sign you as I have no starter but I have no leverage to negotiate with you."
Boston Bruins 24-25 Roster/Cap thread XVII
- Thread starter Gee Wally
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Tommy Tubs
Registered User
- Mar 2, 2024
- 348
- 593
Thank you. Was just about to post this.
Even if you could make the case that Frederic's a tiny bit better because of toughness and D, they are out of contention, and are going to make that kind of small upgrade for a FA?
Bruins should be sellers at trade deadline, but it could be years before the team becomes a viable contender - The Boston Globe
David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman are the core of the franchise, but everyone else could be on the trading block.
www.bostonglobe.com
Some of Don Sweeney’s best work in his 10 years as the Bruins’ general manager has come around the trade deadline, which falls this season on Friday, at which point the Black and Gold will have but 18 games remaining on what has turned into an inexorable, excruciating dimming of the lights on Causeway Street.
Sweeney made it clear after practice last Sunday at Warrior Arena that he’s unlikely to be a player at this deadline. It’s the right approach. Even better if he is aggressive in moving out bodies and reshaping the lackluster, low-temp roster.
He knows. Sweeney knows what we all know: the team we’ve watched the past five months is not close to being a viable Stanley Cup contender. Even if the Bruins survive the .500 mixmaster that in about 30 days will determine the two wild-card seeds in the East, a deadline pickup or two won’t suddenly make the mouse roar.
That’s not necessarily what fans want or like to hear, particularly after word Wednesday that ticket prices are going up 4 percent next season (because: death, taxes, and boosting Bruins ticket prices), but it’s the reality.
In short, it’s a talent thing. The dire need to get more skilled, more motivated, more impactful players was apparent at the end of last season’s playoffs, and Sweeney’s offseason fix of adding center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov turned out to be woefully short and misguided on the talent-motivation-impact scale. Both have had their moments, but very, very few of them. Overall, their acquisitions have proven subtraction by addition. Even harder on eyes and wallet, their combined contracts run for nine more seasons, at an aggregate cost of $61.5 million.
All of which positions Sweeney as a seller, and contrary to the growing cry among the fan base to burn it all down to the ground, he and team president Cam Neely have some enviable talent that should not or cannot be shopped. The common mistake, one that fans, media, and even some managers make, is to indict an entire roster — elite contributors and mere stocking stuffers alike — for the failure of the whole.
That said, the club’s core/essential talent group is small, smaller than it has been in a decade, consisting of forward David Pastrnak, goaltender Jeremy Swayman, and defenseman Charlie McAvoy. That’s it. Everyone else can go (provided contracts don’t prohibit a trade).
No question, there’s pushback to be made on the aforementioned “keepers,” and that’s fine, because for what other purpose would there still be a reason to manufacture barstools? They are, at average age 27, the skeletal bones of the franchise. The fact that none of the three is a franchise center is what potentially could hold back the good times here for years to come.
The hardest one not to include in the core/essential group is captain Brad Marchand, 36, still a meaningful contributor and the last link to the 2011 Cup-winning squad (sentimentalism, remember, adds nothing to the scoresheet). About to become an unrestricted free agent, he’s still very much worth extending for another year or two.
However, Marchand’s value, and we are talking today, in the moment, amid a lost season and an approaching trade deadline, is more about what he could bring back than anything the Bruins can wring out of him in the final quarter’s death march. Harsh, yes, but no harsher than the “DNQ” tags about to be affixed to a couple of dozen Black and Gold equipment bags.
In Marchand’s case, if dealt, his unrestricted free agent status would allow the Bruins to sign him back as of July 1. Not true with Morgan Geekie, whose game and growing confidence have made him one of the few good stories on the club. If he were dealt, the acquiring team would assume Geekie’s restricted free agent status, giving it the sole right to sign him to an extension. He’d be a significant loss here, but again he’s not in the Pastrnak-McAvoy-Swayman class.
Geekie is in line for a hefty pay bump (current wage: $2 million a year) and it’s possible Sweeney and Neely don’t feel he’s worth the, say, $4 million a year he might be able to secure via salary arbitration. No question, it’s a team that needs more Geekie-like contributors. He is a strong, hard-shooting, straight-line skater who understands — now get this! — scoring is best attempted from within a stick length or two of the net. Follow this space weekly for more key passages from the Book of Hockey Revelations.
Whatever their moves over these next few days, Sweeney and Neely have to be willing to swap out anyone other than the core three for anyone else who is a bona-fide upgrade in skill, speed and grit — not fighting grit, but in-game determination grit and basic compete level.
The team they have engineered is too slow afoot, too soft, too slow to grasp when there are key seconds on the clock. Exhibit A: moving out to 3-0 lead Tuesday vs. the Maple Leafs on home ice and then standing around like untapped hydrants when the flames began shooting out of every window. Final score in OT: Maple Leafs 5, Bruins 4. Fire!
Not all of what ails the roster can be fixed between now and Friday at 3 p.m. Even with a good deal or two, and some prudent UFA shopping come July 1, it could be years before we see a team on par with the one led by Tuukka Rask, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Marchand.
But now is the time for Sweeney and Neely to get after it, with vision, purpose, and a plan. No more UFA plug-ins and hope. That’s what got ‘em where they are today.
Bruins should be sellers at trade deadline, but it could be years before the team becomes a viable contender - The Boston Globe
David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman are the core of the franchise, but everyone else could be on the trading block.
Some of Don Sweeney’s best work in his 10 years as the Bruins’ general manager has come around the trade deadline, which falls this season on Friday, at which point the Black and Gold will have but 18 games remaining on what has turned into an inexorable, excruciating dimming of the lights on Causeway Street.
Sweeney made it clear after practice last Sunday at Warrior Arena that he’s unlikely to be a player at this deadline. It’s the right approach. Even better if he is aggressive in moving out bodies and reshaping the lackluster, low-temp roster.
He knows. Sweeney knows what we all know: the team we’ve watched the past five months is not close to being a viable Stanley Cup contender. Even if the Bruins survive the .500 mixmaster that in about 30 days will determine the two wild-card seeds in the East, a deadline pickup or two won’t suddenly make the mouse roar.
That’s not necessarily what fans want or like to hear, particularly after word Wednesday that ticket prices are going up 4 percent next season (because: death, taxes, and boosting Bruins ticket prices), but it’s the reality.
In short, it’s a talent thing. The dire need to get more skilled, more motivated, more impactful players was apparent at the end of last season’s playoffs, and Sweeney’s offseason fix of adding center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov turned out to be woefully short and misguided on the talent-motivation-impact scale. Both have had their moments, but very, very few of them. Overall, their acquisitions have proven subtraction by addition. Even harder on eyes and wallet, their combined contracts run for nine more seasons, at an aggregate cost of $61.5 million.
All of which positions Sweeney as a seller, and contrary to the growing cry among the fan base to burn it all down to the ground, he and team president Cam Neely have some enviable talent that should not or cannot be shopped. The common mistake, one that fans, media, and even some managers make, is to indict an entire roster — elite contributors and mere stocking stuffers alike — for the failure of the whole.
That said, the club’s core/essential talent group is small, smaller than it has been in a decade, consisting of forward David Pastrnak, goaltender Jeremy Swayman, and defenseman Charlie McAvoy. That’s it. Everyone else can go (provided contracts don’t prohibit a trade).
No question, there’s pushback to be made on the aforementioned “keepers,” and that’s fine, because for what other purpose would there still be a reason to manufacture barstools? They are, at average age 27, the skeletal bones of the franchise. The fact that none of the three is a franchise center is what potentially could hold back the good times here for years to come.
The hardest one not to include in the core/essential group is captain Brad Marchand, 36, still a meaningful contributor and the last link to the 2011 Cup-winning squad (sentimentalism, remember, adds nothing to the scoresheet). About to become an unrestricted free agent, he’s still very much worth extending for another year or two.
However, Marchand’s value, and we are talking today, in the moment, amid a lost season and an approaching trade deadline, is more about what he could bring back than anything the Bruins can wring out of him in the final quarter’s death march. Harsh, yes, but no harsher than the “DNQ” tags about to be affixed to a couple of dozen Black and Gold equipment bags.
In Marchand’s case, if dealt, his unrestricted free agent status would allow the Bruins to sign him back as of July 1. Not true with Morgan Geekie, whose game and growing confidence have made him one of the few good stories on the club. If he were dealt, the acquiring team would assume Geekie’s restricted free agent status, giving it the sole right to sign him to an extension. He’d be a significant loss here, but again he’s not in the Pastrnak-McAvoy-Swayman class.
Geekie is in line for a hefty pay bump (current wage: $2 million a year) and it’s possible Sweeney and Neely don’t feel he’s worth the, say, $4 million a year he might be able to secure via salary arbitration. No question, it’s a team that needs more Geekie-like contributors. He is a strong, hard-shooting, straight-line skater who understands — now get this! — scoring is best attempted from within a stick length or two of the net. Follow this space weekly for more key passages from the Book of Hockey Revelations.
Whatever their moves over these next few days, Sweeney and Neely have to be willing to swap out anyone other than the core three for anyone else who is a bona-fide upgrade in skill, speed and grit — not fighting grit, but in-game determination grit and basic compete level.
The team they have engineered is too slow afoot, too soft, too slow to grasp when there are key seconds on the clock. Exhibit A: moving out to 3-0 lead Tuesday vs. the Maple Leafs on home ice and then standing around like untapped hydrants when the flames began shooting out of every window. Final score in OT: Maple Leafs 5, Bruins 4. Fire!
Not all of what ails the roster can be fixed between now and Friday at 3 p.m. Even with a good deal or two, and some prudent UFA shopping come July 1, it could be years before we see a team on par with the one led by Tuukka Rask, Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Marchand.
But now is the time for Sweeney and Neely to get after it, with vision, purpose, and a plan. No more UFA plug-ins and hope. That’s what got ‘em where they are today.
I remember when this guy would bring something to the table with some great insight, these rehashed generic articles are lazy.
DaStinger
Permanent Interim
Junior players are salaried to play, which is the definition of a professional.I don't think 2 years in the AHL for Lysell says much of anything. That's fairly standard. Marchand and Krejci did two years. I think it's disappointing that Lysell hasn't earned a significant call-up yet. That says more than 2 years in the minors. The one disclaimer I guess would be that Lysell is a year younger than most junior players that spend 2 years in the minors. He got out of junior a year early because of his Euro status.
PlayMakers
Registered User
Isn't that what turned them around before? Chara and Savard. UFA's and hope.
Junior players get a stipend not a salary, which is why they are eligible to play in the NCAA, a fully amateur league which does not allow professionals.
DaStinger
Permanent Interim
Same way I receive a stipend for showing up to my job, symantics.
PlayMakers
Registered User
Savard scored 97 points the season before and Chara was an elite top pair defenseman.
No brainer signings. Unlikely that appears again, aside from an Eichel.
Lindholm and Zadorov were more the case of pray and hope they reach maximum potential not really seen recently or ever.
PlayMakers
Registered User
I'm hoping we get one of the elite wingers on the market this summer.
McGarnagle
Yes.
- Aug 5, 2017
- 30,873
- 42,597
Frederic and Marchand getting injured before the deadline is some bullshit
RiverbottomChuck
Registered User
Almost an unbelievable coincidence when weighed with everything else that has gone wrong this season.
And the NCAA is far from amateur at this point with the money being thrown around in NIL deals
Bruin4
Registered User
KrejciWinger
Registered User
- Nov 3, 2015
- 1,769
- 2,475
LouJersey
Registered User
That would seem to be the smart way to go. Rome was not built in a day and it will be a couple year process prob. Long term, Bruins losing more than they win and getting some luck with the ping pong balls would speed things up, A summer of Ehlers (means the end of Marchand prob), Boeser and say Desnoyers is franchise altering.
Over the volcano
Registered User
Bruin4
Registered User
Doesn't make sense as Blues have been winning as of late, 4 in a row I don't see why they would want to get rid of an high energy guy like Neighbors
Over the volcano
Registered User
McBrom7
FIRE IT UP!!
- Jun 26, 2012
- 2,421
- 605
Gustav Nyquist @ 50% retained for a 2026 2nd has me thinking Freddy @ 50% has to be equal if not more than that, no?
Bruin4
Registered User
Over the volcano
Registered User
22Brad Park
Registered User
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