If Washington can do it so can Boston. McCavoy, Pasta and Swayman are 3 cornerstone players that you can build around and they’re still in their prime.
Speculation: Boston Bruins offseason
- Thread starter LuGBuG
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wintersej
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They need a center whose name doesn’t look out of place in that group.
Hard to find.
But if they can they can fill in the other pieces. Gotta do some ping pong ball praying for Misa (~20% chance) or hope that whatever center they get from 4-6 hits more than a 4-6 pick usually does.
bert
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Based on the most recent draft lotteries for big market and original 6 teams i see no scenario they aren't drafting 1 or 2. So they're gonna get a star building piece. Should go quick retool. Maybe be bad next year too then attack free agency.
They’re getting a top 5 pick this year. There’s a good chance that Desnoyers or Hagens is still there when they make their pick. I expect them to be pretty bad again next year.
You have a lot of depth and a solid group at D. Forwards also develop a lot faster than D. Boston has the chance to turn this around with 2 good draft and a few good trades/FA signing
Not sure why so many are quick to assume they should go full on rebuild mode. They still have a youngish foundation that can be built upon. It’s management that needs to be rebuild more than anything
Fatass
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Who are their core players? Pasta, and Macvoy and Swayman. They need to get 2 centres and another top pairing D man. Free agency? Unlikely. Trade? Got to give to get. So that leaves the draft and development (rebuild 5-7 years) route.
PlayMakers
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I didn't list spares. He's my 13th F. He can compete for a spot with the Minten's and Poitras'.
General Fanager
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Maybe Zacha but The Habs are loaded with LD. Why on earth would they want Zadorov?
Benstheman
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To replace Matheson. RHD are never available and Hutson seems like he can play right side quite effectively.
Fatass
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wintersej
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Is Hampus Lindholm not a top pairing D man? You can certainly get your middle six center situation covered between Zacha, Lindholm, Poitras and Minten.
Fatass
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Would you classify the guys you mentioned as elite core players? IMO the players you mentioned are the supporting cast, who are the kinds of players that clubs can add via free agency and trades. It’s the elite guys (the key core players) who are almost always acquired via the draft. Pasta and McAvoy for example. Boston is an attractive city so they do have a good chance of attracting elite UFA’s, when they’re available. Are there elite centres coming up at free agency? Elite D?
Kegs
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They need one 1st line centre.
They lack scoring depth. They need a scoring winger for the other side on the pp. a massive hole since debrusk left.
They need a couple high end pieces. But high end pieces are by far the hardest to add. If they add Marner and draft a super star first line centre they could be in luck.
Fatass
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Giant Panda
Formerly Just Linda, Baby Panda, and Great Panda
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Im not sure if you are joking or not but I can see McQueen being a perfect Bruin.
During the opening draw of the first time McQueen came through Saskatoon this year, he lined up for the draw against a 19 year old, 6'2 Russian (Volotovskii). Volotovskii tried to pressure McQueen, McQueen responded by nearly headbutting Volotovskii as he went headfirst into the faceoff. It was that moment I realized that McQueen might just become a menace some day.
McQueen has some some of the Bruin in his blood, he's got a bit of a mean streak. If the Bruins draft him, McQueen might turn into a monster.
Giant Panda
Formerly Just Linda, Baby Panda, and Great Panda
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Pettersson is not a Bruin though. Bruins success is built around avoiding players like him.
JadedRandom
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Marner very likely re-signs in Toronto though.
Marner is extremely "money-driven", and Toronto is the best place for him to squeeze-out those sponsorship dollars that he likes so much.
Similarly, using the RCA, Marner would be able to maneuver out of paying full canadian tax.
So using that, plus being the sponsorships-hungry fiend that he is and there being more opportunity for it in Toronto, Marner would quite probably make more paper there than anywhere else.
Plus it's his childhood team, and he's already familiar with the organization so that means that he wouldn't have to move.
With all of those facets compounded, I think it'd be a no-brainer in my sense that Marner re-signs for Toronto unless the Leafs decide to go another route themselves. Which I don't think they will.
Toronto won't want to let a very good player like Marner go for free. Their fans would eat them alive for it unless he majorly craps the bed in the playoffs, which could happen admittedly.
Anyways, as for Boston drafting a "superstar center", well, it could happen in this particular Draft as the C position goes quite deep this year and there are some guys with underrated potential that may just be able to put all the pieces together and become great NHLers.
But, yeah, I don't think it'll be that easy.
Unless the Bruins luck-out and get a top-3 pick, I think that they are likely to be in the position to draft some VERY good top-6 forwards with great projections going forward, but guys that certainly don't realistically track to be "superstars' at the NHL level.
And if they don’t Get back to back 1st overall picks (which the odds are very much NOT in their favour) then they get two players not even close to McAvoy/Pasta level…
This idea of “all you have to do is get the best player in the draft” is such a ridiculous thing to bank on
The Hockey Tonk Man
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To be fair, Korpisalo has played better than Swayman.
Only real UFA's that would interest me are Marner & Bennett.
Maybe they try to pull off an offersheet?
Need some impact forwards badly.
D should be fine when healthy.
Oh & get a new coaching staff. Team has had zero structure all season.
Hoping for a Washington like retool.
PlayMakers
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I agree, Korpisalo has been better than Swayman, but they've both been well below what we're used to seeing. We need someone to post a .910+ and really challenge Sway. I don't know who that guy is. Maybe give DiPietro or another young goalie a real shot in camp.
Other UFA's I'd be interested in are Marchand and Ehlers. No offer sheet. We need to make our picks the next two years.
Agree on a new staff. Full house cleaning in that regard, including the sentimental favorites like Kelly and McQuaid. Hoping for Donskov.
easton117
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- Nov 11, 2017
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Your last point is the one that stands out to me the most.
Actually it probably goes back a few years now and their goalies wallpapered over it. But their structure has fallen to complete dogshit peewee level or there.
To me it’s why some fans are fine with an old school coach taking over, not necessarily a young up and comer. The old guys demand accountability out their in all 3 zones which they are desperately lacking in currently
General Fanager
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Even if Matheson and Savard are gone, they don't need defence. They need patience. At the most they need a 6-7 guy and Zadorov makes far too much for that.
Guhle - Carrier
Struble - Hutson
Xhekaj - Reinbacher
Mailloux
Engstrom
Kegs
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Have you watched frondell play hockey? Could turn out to be a better version of Pasternak.
