Speculation: All Bruins trade proposals/rumors XIII:Things looking Up

[rcduthie77]

To Carolina
F Ryan Spooner
D Matt Bartkowski


To Boston:
D Andrej Sekera
F Andrej Nestrasil

------------------------------

To Arizona:
BOS 2015 2nd Round Pick
F Gregory Campbell

To Boston:
F Antoine Vermette
D Justin Hache


Milan Lucic - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Reilly Smith
Antoine Vermette - Carl Soderberg - Loui Eriksson
Dan Paille - Chris Kelly - Craig Cunningham
Andrej Nestrasil - Jordan Caron

Zdeno Chara - Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg - Andrej Sekera
Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller

 

[acr*]

To Carolina
F Ryan Spooner
D Matt Bartkowski


To Boston:
D Andrej Sekera
F Andrej Nestrasil

------------------------------

To Arizona:
BOS 2015 2nd Round Pick
F Gregory Campbell

To Boston:
F Antoine Vermette
D Justin Hache


Milan Lucic - David Krejci - David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - Reilly Smith
Antoine Vermette - Carl Soderberg - Loui Eriksson
Dan Paille - Chris Kelly - Craig Cunningham
Andrej Nestrasil - Jordan Caron

Zdeno Chara - Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg - Andrej Sekera
Torey Krug - Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller

Going to take more than that to land either Sekera or Vermette, I'm afraid.

 

[Bmessy]

Zbynek Michalek for Matt Bartkowski and Pick
Acquire a banger/grinder someone to hit away on the 4th line. Preferably someone who can skate with Paille

Chara-Seidenberg
Hamilton-Michalek
Krug-McQuaid

 

[rcduthie77]

Going to take more than that to land either Sekera or Vermette, I'm afraid.

Thats what I was worried about but I figured I'd take a swing.

 

[Hali33]

If Pastrnak stays up, which I expect, I think our major need switches to defense.

Which makes the Boychuk trade all that more frustrating but anyways.

They need to replace Campbell on the 4th which I'm quite sure they will stay in denial about. It would be ideal for us to get a middle six guy for depth so Kelly can pop down and center the 4th.

Needs that are achievable. If Chiarelli can pull it together. Big if.

 

[SpitfireIX]

What is the infatuation with Sekera? I don't see anything this guy has done to merit putting him in our top 4. He didn't do anything in Buffalo in that role and he is not doing anything of significance as a key player on another bad team in Carolina. Not much sand paper to him either, no thanks lets stop looking at him as a possibility here.

 

[bp13]

This team needs to get tougher up front. They have proven over and over again that they play better when being physical. But its hard to do when Lucic is the only tough forward. Dont want Krejci or Pasta playing the tough guy role lol. Too bad we couldn't get Foligno for Smith or something. Need to get Peluso or maybe Rinaldo for the 4th line. Both would be great lol. Still would try to get Stewart as insurance incase Pasta cools down or gets injured. Play him on the 4th line till we need him. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish these Bruin forwards were more like the Snow built NY Islanders, a nice mix of everything. Seems like they stole our 2011 blue print. Bottom line is we got to get tougher. Like I said before, no way Chia gets another Dman unless its a depth one like a #7. The D is set.

When Montreal was skating around us last Spring and we couldn't finish decent chances I don't remember thinking we needed to get tougher.

I want skill and speed. Toughness is wildly overrated in these parts, and I think this team has plenty of guys who play with enough grit to win. What they don't have is enough speed or skill.

 

[TCL40]

Hey guys, can you help me out with a quick question? Who is the Bruins scapegoat this year? If you had to pick one player that always gets blamed when things are bad, who would it be?

Chris Kelly. Hands down. To some degree Campbell but honestly most complaints about him seem legit.

Loui got beat on a lot but he's been one of the few guys scoring so it's toned down.

On defense it's mostly been Bart but with Bart in the press box it's been Miller.

 

[TCL40]

When Montreal was skating around us last Spring and we couldn't finish decent chances I don't remember thinking we needed to get tougher.

I want skill and speed. Toughness is wildly overrated in these parts, and I think this team has plenty of guys who play with enough grit to win. What they don't have is enough speed or skill.

I think the forwards need sports and skill. Except the 4th line which needs speed and grit.

Defense needs players who can pass the puck and handle the forecheck. Would like the D to be tougher. Way too often they've let the opposition camp out in the crease, run our goalies and do whatever they wanted in our zone.

It's been better with #54 and #33 back but what happened to the rest if the D? Krug is our only small D currently the other guys are just too soft and have no snarl when they need to.

 

[iReckless]

Zbynek Michalek for Matt Bartkowski and Pick
Acquire a banger/grinder someone to hit away on the 4th line. Preferably someone who can skate with Paille

Chara-Seidenberg
Hamilton-Michalek
Krug-McQuaid

Michalek makes 4 Mill and doesn't fit in our cap

 

[Bmessy]

Michalek makes 4 Mill and doesn't fit in our cap

I thought we had around 3 mil of room and Bartkowski makes 1.25. Could be wrong though. Man I miss capgeek

 

[acr*]

When Montreal was skating around us last Spring and we couldn't finish decent chances I don't remember thinking we needed to get tougher.

I want skill and speed. Toughness is wildly overrated in these parts, and I think this team has plenty of guys who play with enough grit to win. What they don't have is enough speed or skill.

We didn't lose to Montreal because of how our 4th line was constituted. They were outplayed, but outplayed by gritty players; not speed/skill guys.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Michalek makes 4 Mill and doesn't fit in our cap

Pro-rated for less than half a season with Bart salary off-setting might need some roster juggling, but it's not outrageous.

All options being discussed are in that same range Vermette, Sekera, Yandle etc etc

 

[DoubleAAAA]

We didn't lose to Montreal because of how our 4th line was constituted. They were outplayed, but outplayed by gritty players; not speed/skill guys.

It pisses me off to no end that Dale Frigging Weise and Brandon Prust manhandled the B's.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Thats what I was worried about but I figured I'd take a swing.

I'm with you in believing that Matt Bartkowski MUST carry some value.

He's maybe a name that fans of other teams won't know. But he's not Matt Hunwick. In the right circumstance, I wouldn't hesitate to put Bartkowski in the top four ans expect him to excel there. He has almost everything you could ask. Not great size and probably won't produce much for offense, but he skates like the wind with or without the puck, has shown consistent improvement in every area of the game and has a physical element that is wholly under-appreciated.

Let's put it this way... If his trade value isn't enough that paired with Ryan Spooner he couldn't get you a veteran, middle-pairing, marginally above-average rental for the defense - then I wouldn't trade him.

 

[EverettMike]

Montreal did not "skate circles" around us last spring. They scored a lot of their goals on major defensive gaffes or breakaways.

The story of Montreal beating us with small, quick forwards is the lazy tale leftover from the Thornton Bruins, when it was true.

montreal last year played the perfect underdog series and it involved them playing hard and committing at all times.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

Feels to me like most of the blame falls on the GM, then the coach.

But Looch was getting it (rightfully) until he turned it around the last couple weeks.

Loui Eriksson was getting it pretty good until six weeks ago, again, rightfully.

Chris Kelly gets ****, but not because anyone expects that much more from him, but more as a reflection of the way the GM and coach use him/haven't moved him while letting better players go.

Gregory Campbell has been atrocious all season, but no one scapegoats him because he is on the 4th line.

Brad Marchand was real bad at the start, but he turned it around.

Simon Gagne was in the same boat as Kelly and Campbell, not his fault, only on the 4th line, etc.

Chara has the injury excuse/reason.

Seidenberg hasn't been good, but no one is scapegoating him, just worried. He is coming off a major injury in his 30s.

Rask hasn't been Vezina level, but the D hasn't been good enough too often to say he is to blame.

So I go back to Chiarelli. Left a lineup with too many holes, and Claude who was not making the best of what he had, was slow to adapt (though finally is mixing things up....and getting the unexpected boost of an 18-year-old).

So Rask having poor D is a good excuse.

Lucic not having Krejci and Iginla/top line winger is not?

 

[DoubleAAAA]

I'm with you in believing that Matt Bartkowski MUST carry some value.

He's maybe a name that fans of other teams won't know. But he's not Matt Hunwick. In the right circumstance, I wouldn't hesitate to put Bartkowski in the top four ans expect him to excel there. He has almost everything you could ask. Not great size and probably won't produce much for offense, but he skates like the wind with or without the puck, has shown consistent improvement in every area of the game and has a physical element that is wholly under-appreciated.

Let's put it this way... If his trade value isn't enough that paired with Ryan Spooner he couldn't get you a veteran, middle-pairing, marginally above-average rental for the defense - then I wouldn't trade him.

Great set of tools but he's getting to an age where you wonder if he's going to be able to think the game at a high enough tempo to succeed long term. Just hasn't put it all together yet, but I agree skill wise I think he'd be appealing as an asset.

 

[EverettMike]

So Rask having poor D is a good excuse.

Lucic not having Krejci and Iginla/top line winger is not?

I don't think Rask has been great, but I don't think he has been terrible.

For much of this season Milan Lucic was terrible. Does David Krejci determine if he gets more points (or any good center)? Yes. Does Krejci determine if his legs move and he throws hits and gives a damn? No.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Montreal did not "skate circles" around us last spring. They scored a lot of their goals on major defensive gaffes or breakaways.

The story of Montreal beating us with small, quick forwards is the lazy tale leftover from the Thornton Bruins, when it was true.

montreal last year played the perfect underdog series and it involved them playing hard and committing at all times.

Wow! Do I ever agree with this.

HOWEVER... One thing I thought was exposed? Having an all-slow top scoring line. They looked frustrated to me. That's the only place where I thought the "slow, plodding Bruins" were problematic.

Everything else here though is totally spot on.

 

[Mathews28]

A lot of us were calling for a tweak to the 4th line during that series because they were eating us up. Not fighting-wise, their 4th didn't out-tough the B's, but they played physical AND solid fundamental hockey, they skated, they wanted it, they created opportunities and they finished some chances.

Bruins 4th was ill-equipped to match that tempo and style of play, so many of us had hoped an injection of speed...or scoring ability or...anything...would turn things around and make their 4th line have to play a little bit on their own heels.

Didn't happen. Of course it's a moot point if one of the top 3 lines explodes with production. Or is Rask absolutely stones them. Point being that they didn't lose solely because of the 4th line weakness/bad matchup, but it sure didn't help them win.

 

[EverettMike]

Wow! Do I ever agree with this.

HOWEVER... One thing I thought was exposed? Having an all-slow top scoring line. They looked frustrated to me. That's the only place where I thought the "slow, plodding Bruins" were problematic.

Everything else here though is totally spot on.

The Krejci line has never really seemed to figure out how to grind out a series against Montreal. So strange. They should have dominated in 2011, instead I thought they were the biggest reason it went to 7 and we almost lost.

I also thought last year they should have caused fits, but they just didn't. Should have been like a heavy throwing boxer who just grinds a guy down in the first three rounds or so and then starts dominating because the other guy has too much wear on him.

 

[jgatie]

Montreal did not "skate circles" around us last spring. They scored a lot of their goals on major defensive gaffes or breakaways.

The story of Montreal beating us with small, quick forwards is the lazy tale leftover from the Thornton Bruins, when it was true.

montreal last year played the perfect underdog series and it involved them playing hard and committing at all times.

Absolutely. If anything, it was Montreal's grit guys that killed us, and their dirty play against Chara. Until Chara got his fingers broken, the Habs vaunted speed line of Pacioretty-Dayjarnaise-<insert Smurph here> was doing nothing.

 

[Central Scrutinizer]

I don't think Rask has been great, but I don't think he has been terrible.

For much of this season Milan Lucic was terrible. Does David Krejci determine if he gets more points (or any good center)? Yes. Does Krejci determine if his legs move and he throws hits and gives a damn? No.

Does a center putting the pucks in areas for Lucic to chase it down help? yes
Does having a center with a good possesion game help Lucic in the o zone? Yes

i think Lucic's first 5 games were terrible. i thought since then he has been good 4 out of every 5 games.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Absolutely. If anything, it was Montreal's grit guys that killed us, and their dirty play against Chara. Until Chara got his fingers broken, the Habs vaunted speed line of Pacioretty-Dayjarnaise-<insert Smurph here> was doing nothing.

Pretty easy to forget Vanek played in that series too. Wasn't their big guns that did the damage.