Proposal: Solving Boston's center depth beyond this season

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Why does every team always want to rid themselves of JT Miller?

 

[smithformeragent]

There’s that scene in The Rise of Skywalker where they reveal that The Emperor actually had a jar full of Snoke clones.

I’m holding out hope that Sweeney’s ace up his sleeve is that he has a secret lair under North Station where he’s growing a Bergeron clone.

 

[Canuck Luck]

Why does every team always want to rid themselves of JT Miller?

We don't want to rid ourselves of Miller. We just dont have any cap space to re-sign him thanks to yours truly, Jim Benning and the mess he left us. We aren't cup contenders, we can't afford to bring back Miller, that leaves trading him as our only option.

 

[Babajingo]

They should've had the plan last year and signed Danault. But Prof Donnie had a smarter plan signing Filigno, Nosek and Haula for 3 million more than Philip.
Looking forward, I don't see any long term signings. I imagine the good FAs will be re-signed. So it looks like 30 somethings and draft. So, i guess its 30 somethings.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

We don't want to rid ourselves of Miller. We just dont have any cap space to re-sign him thanks to yours truly, Jim Benning and the mess he left us. We aren't cup contenders, we can't afford to bring back Miller, that leaves trading him as our only option.

does the OP have a concrete source saying both Bergeron and Krejci both leave at the end of 2022/23 as originally suggested.

 

[TCB]

Incorrect

He has 2 seasons over a ppg and was a beast during the shortened season too. He’s not a 1 year wonder, that’s a nonsense claim. He’s been an elite player for the last 3 seasons. People are vastly underrating him here.

Its intriguing but Id have to pass. He's a good player and Yes he just came off his second season where he's averaged more than a point per game in his 10 year career, So now don't get me wrong Im a Miller fan and like what he brings to the table but no way in hell am I'm giving up Lysell a first in this years draft which is suppose to be the most loaded draft since 2015 and then adding a 2nd down the road. For a player who's going to be UFA at seasons end and with Pasta still unsigned and needing a pay raise.

I'd look for other ways to shed salary or id just stick with Foligno before I gave up that much of the futures and their both off the books at seasons end anyways, and Smith is more than moveable.

On top of that I don't think Krejci came back to play 3rd line minutes, a signed Miller and two years the younger, maybe.

 

[JOKER 192]

Bruins have more than enough centers for this year and are assured of nothing as far as miller is concerned going forward.

Also putting Coyle on the wing basically cancels out any gain Miller brings. Time for the Bruins to start keeping their picks and prospects.

 

[McGarnagle]

Under no circumstances am I giving up 7 years of cost-controlled Fabian Lysell for an impending UFA JT frickin' Miller.

 

[Bruinsguy613]

I think even going into next season of bergy and Dk don’t come back you still have Zacha, Studnicka, Coyle, possibly Beecher, mclovin all vying for center spots. Some of the guys mentioned will need a good look at the position to see how they do but that won’t happen until 37/46 are gone. We don’t have cap space to sign a UFA really so we need to develop those internally.

 

[CDJ]

Under no circumstances am I giving up 7 years of cost-controlled Fabian Lysell for an impending UFA JT frickin' Miller.

Proposal says Miller is signed for 7 years

 

[McGarnagle]

Still not worth it. I'm holding onto Lysell for dear life.

 

[JoeIsAStud]

Thats what 31 other fanbases usually say too. 1 JT Miller 32 teams. Math there doesn't add up. Not every fanbase is going to get him. Having him before his contract ends, and having him familiarize himself to the new city increases the likelihood he stays.

But you are going to have to sign him in the offseason either way. I guess maybe you have a bit of an advantage if here plays here this year.

Unless you want to wait until after Pasta hits FA to try and sign him.

Due to NHL rules, it would likely be impossible to trade for him, and then sign both Miller and Pasta to long term deals

 

[Dizzay]

There's always signing UFA's to fill that void......doesn't have to be done through the draft.
When Bergy and Krejci retire, we have:
Coyle, Studnicka, Frederic, Beacher, Harrison, Poitras, Spicer, Locmelis,

The team can sign a center at some point, or trade for one. Don't think we need to panic

 

[Hookslide]

We don't want to rid ourselves of Miller. We just dont have any cap space to re-sign him thanks to yours truly, Jim Benning and the mess he left us. We aren't cup contenders, we can't afford to bring back Miller, that leaves trading him as our only option.

I hope you can find the money for him because the Bruins should stay away .............He is going to want to much and to longof a deal........

 

[Absurdity]

There's always signing UFA's to fill that void......doesn't have to be done through the draft.
When Bergy and Krejci retire, we have:
Coyle, Studnicka, Frederic, Beacher, Harrison, Poitras, Spicer, Locmelis,

The team can sign a center at some point, or trade for one. Don't think we need to panic

Missing Merkulov who I think has a good chance at becoming an NHLer. Zacha is missing too if he is re-signed. There's a good crop of UFA centers next offseason as well, whether they make it to free agency or not is another story, but there is a good crop regardless.

Hey Bruins fans, I come in peace. With the likelihood of both Bergeron and Krejici retiring at the end of this year, that leaves Boston with just Coyle as a top 6 C. The Canucks have Miller available, and there seems to be a fit for him in Boston. Not neccessarily this season, but future years if the plan is to continue to go for it. So I thought why doesn't Boston go all in this season while having cap to re-sign Miller long term?

Heres my proposal (with the premise Miller is willing to sign either a 8 year 7M extension or 7 x 7.75M extension with Boston):

To Boston:
JT Miller (50% retained)

To Vancouver:
Craig Smith
Nick Foligno
Fabian Lysell
2023 1st round pick
2025 2nd round pick

Sure a top prospect + a future 1st and 2nd are a lot to give up, but this gets Boston out of their cap issues (-$1,441,667) with just over 2M in cap space. I would imagine both Krejici and Bergeron hit their bonuses, so just under 2.5M penalty carries through for next season which makes retaining Miller even more possible.

Boston's lineup would be something like:
Marchand Bergeron Pastarnak
Hall Krejici Debrusk
Zacha Miller Coyle
Frederic Nosek Wagner

Lindholm McAvoy
Grzelyck Carlo
Reilly Forbort

Swayman
Ullmark

In the offseason, if Boston needs more cap space, i'm sure it would be relatively easy to find a team that needs Ullmark creating the cap space to re-sign Swayman and replacing Ullmark with a backup.

For the Canucks we shore up our prospect pool and get 2 vets we can hope to sell to the highest bidder with 50% ret at the TDL

Value-wise it's pretty close, but I don't think the ideas around the proposal make much sense.

1. Bruins do not need to move any players in a trade to be cap compliant for this upcoming season. They can waive Wagner and Foligno and use LTIR to be compliant. Once the team is healthy, there's a good chance a defenseman could be moved. Cap space is very expensive this offseason.

2. Will Bergeron and Krejci retire after this season? A lot of folks said both were gone after last season. Both returned. I think they are going to take it year by year. If Krejci proves he can play in the NHL, I don't see why he won't, why block them from playing again for the 2023-2024 season? Is it worth having $10m+ tied to Coyle and Miller for the 3rd line? Would Miller want that?

3. Will Miller extend with the Bruins? We don't know that for sure. If a retool/rebuild is on the way, will Miller want to be in that situation? Some Bruins fans are bringing up that reasoning right now regarding Pastrnak. As a UFA and in the position the Bruins are in, Lysell makes more sense to keep than to trade for a rental.

4. As great as Miller is, he'll be 30 next season. Do the Bruins want to commit long term for a player at that age? He'll be productive for a number of years, but long-term it can be a risk. If the Bruins are losing Krejci and Bergeron, wouldn't they try to get younger? If a retool/rebuild is on the way, will signing Miller long term even make sense?

 

[Hookslide]

Missing Merkulov who I think has a good chance at becoming an NHLer. Zacha is missing too if he is re-signed. There's a good crop of UFA centers next offseason as well, whether they make it to free agency or not is another story, but there is a good crop regardless.

Value-wise it's pretty close, but I don't think the ideas around the proposal make much sense.

1. Bruins do not need to move any players in a trade to be cap compliant for this upcoming season. They can waive Wagner and Foligno and use LTIR to be compliant. Once the team is healthy, there's a good chance a defenseman could be moved. Cap space is very expensive this offseason.

2. Will Bergeron and Krejci retire after this season? A lot of folks said both were gone after last season. Both returned. I think they are going to take it year by year. If Krejci proves he can play in the NHL, I don't see why he won't, why block them from playing again for the 2023-2024 season? Is it worth having $10m+ tied to Coyle and Miller for the 3rd line? Would Miller want that?

3. Will Miller extend with the Bruins? We don't know that for sure. If a retool/rebuild is on the way, will Miller want to be in that situation? Some Bruins fans are bringing up that reasoning right now regarding Pastrnak. As a UFA and in the position the Bruins are in, Lysell makes more sense to keep than to trade for a rental.

4. As great as Miller is, he'll be 30 next season. Do the Bruins want to commit long term for a player at that age? He'll be productive for a number of years, but long-term it can be a risk. If the Bruins are losing Krejci and Bergeron, wouldn't they try to get younger? If a retool/rebuild is on the way, will signing Miller long term even make sense?

Bruins should not pursue Smith .

 

[BruinsBtn]

Thats what 31 other fanbases usually say too. 1 JT Miller 32 teams. Math there doesn't add up. Not every fanbase is going to get him. Having him before his contract ends, and having him familiarize himself to the new city increases the likelihood he stays.

Yeah but what are the Bruins going to do with Miller this season anyway? They already have 3 centers. They don't need him until next year.

 

[MattFromFranklin]

Why does every team always want to rid themselves of JT Miller?

Stupid GM's. There are quite a few of them in the NHL.

 

[GordonHowe]

I would do it in a heartbeat

I would not trade the first or even a second round 2023 pick. That draft is supposed to be very very deep. And I do not want to trade Fabian either.

I don't know what the answer is, but for me, that's not it.

 

[Bocephus86]

The way I broke it down was:
Foligno + 2nd for nothing
Smith + lysell + 2nd for miller
50% miller retention for 2nd

So I took the value of 2 of those 2nds as a 1st

You're getting a lot of crap for this post but that is legit logic. I wouldn't do it but you shouldn't be laughed out of here.

Only reason I wouldnt is we HAVE to hit on Lysell & need out picks. This is Krejcis swan song, and likely Bergeron's as well. The remaining team isn't trash/early pick level, but the worst thing to be is first round purgatory, and we need young forward talent.

That being said, something like this will probably happen at the deadline and I'll cry into my puck-hat, then spend the next 3 months tellig everyone it was a good move.

 

[MarchysNoseKnows]

Stupid GM's. There are quite a few of them in the NHL.

Stupid GMs like Steve Yzerman and Jeff Gorton?

 

[BigGoalBrad]

Worry about it next summer. DK and Bergeron are playing for pennies on the dollar. We probably can't improve the position without moving Coyle's salary out. Hopefully Coyle can have a good season this year and carry some positive value.

I'd rather not rush into getting any mediocre 2nd/3rd line centers until Krejci and Bergeron are officially done. You pay the wrong guy big money and the position is going to be bad for a while.

 

[PlayMakers]

I like JT Miller, but I don't think he's going to get what Vancouver fans think he's going to get. Unfortunately even at a reduced price, the Bruins can't afford to pay it. They can't give up a 1st or Lysell.

 

[bbfan419]

I like JT Miller, but I don't think he's going to get what Vancouver fans think he's going to get. Unfortunately even at a reduced price, the Bruins can't afford to pay it. They can't give up a 1st or Lysell.

Agree, Lysell, Lohrei and all 1st and 2nd rd picks need to be kept, Miller is a good player, but not worth the cost to trade for him, we also need to start getting younger. Next year Foligno, Smith, Nosek all will be gone.

 

[Ratty]

There's always signing UFA's to fill that void......doesn't have to be done through the draft.
When Bergy and Krejci retire, we have:
Coyle, Studnicka, Frederic, Beacher, Harrison, Poitras, Spicer, Locmelis,

The team can sign a center at some point, or trade for one. Don't think we need to panic

Did you overlook Merkulov? I would hope that in the coming season one or two of Zacha, Merkulov, Beecher, Studnicka will emerge to cover a center slot(s).