Where's the bridge on defense?

[BruinDust]

Pietrangelo?

I considered him and Hedman, but it would be a tough call in a deal straight up.

 

[Mathews28]

I considered him and Hedman, but it would be a tough call in a deal straight up.

Tough call. Would certainly be an uprising with some of the locals if they made such a move.

 

[Mathews28]

If Dombrowski was a the Bs GM they'd have made a move for a dman...of course their might be no Heinen, Carlo, Senyshin and Lauzon left in the Bruins organization as a result!!!

 

[Bmessy]

If Dombrowski was a the Bs GM they'd have made a move for a dman...of course their might be no Heinen, Carlo, Senyshin and Lauzon left in the Bruins organization as a result!!!

I would absolutely trade a prospect in a package for proven talent. In fact maybe that's why Sweeney loaded up on prospects. Restock the cupboard and flip some (in a package) for proven D help.

Everyone get's all hot and bothered about our prospect pool. It's nice for sure. But they aren't a guarantee by any means

 

[barstool]

Boston will sign Jimmy Vesey then trade him with Nashville for Subban

 

[Mathews28]

I would absolutely trade a prospect in a package for proven talent. In fact maybe that's why Sweeney loaded up on prospects. Restock the cupboard and flip some (in a package) for proven D help.

Everyone get's all hot and bothered about our prospect pool. It's nice for sure. But they aren't a guarantee by any means

I'm not afraid of moving prospects to acquire key pieces.

Moving prospects for marginal improvement, though, bugs me.

If you're loading up on prospects to utilize them in trades, then do it and do it right, acquire difference makers. I know that means taking a risk and moving someone with very high upside, but so be it.

BTW, I'm with you...most prospects DON'T become what you hope they will. And some folks (not all...I don't want the DC guys to think I'm implying they're wasting their time) are unrealistic about the current crop.

The trick is holding onto enough of those who will pan out, so that losing some in a trade doesn't sting so much. Have to have cheap talent in today's NHL.

 

[moonshot summit]

Aside from the Hamonic trade request issue from last season.

In a deal based around Bergeron for Hamonic, which team says no? Or do both reject it?

Say for example Bergeron + McQuaid for Hamonic + one of the Isles good younger forwards.

From the Isles point of view gives them two elite centers at a time when Tavares should be near his peak performance but it's almost like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The Bruins get the younger player at the beginning of his prime at a position of need and have the center depth to do the deal but lose a guy that most believe should retire a Bruin.

Thats a garbage trade. Absolute ****. Just end me now.

 

[Mathews28]

I've always viewed everyone as tradeable but couldn't imagine a Bergy trade ever happening unless for some reason he wanted out.

That said if we're just playing around with what ifs, if Bergy were traded, I would want a Doughty level Dman in return. Giving up way too much at both ends of the ice otherwise.

 

[Fierce1]

My concern in all this is the need for Don Sweeney to have to make the playoffs this year. I don't know that he is under that kind of pressure but JJ will not be happy missing a third year in a row. We all want to get into the playoffs but getting someone like Shattenkirk for a boat load of future and next summer ponying up a 7 x 7 million dollar deal is counter productive. We want a cup not just a playoff birth. We need a soft deal like 2010 Seidenberg for Craig Weller and Byron Bitz to solidify things until some of the kids are ready for a spot. Either we find that under rated/appreciated D-man in a deal or hopefully Morrow and C Miller can step up and gain Julien's trust and ice time.

 

[DKH]

My concern in all this is the need for Don Sweeney to have to make the playoffs this year. I don't know that he is under that kind of pressure but JJ will not be happy missing a third year in a row. We all want to get into the playoffs but getting someone like Shattenkirk for a boat load of future and next summer ponying up a 7 x 7 million dollar deal is counter productive. We want a cup not just a playoff birth. We need a soft deal like 2010 Seidenberg for Craig Weller and Byron Bitz to solidify things until some of the kids are ready for a spot. Either we find that under rated/appreciated D-man in a deal or hopefully Morrow and C Miller can step up and gain Julien's trust and ice time.

If someone is under pressure it ain't Sweeney

Charlie Jacobs can count to 9

 

[Mpasta]

If someone is under pressure it ain't Sweeney

Charlie Jacobs can count to 9

If he's still allowing Neely to make the decisions instead of Sweeney then I have to question how long it takes him to count to 9.

 

[vjcsmoke]

Chia, is that you?

Bergeron for Hamonic? What crack are you smoking man?!

Just because one idiot GM overpays for a defenseman who might be top 4 at best but never a #1D, doesn't mean that our own team needs to join in on the stupidity!

Also, not so long ago Hamonic demanded a trade from the Islanders, and the reasons he gave were personal. If anything he'd want to move closer to his home of Winnipeg if a trade were ever to happen.

Trade request:
https://www.nhl.com/news/islanders-hamonic-cites-family-matter-for-trade-ask/c-788701

Aside from the Hamonic trade request issue from last season.

In a deal based around Bergeron for Hamonic, which team says no? Or do both reject it?

Say for example Bergeron + McQuaid for Hamonic + one of the Isles good younger forwards.

From the Isles point of view gives them two elite centers at a time when Tavares should be near his peak performance but it's almost like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

The Bruins get the younger player at the beginning of his prime at a position of need and have the center depth to do the deal but lose a guy that most believe should retire a Bruin.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I think I would pull the trigger on it but would do my best to switch Bergeron for Krejci. I really do appreciate both players.

I don't think the B's defense is as horrendous as it's made out to be, (it's pretty bad though) and Hamonic would be a huge upgrade and is 5 years or so younger than Bergeron. Plus the B's are trading from a position of strength to address their glaring weakness.

I would have to think that the idea of trading Bergy for any less than far more than fair value, should likely go over like fart in an open casket. And rightfully so.

 

[C77]

Chia, is that you?

Bergeron for Hamonic? What crack are you smoking man?!

Just because one idiot GM overpays for a defenseman who might be top 4 at best but never a #1D, doesn't mean that our own team needs to join in on the stupidity!

Also, not so long ago Hamonic demanded a trade from the Islanders, and the reasons he gave were personal. If anything he'd want to move closer to his home of Winnipeg if a trade were ever to happen.

Trade request:
https://www.nhl.com/news/islanders-hamonic-cites-family-matter-for-trade-ask/c-788701

There are a handful of reasons behind the trade proposal.

1. The Bruins are no longer a contending team.
2. The Bruins are not likely to contend for the next 3 years.
3. The Bruins defense is below average, and Chara will eventually retire, leaving the Bruins, as currently constructed, with one Top 4 guy in Krug.
4. Bergeron just turned 31 and is signed for 6 more years, how many of those years are going to be at a good value?
5. The Bruins signed Backes and he can give you 75% of what Bergeron does at the center position. Plus the B's have Krejci and Spooner.
5. The Bruins do not have enough good young NHL players, Bergeron could be the key piece moved to get this team back into a contention window in 3 or 4 years. He just had his highest goal output of his career, and his value probably couldn't be higher than it is now.

This is professional sports, there are no sacred cows. I do not want to see this team become irrelevant like the Red Wings because they did not move on from veteran players when their value is still high. Better to move a guy a year too early than a year too late.

So if it's something like Bergeron + McQuaid for Hamonic + Nelson + NYI 1st 2017 isn't it worth considering? Or maybe they give up Pulock as well? It's hard to really know the actual trade value of Bergeron. Add something to the deal like Kulemin if Isles need to move money.

Or if Trouba is the guy the Bruins want he could be the biggest piece maybe with Ehlers and the Bruins swap Hayes for Stafford for his last year to make the cap hit work.

What's the alternative? Move a young cost-controlled guy like Spooner who has his best days ahead to add a defenseman that the Bruins are already going to have to pay big dollars? Plus for Spooner it's probably not going to be a high quality d-man which means it won't resolve this team's issues.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

Who is going to bridge the gap between Chara and our cupboard full of prospects?

Are we going to bank on some D prospects becoming NHL top 4 dmen by the time they are 20? That's not a bet I would like to take. We have some good looking prospects but realistically maybe 20% will turn out to NHL players and god knows how long it'll take to develop. Everyone penciling in 100% of our draft picks in our future rosters is delusional.

Boychuk and Hamilton were bridges to the future. They were traded for more futures. What's gunna happen when Chara is gone? All I see right now is Krug in the top 4. (I'm blatantly ignoring McQuaid and K. Miller because they are bottom 6 Dmen) Will we hopefully make that trade for a young top 4 and pay that price? Any UFA veterans on the map?

Let me add that I'm not just focusing on the #1 Dman. We will need one when Chara leaves and clearly that's a problem. But we are also missing a #2 and #3 Dmen. It's quite scary! Maybe Krug will keep improving to a #2 or #3 but he's the only top 4 defender we have 2 years in the future.

between bouque and chara we had mclaren and potentially wesley... but they were traded

and then all we had was boynton... and then stuart

somehow it fixed itself

chara came with alot of press but ferrence and ward were castoffs... boychuk was a nobody... seidenberg was a deadline deal

fixing the d might not be sexy as we want... but pittsbugh just won with a d most of us thought was crap. last year chicago won with 3 nhl dmen...

teams are dealing number 1 dmen frequently now. seth jones and adam larson were rated best dmen in their draft class. subban and weber are norris caliber.

the price is high... but these guys are available.

will brent burns reach ufa? will chicago be forced to trade seabrook?

who among us knew chara was going to be a bruin when we were stuck watching hal gill and shannon morrisson eat mins?

i hope the answer comes sooner than later but we saw failures before bringing in paul coffey and brian leetch... al iafrate and reed larson.

you cant just automatically grab the sexiest name available without giving it careful thought if the price is a first line forward like bergeron

 

[Gump Hasek]

Or if Trouba is the guy the Bruins want he could be the biggest piece maybe with Ehlers and the Bruins swap Hayes for Stafford for his last year to make the cap hit work.

Hello. Bergeron is an awesome player. That said, the Jets are in the process of building a young and fast lineup that is designed to compete together going forward. Think of them in these terms:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jets-window-opportunity-opening-sooner-later/

Pretty much the last thing the Winnipeg franchise is seeking is a 31 y/o C, let alone at the cost of their 22 y/o RHD and a barely 20 y/o budding future star forward.

Winnipeg wouldn't even consider that offer.

 

[C77]

Hello. Bergeron is an awesome player. That said, the Jets are in the process of building a young and fast lineup that is designed to compete together going forward. Think of them in these terms:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jets-window-opportunity-opening-sooner-later/

Pretty much the last thing the Winnipeg franchise is seeking is a 31 y/o C, let alone at the cost of their 22 y/o RHD and a barely 20 y/o budding future star forward.

Winnipeg wouldn't even consider that offer.

First thing is that we don't really know the value of the players, but I think Winnipeg could make sense.

Maybe it's not Trouba + Ehlers, maybe it's Trouba plus another prospect with a few other players moving to make the cap work.

Winnipeg might want to accelerate things in order to be more competitive while guys like Wheeler, Byfuglien, and Enstrom are still in their prime years.

 

[Gump Hasek]

First thing is that we don't really know the value of the players, but I think Winnipeg could make sense.

Maybe it's not Trouba + Ehlers, maybe it's Trouba plus another prospect with a few other players moving to make the cap work.

Winnipeg might want to accelerate things in order to be more competitive while guys like Wheeler, Byfuglien, and Enstrom are still in their prime years.

The Jets don't need any forwards, even one as good as Bergeron. They are stacked at forward and are now building from within. If they traded Trouba, then they'd need another Trouba in return - which is why they are currently negotiating to re-sign him. They might trade Enstrom within a year when Morrissey has proven he is ready to take over that spot, but that is about it.

PS: No need to accelerate anything. That is coming this season from within...

 

[BruinDust]

between bouque and chara we had mclaren and potentially wesley... but they were traded

and then all we had was boynton... and then stuart

somehow it fixed itself

chara came with alot of press but ferrence and ward were castoffs... boychuk was a nobody... seidenberg was a deadline deal

fixing the d might not be sexy as we want... but pittsbugh just won with a d most of us thought was crap. last year chicago won with 3 nhl dmen...

teams are dealing number 1 dmen frequently now. seth jones and adam larson were rated best dmen in their draft class. subban and weber are norris caliber.

the price is high... but these guys are available.

will brent burns reach ufa? will chicago be forced to trade seabrook?

who among us knew chara was going to be a bruin when we were stuck watching hal gill and shannon morrisson eat mins?

i hope the answer comes sooner than later but we saw failures before bringing in paul coffey and brian leetch... al iafrate and reed larson.

you cant just automatically grab the sexiest name available without giving it careful thought if the price is a first line forward like bergeron

Actually they are not.

Jones and Larsson aren't No.1 D-men, at least not yet. Jones has a better chance of becoming one than Larsson but he's not even a Top 20 guy in the league yet, maybe not even top 30.

If Larsson still had legit No.1 potential (I don't care about where he was ranked in his draft class) he's still a Devil. Likely tops out as a solid No.2 guy, and even that is debatable.

The Weber for Subban trade was an anomaly. Subban for whatever reason burned his bridges in Montreal. Nashville loved the player, and found a way to get out of a massive contract they didn't negotiate themselves, and a player who looks like has peaked and is on the decline (albeit he's still an excellent player today).