Boston Bruins 2020-2021 Roster Discussion IV - STAY ON TOPIC

[sarge88]

This infuriated me and why the Bruins need to load up

Michael Haley tells the real story behind his beatdown of David Backes.

I like Michael Haley but going after David Backes is clear garbage

Backes hasn’t been able to fight for years and do to his concussion history he shouldn’t

I was at that game and Haley saying Chara elbowed Kaner or whatever is hilarious- Kane pulled serious BS the entire shift

Good on a 40 something Chara for retaliation but more the reason they need a handful of guys who will drop them

Backes is one good punch from zululand

he’s playing and he’s fair game but he told Haley no

why I’m sick of a soft team

Haley talks tough and maybe there was no one else to go with the Bruins have gotten away from their style

Seriously If I’m Haley 0.0 I go after Backes - out of respect, age, concussion history I try and get a big hit on McAvoy or Carlo

Couldn’t agree more!

 

[shelbysdad]

Would any of you guys trade carlo for hannifin?

not even in a video game

 

[Don Cherry]

You'd love him, gooey soft and super fast

Sounds like a Cassidy binky.

 

[Dr Hook]

Would any of you guys trade carlo for hannifin?

I wouldn't. Fill one need only to create another, probably worse, one. I would like to see Hanifin come here and line up with Gryz and Lauzon/Zboril on the left side, but not by creating the same problem on the right side you just fixed on the left.

 

[The don godfather]

I wouldn't. Fill one need only to create another, probably worse, one. I would like to see Hanifin come here and line up with Gryz and Lauzon/Zboril on the left side, but not by creating the same problem on the right side you just fixed on the left.

If donny can sign granlund only 28. Then trade debrusk for hannifin. That could be a good move ?

 

[shelbysdad]

If donny can sign granlund only 28. Then trade debrusk for hannifin. That could be a good move ?

I wonder of the expansion draft is screwing up things for this year....

With McAvoy, Carlo,Grz, Lauzon, throw in Hanafin, Zboril we will lose a decent D

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I wouldn't. Fill one need only to create another, probably worse, one. I would like to see Hanifin come here and line up with Gryz and Lauzon/Zboril on the left side, but not by creating the same problem on the right side you just fixed on the left.

Definitely a worse situation because your RHD depth goes to:

McAvoy
Clifton
Miller

Lauzon as the LHD who can play the off side but for strictly righties, that’s significantly weaker.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

With the Covid uncertainty and a stagnant cap for 2 or three years Don’s approach might not be as bad as most of us think. We will have over 25 mil is space next year. Let’s see how things play out

With 7 forwards, 5 dmen and no goalies under contract, and Carlo as a RFA.

Let's see how things play out.

 

[missingchicklet]

Take it for what it’s worth. Eklund! Hockey Buzz! Go with it as you may. Hoffman is looking for a one year deal for five million and is signing shortly. The three teams involved are Montreal, Buffalo , and our Bruins. Just of the rumor press.

That would be a great deal and fit for Boston for a year, especially a year with so much uncertainty. Do what it takes to make it work. Seems like the Bs only have one last hurrah, maybe two, with this core. It would be a real shame if the Bs falter in the playoffs yet again because they lack that secondary scoring winger they have now needed for years. Hoffman is proven. No sense in rolling the dice with what ifs and maybes. Been going down that road for too long. Hoffman's game is well-suited for the Bs, and he will be motivated as hell not only for a chance at a Cup, but also his next contract.

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I can agree hoffman would be expected to provide more offense than bjork or kase... but those arent the roster spots he would occupy

I dont see room for hoffman unless debrusk is leaving town

What is debrusk ask? Is he seeking 4.5? More?

Could it make sense... get hoffman freeagent AND get something for debrusk? Give up on debrusk future?

Im very lukewarm but if debrusk/vaakanainen lands us hanifin... and if moore can be dumped with a 2nd... are we stronger?

Hoffman and hanifin
Or
Debrusk and moore
Cost of vaakanainen and a 2nd

Could be enough to make us cup favorite?

 

[ON3M4N]

IDK if this is a new features for CF or I've never noticed it, but they have projected lines for each team. Boston's is currently based off Marchand/Pasta being out and here is what CF has:

Bjork - Bergeron - Smith
DeBrusk - Krejci - Kase
Ritchie - Coyle - Kuhlman
Lindholm - Kuraly - Wagner

Grzelcyk - McAvoy
Lauzon - Carlo
Moore - Clifton

Scratches - Studnicka, Frederic & Miller

YIKES!

 

[Don Cherry]

IDK if this is a new features for CF or I've never noticed it, but they have projected lines for each team. Boston's is currently based off Marchand/Pasta being out and here is what CF has:

Bjork - Bergeron - Smith
DeBrusk - Krejci - Kase
Ritchie - Coyle - Kuhlman
Lindholm - Kuraly - Wagner

Grzelcyk - McAvoy
Lauzon - Carlo
Moore - Clifton

Scratches - Studnicka, Frederic & Miller

YIKES!

Bjork on the first line? Kuhlman and Lindholm in the lineup? Kase on the 2nd line?

 

[ON3M4N]

Bjork on the first line? Kuhlman and Lindholm in the lineup? Kase on the 2nd line?

I could see Kase on L2 when everyone is healthy. He and Krejci seemed to have some good chemistry during the playoffs. As for the rest, who knows. Again their CF projected line-ups. I personally can't imagine Studnicka wouldn't get the nod over Kuhlman

 

[PlayMakers]

I wonder of the expansion draft is screwing up things for this year....

With McAvoy, Carlo,Grz, Lauzon, throw in Hanafin, Zboril we will lose a decent D

If they dealt DeBrusk for a good top4 D,
they could always go with the protect 8 strategy (as MMB mentioned a few weeks ago).

Marchand, Pasta, Bergeron and Coyle as the 4 forwards, McAvoy, Hanifin, Carlo and Gryz as the 4 D. Rask is ufa, Krejci is ufa, so they don’t need to be protected.

We’d be at risk of losing one of Bjork, Kase, Smith, Kuhlman, Lauzon, Clifton... Maybe between now and the draft some of those guys take a step forward and become really valuable but if the expansion draft were today we wouldn’t lose too much sleep over losing one of those guys.

 

[yazmybaby]

If donny can sign granlund only 28. Then trade debrusk for hannifin. That could be a good move ?

JDB for Hanifan would be a steal, no way the Flames make that trade. They would want a dee in return, maybe Vaak and JDB would work?

 

[Don Cherry]

I could see Kase on L2 when everyone is healthy. He and Krejci seemed to have some good chemistry during the playoffs. As for the rest, who knows. Again their CF projected line-ups. I personally can't imagine Studnicka wouldn't get the nod over Kuhlman

I understand that it's not your own lineup. I agree it Kuhlman plays over Studnicka then that's simply sad.

By the way, what's CF?

 

[ON3M4N]

I understand that it's not your own lineup. I agree it Kuhlman plays over Studnicka then that's simply sad.

By the way, what's CF?

Cap Friendly

 

[smack66]

JDB for Hanifan would be a steal, no way the Flames make that trade. They would want a dee in return, maybe Vaak and JDB would work?

no way do I trade jdb and Vaak for Hanifan seems a bit overrated plus we now have to expose Gryz. seems like an awful lot

 

[HustleB]

If they dealt DeBrusk for a good top4 D,
they could always go with the protect 8 strategy (as MMB mentioned a few weeks ago).

Marchand, Pasta, Bergeron and Coyle as the 4 forwards, McAvoy, Hanifin, Carlo and Gryz as the 4 D. Rask is ufa, Krejci is ufa, so they don’t need to be protected.

We’d be at risk of losing one of Bjork, Kase, Smith, Kuhlman, Lauzon, Clifton... Maybe between now and the draft some of those guys take a step forward and become really valuable but if the expansion draft were today we wouldn’t lose too much sleep over losing one of those guys.

The issue here is that losing DeBrusk on a team that struggles to score goals seems to be throwing in the towel for the coming season. I mean Hannifin would have to be a huge upgrade on Krug for this to improve our team.

 

[PlayMakers]

The issue here is that losing DeBrusk on a team that struggles to score goals seems to be throwing in the towel for the coming season. I mean Hannifin would have to be a huge upgrade on Krug for this to improve our team.

I think you could make the argument that expecting Lauzon or Zboril to be top pair defensemen this year is akin to throwing in the towel. Lauzon hasn’t dominated the 3rd pair, let alone top pairs, and Zboril’s only been good enough to warrant 2 NHL games.

Smith in, DeBrusk out is a wash in terms of goals. Kase for a full year should help if he can stay healthy. Bjork a year older. Maybe JDB out opens the door for Studnicka to play full time as well.

 

[Trap Jesus]

It's been a really confusing offseason so far. I like the Smith deal but, while we have a lot of uncertainty on the right side, it's still an area of a ton of depth:

Pastrnak
Smith
Kase
Studnicka
Wagner
Bjork on the right side if necessary

I thought Studnicka was a lock for a full-time role, but if this roster holds once Pasta comes back, there won't be a spot for him.

Have to think they're shopping DeBrusk for a D upgrade, but I certainly would have expected that to happen by now.

 

[HustleB]

I think you could make the argument that expecting Lauzon or Zboril to be top pair defensemen this year is akin to throwing in the towel. Lauzon hasn’t dominated the 3rd pair, let alone top pairs, and Zboril’s only been good enough to warrant 2 NHL games.

Smith in, DeBrusk out is a wash in terms of goals. Kase for a full year should help if he can stay healthy. Bjork a year older. Maybe JDB out opens the door for Studnicka to play full time as well.

All good points. I would hate to see Jake go but there are no easy answers this year.

 

[BruinDust]

I think you could make the argument that expecting Lauzon or Zboril to be top pair defensemen this year is akin to throwing in the towel. Lauzon hasn’t dominated the 3rd pair, let alone top pairs, and Zboril’s only been good enough to warrant 2 NHL games.

Smith in, DeBrusk out is a wash in terms of goals. Kase for a full year should help if he can stay healthy. Bjork a year older. Maybe JDB out opens the door for Studnicka to play full time as well.

As it stands right now, based on what we've seen thus far, the Bruins left-side is (in order):

1) Gryz - A 3rd pairing undersized puck-moving D-man. Is he more than that? We will see.

2) Moore - Has not been a consistent part of the Bruins line-up in nearly two years

3) Lauzon - A 23-year old with 41 games of NHL experience (just 3 points in those 41 games).

4) Zboril - A 23-year old with just TWO games of NHL experience

5) K.Miller - A 33-year old right-shot defender coming of a major knee injury and hasn't played an NHL game in 20 months. (Note Miller has shown he can play his off-side previously).

6) Vaakanainen - A 21 (almost 22) year old with 7 games of NHL experience

Wildcard - Zdeno Chara - the league's oldest player and doesn't seem capable of anything more than 3rd pairing minutes and 2nd unit PK duty at this stage of his career.

That's an awful lot of question marks.

Basically what we know about the Bruins D is:

1) McAvoy is a legit top-pairing RD

2) Carlo is a solid complimentary 2nd pair/1st PK RD.

After that, we don't really know anything about how it will all shape up. The good news is this team has been able to sustain solid team defensive structure basically since Julien's first season as coach, so that should be beneficial to the D-group overall.

 

[Trap Jesus]

As it stands right now, based on what we've seen thus far, the Bruins left-side is (in order):

1) Gryz - A 3rd pairing undersized puck-moving D-man. Is he more than that? We will see.

2) Moore - Has not been a consistent part of the Bruins line-up in nearly two years

3) Lauzon - A 23-year old with 41 games of NHL experience (just 3 points in those 41 games).

4) Zboril - A 23-year old with just TWO games of NHL experience

5) K.Miller - A 33-year old right-shot defender coming of a major knee injury and hasn't played an NHL game in 20 months. (Note Miller has shown he can play his off-side previously).

6) Vaakanainen - A 21 (almost 22) year old with 7 games of NHL experience

Wildcard - Zdeno Chara - the league's oldest player and doesn't seem capable of anything more than 3rd pairing minutes and 2nd unit PK duty at this stage of his career.

That's an awful lot of question marks.

Basically what we know about the Bruins D is:

1) McAvoy is a legit top-pairing RD

2) Carlo is a solid complimentary 2nd pair/1st PK RD.

After that, we don't really know anything about how it will all shape up. The good news is this team has been able to sustain solid team defensive structure basically since Julien's first season as coach, so that should be beneficial to the D-group overall.

This is underselling Grz, he's performed extremely well up in the line-up when given the opportunity. I would feel completely comfortable with him beside either McAvoy or Carlo. Problem is that there's a colossal sized whole at LD outside of him. There are zero suitable options to play in the top 4, and I'm a fan of Lauzon's game.

 

[BruinDust]

This is underselling Grz, he's performed extremely well up in the line-up when given the opportunity. I would feel completely comfortable with him beside either McAvoy or Carlo. Problem is that there's a colossal sized whole at LD outside of him. There are zero suitable options to play in the top 4, and I'm a fan of Lauzon's game.

It's not though. I'm a fan of him and think he can play higher up in the line-up on a more consistent basis. But thus far, 3rd pairing LD has been his primary role at the NHL level. Minimal special teams role thus far as well whether its on the PP or PK.

Fact is, most NHL D-men can play up the line-up on spot duty, which is what we've seen from Gryz thus far. Spot duty outside of the 3rd pair. There isn't a single proven Top 4 LD on this roster. I'm hopeful we'll see enough out of Gryz, Lauzon, and Zboril that it won't be an issue. I don't even have an issue with it as I think the team's structure can protect and enhance D-men who grasp the system, and finding an upgrade I don't see much if anything available. And if it was, it means subtracting from the forward group/secondary scoring and they can't afford to do that IMO, it's a far bigger issue.

I think the Bruins D will be OK but it's a question mark right now as it stands.