Line Combos: Bruins D pairings for 2013-2014

[XtremeofParanoia]

Softies??? And, if Boychuk is #2, where does that leave Seidenberg?

His first goal broke through Hank's armpit on a shot we've seen Lundqvist make a million times. Second goal looked like a knuckler that beat him five-hole. In either case, both were goals that Lundqvist usually stops.

And my point with Boychuk was that at this juncture with Seidenberg being out, Boychuk has been your #2 defenseman and has been logging tough minutes while chipping in on both ends.

Sorry, just not ready to start handing out roster spots for two otherwise unproven players. I just look at Krug and see flashes of Kampfer and, well, we all saw how that turned out.

 

[Ratty]

His first goal broke through Hank's armpit on a shot we've seen Lundqvist make a million times. Second goal looked like a knuckler that beat him five-hole. In either case, both were goals that Lundqvist usually stops.

And my point with Boychuk was that at this juncture with Seidenberg being out, Boychuk has been your #2 defenseman and has been logging tough minutes while chipping in on both ends.

Sorry, just not ready to start handing out roster spots for two otherwise unproven players. I just look at Krug and see flashes of Kampfer and, well, we all saw how that turned out.

You seem to overlook what Krug did before the shot to get to a point where it had a chance to go in.

I'm certainly not annointing him to Seidenberg's #2 spot next year, but I look at the skill level that this kid has, and, properly nurtured, has the chance to be a regular next year. Ference' contract is up.

 

[Root]

You seem to overlook what Krug did before the shot to get to a point where it had a chance to go in.

I'm certainly not annointing him to Seidenberg's #2 spot next year, but I look at the skill level that this kid has, and, properly nurtured, has the chance to be a regular next year. Ference' contract is up.

Krug didn't do anything spectacular before the shot to lead to those goals. that's not me criticizing him either, it's just a fact. I think the excitement for Krug is well warranted, but what has me excited is the way he skates with the puck up the ice and how he has the ability to take open ice and skate out of danger. the goals he scored were clutch and they certainly shouldn't be overlooked, but at the same time they weren't snipes. I agree with XtremeofParanoia, for Henrik those were soft goals to give up.

 

[theswede2013]

You seem to overlook what Krug did before the shot to get to a point where it had a chance to go in.

I'm certainly not annointing him to Seidenberg's #2 spot next year, but I look at the skill level that this kid has, and, properly nurtured, has the chance to be a regular next year. Ference' contract is up.

Yes Ference contract is up. With the emergence of all three he should be gone. I like Ference but I like the youth movement even more. Especially Krug right now. He does not have a blistering shot but on that ends up with rebounds. On Cambells goal I think that is the type of play to expect from Krug getting on net and with the big guys in front smacking in the rebounds. Lucic could make a career with stuff.

Krug might end up being that 7th man on the D rotation or being a consistent call up when needed. I think he also needs to play Bart is at a point in his career where I don't see him going back down to providence at all.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

I don't like moving Boychuk. He's a top-4 defenseman who is paid relatively modestly for what he brings to the table.

But those are the targets... What do you want to do with the cap space?

Resign Sieds after next season.

Bruins need some bargain money somewhere, nice that they could possibly do that on D.

 

[patty59]

I like Boychuk too. Always have. But I've also always wanted a more mobile, attacking defense, like the one we're seeing now. And if I have to choose between Boychuk and Seidenberg, I'd go with der berger.

As for potential targets...

I'd spend some of the money on a crash and bang winger like Cal Clutterbuck. There are rumors he's available, maybe some combination of Boychuk/Peverley/Kelly gets it done.

I'd also love to get a winger for Krejci who pushes his offensive game, but I don't think that guy's available, so short of that I'd bring back Horton. As frustrating as his disappearing acts have been during the regular season, he's brought it in every playoff series he's played in.

CAPGEEK.COM USER GENERATED ROSTER

FORWARDS
Milan Lucic ($6.000m) / David Krejci ($5.250m) / Nathan Horton ($5.500m)
Brad Marchand ($4.500m) / Patrice Bergeron ($5.000m) / Tyler Seguin ($5.750m)
Ryan Spooner ($0.870m) / Carl Soderberg ($1.008m) / Cal Clutterbuck ($3.000m)
Daniel Paille ($1.300m) / Gregory Campbell ($1.600m) / Shawn Thornton ($1.100m)
Chris Bourque ($0.550m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Zdeno Chara ($6.917m) / Dougie Hamilton ($1.494m)
Matt Bartkowski ($0.650m) / Dennis Seidenberg ($3.250m)
Torey Krug ($1.704m) / Adam McQuaid ($1.567m)
Wade Redden ($1.000m) /

GOALTENDERS
Tuukka Rask ($5.500m)
Niklas Svedberg ($1.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $64,510,000; BONUSES: $1,822,500
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $1,612,500
..............................................................

I was saying in another (older) thread that I envied the hustle and jam some of the younger teams in our division played with this year so I chose to cut costs by cutting experienced depth. I've also never been crazy about the new model here of having a defense-first 3rd line center. I feel like this team was at it's best when that 3rd line could also score (like in 2009 or during Kelly's career-best run).

When you have two centers who are as good defensively as our top two are, who can regularly match-up with (and outplay) the other teams top lines, then that should give a team with a talented 3rd line an advantage over other teams who are less about depth and more top heavy.

I don't mind that lineup. The D is probably pretty much what we'll see next year. But 3M for Clutterbuck is too much, it would be worse than giving 3M to Kelly, Kelly can at least play C and win faceoffs and he's a great PKer. Clutterbuck hits and that's about it. 5.5M seems good for Horton, it's pretty obvious that this team needs him in the lineup.

 

[theswede2013]

Does anyone feel bad for Aaron Johnson? I could not imagine a worst feeling of being with the club all year and not be asked to play and have the cubs come up and play great right in front of you. I feel for the guy but I could fit in and get paid to take shots at our back up goalie too.

 

[PlayMakers]

So-and-so has a NTC should be a statement banned from hf.

As if no player with a NTC has EVER been dealt before. It happens constantly.

Agreed. NTC doesn't mean you can't be traded. It just means you get to have a say in where you're traded (before we buy out your ass! j/k).

I don't trade Boychuk, if Hamilton has a sophomore slump or one of Bartkowski or Krug turns into a pumpkin (ala Hunwick/Kampfer) the Bruins suddenly become razor thin on defence and we are trying to get a guy like Boychuk at the deadline.

Normally I'd be in 100% agreement. I'm a firm believer in competition and making the kids earn their spots by competing with and outplaying veterans in camp and throughout the season. Marchand put Paille in the press box. Wheeler put Schaefer in the minors. Hunwick put Hnidy in the presser...

However, the B's are in a unique situation this summer. This is the first time the cap will be coming down and the Bruins have high-end players who are in free-agent-status. So I'm not sure they have the luxury of carrying expensive role players at positions where young players are showing some talent and competence.

 

[PlayMakers]

The D seems thin, but I could live with it. I too like the mobility but honestly wonder how conducive that corps is to competing right away. I'd go for it though, but my job doesn't depend on it's success either.

You just need to find takers for Kelly (full NTC), Peverly (NTC - must submit 8 team trade list), and Boychuk (NTC - must also submit 8 team trade list). Sorry, forgetting about the NTC's may be preferable but it isn't smart, it's limiting in a year where trading away salary will already be difficult due to cap restraints on all teams. With the cap going way down, and all but Boychuk being under performing role players making 3'ish mill it's somewhat worrisome.

We aren't going to be the only ones looking to move salary.

Also, just one thing, that cap space should read $0. You're dipping well into Savvy's LTIR exemption here.

Yeah, I'm going heavy into Savvy's money and it's still a much younger/thinner team than what they're used to icing.

Fwiw, I didn't forget they had NTC's (or partial NTC's) but I also think they're pretty well respected players. Boychuk, I think, would be highly sought after. Peverley has had a terrible season but he scored at a 62 point pace last year and is so versatile. Kelly is the respected leader and defensive specialist... I don't think it would be impossible to move any of them, but if they do get stuck, I wonder if the B's would consider using the amnesty buyout? Peverley would cost them about $1m for 4 years. Kelly (less likely) is 1 for 6.

 

[PlayMakers]

I don't mind that lineup. The D is probably pretty much what we'll see next year. But 3M for Clutterbuck is too much, it would be worse than giving 3M to Kelly, Kelly can at least play C and win faceoffs and he's a great PKer. Clutterbuck hits and that's about it. 5.5M seems good for Horton, it's pretty obvious that this team needs him in the lineup.

Clutterbuck did have a 19 goal 34 point season. He averages about 15 goals per 82. He is one of MIN's top PK'ers as well.

That said, I'm mostly interested in the hitting. I felt our middle six wingers this year were very small/light with Seguin/Marchand/Peverley and I guess Bourque for most of the season.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

Does anyone feel bad for Aaron Johnson? I could not imagine a worst feeling of being with the club all year and not be asked to play and have the cubs come up and play great right in front of you. I feel for the guy but I could fit in and get paid to take shots at our back up goalie too.

650k + travel and food and expenses to practice hockey with the best in the world and travel around. I don't feel too bad for him

 

[Homebrew76]

Chara, Seidenberg. Boychuk, McQuaid, Bartkowski, Krug, Hamilton is not a bad top 7 Defense, given the way the kids are playing. Not much depth though. If the B's run into injuries next year, as all teams well, who will they bring up? I'm thinking they need to target another stay at home defensive minded vet, and wouldn't mind if they brought back Ference for another year or two, or maybe target someone like Robyn Regher.

Up front things look pretty much set with the execption of Jagr and Horton being UFA's. They won't be able to afford to land a 6 or 7 Million dollar player with the cap going down and Tukka getting a 2 million dollar raise or more.

If Horton isn't brought back, would Damian Brunner from Detroit be a good option as a free agent right wing pick up? Personally I think he'd be a great fit if we can pry him out of Detroit to play on the top two lines. Another option might be Michael Ryder to come back and play again on the second/third line depending on what his asking price

 

[Ratty]

650k + travel and food and expenses to practice hockey with the best in the world and travel around. I don't feel too bad for him

Anyone who calls himself a professional hockey player should never be satisfied with the security you describe. If he didn't want to play, I wouldn't want him on my team.

 

[JoeIsAStud]

Chara, Seidenberg. Boychuk, McQuaid, Bartkowski, Krug, Hamilton is not a bad top 7 Defense, given the way the kids are playing. Not much depth though. If the B's run into injuries next year, as all teams well, who will they bring up? I'm thinking they need to target another stay at home defensive minded vet, and wouldn't mind if they brought back Ference for another year or two, or maybe target someone like Robyn Regher.

Well beyond thos 7 you would have at Providence, Miller, Cross, Trottman, Warsofsky (ugh). Miller should be ready for spot play at the NHL next year, and they will no doubt sign a Johnson type as well

 

[Boston Bruno]

Krug didn't do anything spectacular before the shot to lead to those goals. that's not me criticizing him either, it's just a fact. I think the excitement for Krug is well warranted, but what has me excited is the way he skates with the puck up the ice and how he has the ability to take open ice and skate out of danger. the goals he scored were clutch and they certainly shouldn't be overlooked, but at the same time they weren't snipes. I agree with XtremeofParanoia, for Henrik those were soft goals to give up.

Bolded I 100 Percent agree with.

All forechecking forwards have to back off more if you carry the puck out with confidence like he has.

I am not sure how many goals in Claudes Tenure have come off that back behind the net stuff to the other d man - When it works and we get break outs, fine - but a puck carrying option has been SORELY missed. Hopefully he stays sharp, and knows when to carry, and went to dump it up the boards.

Not saying he needs to get 20 minute a game, but I sure as hell hope they expound on this opportunity to change the formula. It has been working - And it gets OUR skill guys a chance to work.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

With cap going down I think you have to consider moving JB (or to a lesser extent Quaider) provided you can get a good return. He's not a guy I'd burn an amnesty on (Peverley), but I'd surely listen to calls. I have a feeling the Oilers might be willing to pony up some decent assets for #55. Hometown kid, they're in big time need of some steady D although they do have some good ones in the system.

 

[patty59]

Clutterbuck did have a 19 goal 34 point season. He averages about 15 goals per 82. He is one of MIN's top PK'ers as well.

That said, I'm mostly interested in the hitting. I felt our middle six wingers this year were very small/light with Seguin/Marchand/Peverley and I guess Bourque for most of the season.

Him and Kelly put up pretty much identical numbers points wise. Clutterbuck hits a lot more, but Kelly plays a bigger role on the PK, can play W or C and takes draws. I don't think I would unload Kelly and replace him with Clutterbuck at the same $$ is all I'm saying. Outside of hitting he doesn't really bring all that much to the table.

 

[Bi Coastal Bawse*]

If we DO have to trade a D man from our Defense maybe trade Boychuk to the Oilers. His home town team and they have some young talent they could send back.

 

[patty59]

With cap going down I think you have to consider moving JB (or to a lesser extent Quaider) provided you can get a good return. He's not a guy I'd burn an amnesty on (Peverley), but I'd surely listen to calls. I have a feeling the Oilers might be willing to pony up some decent assets for #55. Hometown kid, they're in big time need of some steady D although they do have some good ones in the system.

I'm a little hesitant to off load Boychuk. It does make sense from a dollars and cents standpoint, but he's a pretty important piece to the D-corps. He's big and physical, something that Bartkowski and Krug don't bring as much of.

I would bet that CGY would have interest in either Kelly or Peverley too. Both are C and they have none of them.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

I'm a little hesitant to off load Boychuk. It does make sense from a dollars and cents standpoint, but he's a pretty important piece to the D-corps. He's big and physical, something that Bartkowski and Krug don't bring as much of.

I would bet that CGY would have interest in either Kelly or Peverley too. Both are C and they have none of them.

It's certainly not ideal, but I think if you need to free up space, that's the first place I look after Peverley. Again its not a case where I'd unload him just for the hell of it. But if a team is willing to give up some decent value in return I think its an avenue you have to investigate at least.

Calgary definitely needs help up the middle ... although Stajan kind of strikes me as Pevs 2.0 so not sure they're gaining much there.

 

[JOKER 192]

It's going to be harder to move contracts than in the past, many teams are looking to do the exact same thing.The teams that have the space don't have the money for the
3m+ role player.It's going to be harder than ever to move bad contracts.

The one way it may work is in a package deal where you send out a bad contract with something they really want.When I say bad contract I use it loosely , we don't really have any really bad contracts.

 

[neelynugs]

FORWARDS
Milan Lucic ($6.000m) / David Krejci ($5.250m) / Nathan Horton ($5.500m)
Brad Marchand ($4.500m) / Patrice Bergeron ($5.000m) / Tyler Seguin ($5.750m)
Ryan Spooner ($0.870m) / Carl Soderberg ($1.008m) / Cal Clutterbuck ($3.000m)
Daniel Paille ($1.300m) / Gregory Campbell ($1.600m) / Shawn Thornton ($1.100m)
Chris Bourque ($0.550m) /

DEFENSEMEN
Zdeno Chara ($6.917m) / Dougie Hamilton ($1.494m)
Matt Bartkowski ($0.650m) / Dennis Seidenberg ($3.250m)
Torey Krug ($1.704m) / Adam McQuaid ($1.567m)
Wade Redden ($1.000m) /

GOALTENDERS
Tuukka Rask ($5.500m)
Niklas Svedberg ($1.000m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $64,510,000; BONUSES: $1,822,500
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $1,612,500
.

should be interesting. i figure they'd keep daugavins over bourque since he can kill penalties, in case one of the PK guys goes down (plus with your roster, that would mean krejci is killing with clutterbuck as your 3rd forward pair...unless they use seguin, which they eventually should given his reads and being a threat up high). another issue is faceoffs. if you dump kelly AND pevs, that's 2 good/very good draw guys. i'd keep peverley over kelly if given the option (and if you can't get rid of both).

love boychuk and his ability to change a game with a hit or that rocket shot. he brings his game up a few levels in the playoffs, so it's tough to move a guy like that. i guess i don't envy chiarelli this summer. whatever he winds up doing will probably not look too good to the average consumer.

 

[RedeyeRocketeer]

Anyone who calls himself a professional hockey player should never be satisfied with the security you describe. If he didn't want to play, I wouldn't want him on my team.

yes but that's not the point I was responding to, or trying to make. I was responding to a poster who suggested we should "feel bad" for them.

 

[Confound]

I'm a little hesitant to off load Boychuk. It does make sense from a dollars and cents standpoint, but he's a pretty important piece to the D-corps. He's big and physical, something that Bartkowski and Krug don't bring as much of.

I would bet that CGY would have interest in either Kelly or Peverley too. Both are C and they have none of them.

I'm with ya on this one.

We're already pretty short on right handed d-men as it is. Boychuk fits in well with Chara and has been pretty consistent this year.

I don't want to trade any of our d-men, probably just let Redden and Ference walk due to the cap going down.

 

[Kaoz*]

Yeah, I'm going heavy into Savvy's money and it's still a much younger/thinner team than what they're used to icing.

Fwiw, I didn't forget they had NTC's (or partial NTC's) but I also think they're pretty well respected players. Boychuk, I think, would be highly sought after. Peverley has had a terrible season but he scored at a 62 point pace last year and is so versatile. Kelly is the respected leader and defensive specialist... I don't think it would be impossible to move any of them, but if they do get stuck, I wonder if the B's would consider using the amnesty buyout? Peverley would cost them about $1m for 4 years. Kelly (less likely) is 1 for 6.

Sorry, I didn't direct that at you Bill, figured you remembered. Just at the general consensus that NTC's don't matter.

This offseason is shaping up to be the perfect storm. There aren't many teams looking to take salary on, there are more then a few teams who absolutely have to dump salary. Not sure how much attention guys like Peverley are going to garner, though the B's should be able to change out one. I doubt they'd do both Kelly and Pevs anyway, we may not see the value, we see under performing role players but both Pevs and Kelly are exactly the type of players Julien loves.

Boychuk I can see getting attention, but that's because he has a lot of value imo. Teams like Edmonton and Washington would no doubt be all over the guy, and he'd improve both greatly. Boston will miss him, more then a lot of people think by the looks of it.

Again, I like your lineup, a lot actually. I think it's best case scenario though. Very interested to see what happens this off season but when I look at team payrolls next season, take away those with internal caps, and those with players coming up who are do serious money and I just don't see a lot of fits. They might have to dump some money with value be that through a trade or a pass on a guy like Horton (mistake imo, we need the size).