Management Don Sweeney - Free Agent recap zoom ( 7/28/21 )

[chrisab123]

I agree, Debrusk is not that great of a player.

Even if he does score 20 goals. He has a lot of improvements to make.

But he's not a 5 goal scorer.

Hes better than a 5 goal scorer we can agree on that.

 

[EverettMike]

I have this bad feeling Sweeney is eventually going to give him away, at which time some of us will complain about giving him away. That will be followed by, "This place is amazing! For over a year all I heard was 'Get DeBust out of here. He sucks! He blows! I never want to see him take the ice again!' Now when Sweeney moves him you're furious? He can't win with some of you LOLZ."

Before that happens, I would like to reiterate, for maybe the 300th time, I do not want to give him away. If you can't get fair value hold on to him. It's dumb trading guys at their nadir. Especially young guys.

 

[TCB]

Or Sweeney isn’t shopping him. Hopefully he isn’t.

Why Not ?

I think Sweeney would be crazy not to be. He needs help down the middle and on defense, so he certainly should be shopping him and seeing what the interest is out-there.

Debrusk still has value and is a classic change of scenery guy.

The bruins are pretty deep on the left side, with Marchand, Hall, Foligno, Haula, Nosek, Frederic along with Debrusk. i think its the prime time to deal Jake as long as value and need comes back.

 

[MattFromFranklin]

Or Sweeney isn’t shopping him. Hopefully he isn’t.

I’d be stunned if Sweeney dealt DeBrusk. I think a team could offer 2 1sts and he’d turn it down.

 

[Over the volcano]

I have this bad feeling Sweeney is eventually going to give him away, at which time some of us will complain about giving him away. That will be followed by, "This place is amazing! For over a year all I heard was 'Get DeBust out of here. He sucks! He blows! I never want to see him take the ice again!' Now when Sweeney moves him you're furious? He can't win with some of you LOLZ."

Before that happens, I would like to reiterate, for maybe the 300th time, I do not want to give him away. If you can't get fair value hold on to him. It's dumb trading guys at their nadir. Especially young guys.

Ok - what’s “fair value for him” to you?

IMO anything less than a 2nd next year is the least he should fetch.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I have this bad feeling Sweeney is eventually going to give him away, at which time some of us will complain about giving him away. That will be followed by, "This place is amazing! For over a year all I heard was 'Get DeBust out of here. He sucks! He blows! I never want to see him take the ice again!' Now when Sweeney moves him you're furious? He can't win with some of you LOLZ."

Before that happens, I would like to reiterate, for maybe the 300th time, I do not want to give him away. If you can't get fair value hold on to him. It's dumb trading guys at their nadir. Especially young guys.

I posted an earlier proposal that many folks may have seen as giving DeBrusk away.

But there was method to it. A young RD with upside was the return... And if you got that AND the cap space to add another roster player, I think the team is better off for it. I'm not confident that Jake's value will increase this season if this environment is squeezing him.

 

[EverettMike]

I posted an earlier proposal that many folks may have seen as giving DeBrusk away.

But there was method to it. A young RD with upside was the return... And if you got that AND the cap space to add another roster player, I think the team is better off for it. I'm not confident that Jake's value will increase this season if this environment is squeezing him.

My comment wasn't a subtweet of any single proposal. I couldn't cite a single proposal I even remember someone making at this point.

It was commentary on how this board works far too often.

 

[chizzler]

It all depends if he’s done or not. Maybe they do a buyout. Cap space is tiny right now. This is assuming he’s ok with his 2nd line center. He would be selling low. My issue is he skates with his head down. No like.

 

[HustleB]

Two shortened seasons.

Year before last he had 19 goals in 65 games.

Penciling him in for 20 seems very reasonable.

Except that there might not be a top 9 LW spot and he looks awful on the RW. I like him but not sure he will alter his direction here.

 

[HumBucker]

I agree. I think Krech and Rask seen another style of life as fathers with the 2 short Covid seasons. They both made and won enough and do not need to do the grind again. I am thinking Sweeney knew Krech was going and he signed this good goalie because he thinks Rask is done. Time for some ppl to turn the page. Get a good deeman partner for Mac. Get a Center next year when more quality is available.

Kinda apples and oranges, no? Lifestyle decision may be true for Krejci, but Rask is having to spend months recuperating from hip surgery. Not quite the same scenario.

Too soon to conclude that Rask is done. If his rehab goes well, and he's able to get back into top game form, he'll be back, and Sweeney would be insane to say no. You don't just turn your nose up to a goalie of Rask's calibre.

Mind you, if Ullmark and/or Swayman are having Vezina seasons by the New Year, maybe there are some hard decisions to make. And certainly if Rask's rehab proves more challenging, or he just doesn't get back into top form and decides to retire, then it is what it is. But as things stand now, the future is far from certain and any GM would be foolish to not leave the door open for Rask to return.

 

[The don godfather]

Darn ryan murray I yr 2 million that's darn good deal . El cheapo my favorite types.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

Im saying 5 goals is 5 goals. Im sure he was not the only person in the league to get covid. At some point he needs to take responsibility for his play falling off a cliff.

We already have the Kadri hit being an excuse on top of covid when in reality this is a kid who has had his point totals go down yearly. I'm not down playing COVID at all but to solely pin it on COVID is not correct.

If he does lousy next year will we finally get people to admit that JDB is not that great of a player?

Also, if this was solely a COVID issue I'm sure that Sweeney would have laid off the 3rd line wingers. Its an easy out for him if the guy was recovering from a bad illness.

I agree that it's wrong to pin all of Jake's issues on Covid, but on the other hand I'd argue that it's impossible to know just how much the illness has affected him. We know it's different for everybody. Just yesterday we had 7-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton come out and say that he's still struggling with extra fatigue and associated problems many months after getting Covid. In his case he's still winning races, but it's making things tougher for him and it could easily be the same for DeBrusk or anyone else. And the thing is if a hockey player's illness has become chronic, then simply resting him won't actually help. His body will either eventually sort itself out or it won't, and it could fully recover in 2 months or 2 years.

So we're just going to have to hope that JdB is fully better by October and he'll get a fair chance to prove whether he's still got something to contribute to the Bruins. Honestly, I thought he'd be traded by now and I thought it would have done him good if he had been, but it seems the interest just isn't there or Sweeney wants more than other GMs are willing to give. So I strongly suspect he'll now at least start the season in Boston and then we'll see where he goes from there.

 

[Gonzothe7thDman]

Really interested to see what the lineup looks like come game 1 because I still can't figure out what Sweeney was/is trying to do.

Feels like a bunch of half measures to slap duct tape and bubble gum onto this aging core to get 1 more run.

 

[TCB]

Really interested to see what the lineup looks like come game 1 because I still can't figure out what Sweeney was/is trying to do.

Feels like a bunch of half measures to slap duct tape and bubble gum onto this aging core to get 1 more run.

I really believe this is the team Sweeney will enter the season with, he doesn't have much wiggle room with the Cap and he'll eventually need to shed salary next year to re-sign Bergy and McAvoy. Hopefully it doesn't involve him giving away another first.

I am curious how Sweeney is going to be able to re-sign them ( McAvoy and Bergeron ) next year ?

I mean Debrusk will be an RFA as well, so if he does bounce back with a 20-25 goal year, where's all this money coming from when the team as of today are just under 2 mil of cap space. I guess he could trade Jake this season for picks/prospects to open up some more space but more than likely even that space wouldn't be enough to bring Bergy back let alone Charlie.

What will even be there at the deadline for the Bruins to add, without Sweeney giving away more assets, and or causing more damage to the cap ?

Sweeney may have out did himself this time, he self inflicted his own damage by recklessly throwing money around and not filling two of the clubs biggest needs. Unfortunately It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

 

[Son of Donegal]

I really believe this is the team Sweeney will enter the season with, he doesn't have much wiggle room with the Cap and he'll eventually need to shed salary next year to re-sign Bergy and McAvoy. Hopefully it doesn't involve him giving away another first.

I am curious how Sweeney is going to be able to re-sign them ( McAvoy and Bergeron ) next year ?

I mean Debrusk will be an RFA as well, so if he does bounce back with a 20-25 goal year, where's all this money coming from when the team as of today are just under 2 mil of cap space. I guess he could trade Jake this season for picks/prospects to open up some more space but more than likely even that space wouldn't be enough to bring Bergy back let alone Charlie.

What will even be there at the deadline for the Bruins to add, without Sweeney giving away more assets, and or causing more damage to the cap ?

Sweeney may have out did himself this time, he self inflicted his own damage by recklessly throwing money around and not filling two of the clubs biggest needs. Unfortunately It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

We shall see. I have some hope that the sheer depth at C will come up big and the D holds strong in front of a generally strong G department.

lots of questions, but no glaring weaknesses of you are able to admit that Gryz can play with Charlie and Reilly can play with Carlo over the stretch. They have the wheels and vision to do so, but can they handle the load?

 

[TCB]

We shall see. I have some hope that the sheer depth at C will come up big and the D holds strong in front of a generally strong G department.

lots of questions, but no glaring weaknesses of you are able to admit that Gryz can play with Charlie and Reilly can play with Carlo over the stretch. They have the wheels and vision to do so, but can they handle the load?

Well I admit it is some depth but I see a whole lot more of quantity instead of quality there, and Sweeney cut his own wrist by throwing money around and not filling either hole (Left-side D-man ) add to that he managed to make next off season even more complicated with his signings as there sure wont be enough cap space left to sign Bergy and Charlie.

 

[Babajingo]

Well I admit it is some depth but I see a whole lot more of quantity instead of quality there, and Sweeney cut his own wrist by throwing money around and not filling either hole (Left-side D-man ) add to that he managed to make next off season even more complicated with his signings as there sure wont be enough cap space left to sign Bergy and Charlie.

Was talking about this with co-workers yesterday. By signing all these middle of the road clowns, he has hand cuffed himself next year. As it stands right now, next year he will have 21 mill to spend but has to re-sign Bergeron and McAvoy. Lets assume that's around 11 mill combined? So that leaves 10 mill to use. What's that? 1 good player or 3 Meh players (like he did this year). But it doesn't matter, they will make the playoffs and Mr. Burns will be happy.

 

[bob77]

What I'm looking at is mainly DeBrusk's contract, which should fall in line with what a top 4 LHD would make ( Ekholm currently ).

I think the way the D is constructed, Grz is the odd duck. We'll have to move Forbort around to compensate for the lack of Grz's size in certain situations and while that could work, I'd prefer a guy who, combined with McAvoy, you can count on in all 5v5 situations and keep Forbort down in the bottom pairing.

At Winnipeg and LA, Forbort was pretty much top pair, but when there’s 10 minutes left and losing, it would all get switched around because Forbort is no offense. But at Calgary, even though only 7 games and the bubble, he was strictly 3rd pair, 1PK, and 10-15 minutes left and winning moved to first pair for shutdown. The Bruins could do something similar. So, he was your 3rd pair D man that still played over 20 minutes a night.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Was talking about this with co-workers yesterday. By signing all these middle of the road clowns, he has hand cuffed himself next year. As it stands right now, next year he will have 21 mill to spend but has to re-sign Bergeron and McAvoy. Lets assume that's around 11 mill combined? So that leaves 10 mill to use. What's that? 1 good player or 3 Meh players (like he did this year). But it doesn't matter, they will make the playoffs and Mr. Burns will be happy.

How can anyone possibly know what Sweeney will have to spend next year?

 

[LouJersey]

Darn ryan murray I yr 2 million that's darn good deal . El cheapo my favorite types.

he's not good.

 

[yazmybaby]

At Winnipeg and LA, Forbort was pretty much top pair, but when there’s 10 minutes left and losing, it would all get switched around because Forbort is no offense. But at Calgary, even though only 7 games and the bubble, he was strictly 3rd pair, 1PK, and 10-15 minutes left and winning moved to first pair for shutdown. The Bruins could do something similar. So, he was your 3rd pair D man that still played over 20 minutes a night.

Forbert is a turnover machine.
I was not happy with this signing and I hope he can improve this season.
He is a 3rd pairing dee that can kill penalties, is a minor upgrade over Tinordi.
There were many other options of better players we could have signed ( assuming they wanted to play here) for the same money or less.
I would have rather given up a second round pick to get Jake Bean, or signed Kulikov or Ryan Murray.

 

[JerseyBruin]

Forbert is a turnover machine.
I was not happy with this signing and I hope he can improve this season.
He is a 3rd pairing dee that can kill penalties, is a minor upgrade over Tinordi.
There were many other options of better players we could have signed ( assuming they wanted to play here) for the same money or less.
I would have rather given up a second round pick to get Jake Bean, or signed Kulikov or Ryan Murray.

The defensive systems they play are different , Forbort mentioned he liked the few games he played for Geoff Ward while in CGY which is a system more similar to the Bruins. In the Bruins system I think those TO numbers go down by a good bit. Plus he adds three key components 1) some size and grit 2) very adept shot blocker 3) above average PKer

 

[LouJersey]

The defensive systems they play are different , Forbort mentioned he liked the few games he played for Geoff Ward while in CGY which is a system more similar to the Bruins. In the Bruins system I think those TO numbers go down by a good bit. Plus he adds three key components 1) some size and grit 2) very adept shot blocker 3) above average PKer

All of the LHD we have on the roster are exceptional third pairing defensemen.

 

[TCB]

Was talking about this with co-workers yesterday. By signing all these middle of the road clowns, he has hand cuffed himself next year. As it stands right now, next year he will have 21 mill to spend but has to re-sign Bergeron and McAvoy. Lets assume that's around 11 mill combined? So that leaves 10 mill to use. What's that? 1 good player or 3 Meh players (like he did this year). But it doesn't matter, they will make the playoffs and Mr. Burns will be happy.

I think it will will take 8.5 -10 to sign McAvoy alone and another 5-7 for Bergy.
So yeah there's not much room at all, and Jake, Zboril, Vaak, Steen and Studnicka will all be RFA.

 

[Jim]

I think it will will take 8.5 -10 to sign McAvoy alone and another 5-7 for Bergy.
So yeah there's not much room at all, and Jake, Zboril, Vaak, Steen and Studnicka will all be RFA.

$5-7 for Bergeron….likely right, but if there has ever been a player that lost out on some money he might have made, it’s this guy. Feels kind of dirty, but that’s the way it goes, I guess