GarbageGoal
Courage
I've read this sentiment here numerous times. Usually someone is advocating for the trade of some defenseman because we don't have room for them all. Unless my math skills are really off, I see us needing defensemen, not having a surplus.
With conventional thinking being that Vegas will take one of McQuaid, Killer or Chiller, (let's assume for this discussion it's McQuaid). Conventional thinking here also suggests that we won't re-sign Morrow. I'm not convinced of that, but let's roll with that for now.
That leaves us with 14 spots to fill (7 in Boston & 7 in Providence) and just 10 defensemen under contract. In no particular order;
Chara-Carlo
Krug-McAvoy
KillerChiller
O'Gara-Gryz
Zboril-Lauzon
Tha's just 10 of 14 defensemen. We NEED 4 more. There is no surplus.
We do have Johansson, but he has a European assignment clause, presumably because he doesn't want to play in Providence.
If we somehow protect McQuaid, Killer & Chiller and convince Vegas to take a forward instead - AND - if we re-sign Morrow, that still only gives us 12 of 14 needed defensemen. Even if Johansson sticks around and we keep everyone we have, we still need one more.
Unless I'm missing some players, I don't see the surplus or the logjam ...
I have no inside info on Johansson other than I doubt he'd come over here on what amounts to a per diem contract and then decide after a handful of games that he hated it and would go back to Sweden without at least giving it a year.
But there won't be a logjam until those prospects are mastering the AHL level. We don't have a surplus of that at all. Just a whole bunch of young guys who would benefit a lot from sepnding time in Providence. By the time they are ready (if they are ever ready) for full time NHL duty, we will have contracts expiring and there will be room for them. I don't see an embarrassment of riches on D just yet.
Also, I get the idea of bringing vets into Providence to groom the young guys and maintain a certain culture, but I'm a bit baffled as to why they bring in vets that really serve as "blockers" to development, eating up ice time that the Boston prospects should be getting. I don't understand bringing in players like Grant, Swarz, Simpson for example. I'd prefer O'Gara and Gryz were played ahead of Grant, Casto and Breen. I get Tommy Cross, because he's still a legitimate Boston prospect, but the other guys aren't.
You kinda contradict yourself here. You say there's really no logjam, but then you're objecting to AHL players who will be needed to fill out the roster taking up ice time. Not every guy on an AHL roster can be a top prospect or even a marginal one. And now, with expansion, suddenly guys like Szwarz or Simpson (and granted, I don't know if they'll be here next year) are 25 steps closer to the NHL than they were this year, whether it be in Vegas or on the roster spots that open up elsewhere.
I guess we've been down this road before. Guys play roles and there's a balance between development and also icing a competitive team that makes the postseason. No one's gonna like this, but you know who's been the best player in this series? Chris Porter. He's keeping WBS honest by hitting them hard. Now I know he's a 30-something year old plug, but he's been a difference maker.