Iggy: Best To Move On?

[Over the volcano]

You're not going to be able to bring in another top 6 forward for the type of short term and dollar figure that you can with Iginla.

Ball is 100% in his court at this point.

With how weak the conference is, Boston is certainly his best shot at a cup.

(I sound like an arrogant Patriots fan now haha)

The "short term dollar figure" is an illusion though- his real "short term figure" is already 4 mil this year whether he plays for Boston or not.

 

[Greek_physique]

You're not going to be able to bring in another top 6 forward for the type of short term and dollar figure that you can with Iginla.

Ball is 100% in his court at this point.

With how weak the conference is, Boston is certainly his best shot at a cup.

(I sound like an arrogant Patriots fan now haha)

It's still very early though....Boston doesn't need to go after any big UFA's and can make trades, which IMO Chia has mostly done and been successful at.

 

[smithformeragent]

Chiarelli's peers know he's up against it.

I don't know what type of deals are out there, but one can imagine teams will be looking to fleece Boston.

 

[Greek_physique]

Chiarelli's peers know he's up against it.

I don't know what type of deals are out there, but one can imagine teams will be looking to fleece Boston.

That might be true; but it doesn't mean he has to agree to any deal.

At the end of the day, there is ways to get under the cap without trading a core player....they can always offer a pick with a player they don't want to a team that has a lot of cap space. (Example Buffalo)

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Chiarelli's peers know he's up against it.

I don't know what type of deals are out there, but one can imagine teams will be looking to fleece Boston.

I think that with the way Chiarelli does business, other GMs would find him pretty amiable and would work with him IF the deal benefits their club.

That's the rub though. Is that deal out there?

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

if Iginla would take a one year deal with a base salary of a million bucks (plus whatever bonuses) then I would hope Chia would jump on that and make the necessary moves (likely just moving Kelly) to make it work.

 

[Gee Wally]

I think that with the way Chiarelli does business, other GMs would find him pretty amiable and would work with him IF the deal benefits their club.

That's the rub though. Is that deal out there?

I think there can be. Mainly due to all the new GMs. They dont have the 'thats my guy' syndrome. That helps, IMO.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

if Iginla would take a one year deal with a base salary of a million bucks (plus whatever bonuses) then I would hope Chia would jump on that and make the necessary moves (likely just moving Kelly) to make it work.

Right now, it looks like it will be Iginla back at that very low 1y+bonus deal or nothing.

I hope he's back. Then next year we can sign him to a 2y deal when the cap goes up.

I also think i red this year that his contract can't be signed before noon tomorrow for Cap reasons. Anyone else saw that?

 

[Fire Sweeney]

You're not going to be able to bring in another top 6 forward for the type of short term and dollar figure that you can with Iginla.

Ball is 100% in his court at this point.

With how weak the conference is, Boston is certainly his best shot at a cup.

(I sound like an arrogant Patriots fan now haha)

The conference was even weaker last season and Boston failed miserably. When he signs a long-term 5+m deal tomorrow with Montreal, Boston's chances will only get slimmer as Chiarelli did not clear any salary and will ice a weaker team than last year. He's made it pretty clear that he's fine with that for some odd reason.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

The conference was even weaker last season and Boston failed miserably. When he signs a long-term 5+m deal tomorrow with Montreal, Boston's chances will only get slimmer as Chiarelli did not clear any salary and will ice a weaker team than last year. He's made it pretty clear that he's fine with that for some odd reason.

I could live with him choosing Pittsburgh over us two years ago. It almost worked out well with a 2nd Cup in 3 years but Jagr and Seguin couldn't bury anything...

But if he's ever signing with the Habs, he's dead to me. Will never happen tough. Right?

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Iginla signing with the Habs would gut me.

I'll be sad if he goes but won't be surprised given the circumstances. But if he leaves it better be to go anywhere but Montreal.

 

[Greek_physique]

So I guess Iginla just goes to teams that beat him

Pittsburgh
Boston
Montreal?

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

Iginla signing with the Habs would gut me.

I'll be sad if he goes but won't be surprised given the circumstances. But if he leaves it better be to go anywhere but Montreal.

I think we are safe. Iggy signing with the Habs would be like if he signs with the Oilers. If he was a true Bruins at heart, the Habs are on his "will never sign with them" list.

 

[Over the volcano]

Iginla signing with the Habs would gut me.

I'll be sad if he goes but won't be surprised given the circumstances. But if he leaves it better be to go anywhere but Montreal.

I'd love it- what better fuel for the fire?

 

[GordonHowe]

Yeah I'm not going to sugar coat it, lol. If I was building a legitimate contending team, I wouldn't go anywhere near those two weenies.

And you bring up a good point with the contracts. They're signed through 2018, with a 7 million dollar cap hit for the last four years of that deal. Nooooooooooooo thank you.

God, that's ridiculous. That's like Franzen in Detroit being signed through 2020!

 

[GordonHowe]

Yup..


Nope...

You got it.

That's the problem. The question for the Bruins is whether they want to "go for it" again with this particular player. At his age, for a single year, and, obviously, no guarantee that the result will be better. And, again, the same cap situation next year -- with DK coming up on free agency.

I don't have any solutions & I like Jarome but think it best the Bruins move on.

 

[Gee Wally]

I'd hate like hell to be in the same position next year too. Its a pickle.

 

[BNHL]

That's the problem. The question for the Bruins is whether they want to "go for it" again with this particular player. At his age, for a single year, and, obviously, no guarantee that the result will be better. And, again, the same cap situation next year -- with DK coming up on free agency.

I don't have any solutions & I like Jarome but think it best the Bruins move on.

If they get in the same situation next year and he hits 6 posts in one series and misses an empty net then it's a mistake.

 

[GordonHowe]

It would, but there's a few pieces that will be FA's, the big ones being Krejci and Boychuk, that would allow the B's a bit of wiggle room if they have a big cap overage penalty again. Is it ideal? No.

The question is, if you do that this year, you all but guarantee someone not coming back (probably Boychuk), but you also have to ask the question with Krejci, and Soderberg, what you plan on doing with them. Both are due for a raise, and at that point, does Krejci price himself out? He makes $5.25 now, gotta think he'll want close to $7.

Dougie is also an RFA after next season, and will be due for a big raise as well.

They key to all of this is yet again still Chris freakin Kelly, even AFTER this year if they keep him. Just an awful contract from Chia.

It's a bad contract but really, this isn't about Chris Kelly. It's about Chiarelli's desire to lock up guys before they hit free agency with generous contracts. It's easy for me to say, but they should not have given Seguin that much money, or Marchand, or Lucic. As Mick just wrote, now they're paying the piper.

I understand why Chia did what he did, and overall, I support that approach rather than letting a guy go to market when, almost inevitably, you will have to pay through the nose to retain him. Another aspect of this strategy was to create an environment in which players feel they are treated with respect and want to be a member of the Boston Bruins. A culture of winning combined with generous remuneration is attractive to free agents as well.

Let's remember what it was like here under Sinden & OC. Whatever you think of the current circumstance, *that* ought to send a shiver down your spine.

 

[JRull86]

It's a bad contract but really, this isn't about Chris Kelly. It's about Chiarelli's desire to lock up guys before they hit free agency with generous contracts. It's easy for me to say, but they should not have given Seguin that much money, or Marchand, or Lucic. As Mick just wrote, now they're paying the piper.

I understand why Chia did what he did, and overall, I support that approach rather than letting a guy go to market when, almost inevitably, you will have to pay through the nose to retain them. Another aspect of this strategy was to create an environment in which players feel they are treated with respect and want to be a member of the Boston Bruins. A culture of winning combined with generous remuneration is attractive to free agents as well.

Let's remember what it was like here under Sinden & OC. Whatever you think of the current circumstance, *that* ought to send a shiver down your spine.

Fair point, but in some of those cases (ie Lucic), I'd venture to guess that the market would've been pretty crazy for him. Some of us tend to take what he brings for granted. He definitely made a mistake with Seguin, throwing too much money at him too soon. Marchand is about right where he should be, if not a tad underpaid.

I don't have a problem with that strategy per se, as long as he isn't throwing more money than he should at a player who doesn't have really any leverage, as the point is to fairly compensate a player, but to get them to sign for less to pay them earlier.

 

[TD Charlie]

Considering the window to win a cup is now, then you absolutely take another cap penalty next year to make it work with Iginla.

I agree, tentatively. I'd have to know what the risk was for next season in terms of how the numbers would pan out. It's too much for me to try wrapping my brain around these days, so I'll leave it to Chiarelli and company. In short, yeah I agree with you.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

I'd hate like hell to be in the same position next year too. Its a pickle.

It's a Cup year with some departure after next year (ex: Boychuk). You reassess next year if needed. It's either Iginla to that kind of deal or giving up assets at the deadline for help for the playoffs run.

Considering the cap will be much higher next year, I rather pay a penalty then having to spend a 1st/2nd round pick+prospects at the deadline for help...

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

Lucic's contract is hard to swallow on paper because he's not a guy who will score as much as most 6 million dollar players, but he gives you so much that you can't really quantify. The market for a player like him easily would have gone over 6 million.

Marchand's contract is extremely fair, especially considering what you see some guys getting around the league who are far less effective. How many guys as versatile as Marchand make under 5 million? 25-30 goals, speed, grit, chemistry, and one of the best PK guys in the league for only 4.5 million?

I still maintain that Seguin's deal was dictated by the market at the time (pretty much identical to Hall and Skinner's deals) and didn't hurt us in the long run because it made him much easier to trade.

 

[Gee Wally]

No, I know. Its just a damned if you do and damned if you dont situation. I hate that.

What the Cap does go up to next year is critical.

 

[HumBucker]

you're starting to sound like a broken record with a vendetta ala Westernhome. Is that how you want to come off? You keep downplaying Iginla's 30 goals as if most of them were just luck. Well here's every one of them:


only 4 of them were empty netters (which still count last time I checked). The rest were scored in a variety of ways. Many came from him driving to the net with perfect timing and his stick on the ice at full speed. A handful came from slapshots, another handful from snap shot snipes, several from being parked in front of the net and banging in a one-timer, and yes a few deflections (one of which was a great display of hand-eye coordination)...

Watch that video and tell me that you think a significant portion of those was "just luck". The reason this guy has over 550 goals is because he's been scoring goals like that for 17 years. Good goal scorers don't just score pretty goals, they score from all over. Iginla's net drive is something that will be sorely missed and you're going to look pretty foolish come December or January when the Bruins have a stretch where it seems like nobody on the team knows how to score a few "lucky" goals and Iginla is elsewhere on pace for another 30.

Pure luck. Stats! Smoke and mirrors!