Is Boston’s window now closed?

[Just Linda]

All on ELC’s for a while though.

True, they would have had a couple really good years with them all.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Yes. The Cup window is closed with that D and with Bergeron, Krejci and Marchand getting older. I still think they are a playoff team though and could win a couple of series. Just no longer a Cup contender.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Eichel.

Eichel is damaged goods if the neck is seriously impinged

 

[613Leafer]

Bergeron is from the same draft as guys like Getzlaf, Staal, Perry, Phaneuf, Carter, Seabrook, Parise, Burns, Kesler, Richards, Eriksson, Crawford, Vanek, etc.

You've gotta think age is catching up with him. Bergeron, MAF, Weber, Pavelski, and Suter I think are the only guys still playing big minutes effectively. The rest are fully retired, or have seen a SUBSTANTIAL decline in their play.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Lets look at their core:

1C - Bergeron - Still elite, but turns 36 in a month
1LW - Marchand - Still elite, but is 33.
1RW - Pastrnak - Elite, but UFA in 2023.
2C - Krejci - Still very good, but UFA and just turned 35.
1D - McAvoy - Elite with lots of team control.
1G/1aG - Rask - Seems to be fading a bit, but goaltending is Voodoo. 34 and a UFA.
1bG - Halak - Seems to be fading a bit, but goaltending is Voodoo. 36 and a UFA.

It kind of depends on how Bergeron/Marchand age. They're right around the age where players at their positions see their performances drop off hard. I don't think the window is closed, but its probably not far off.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

In theory. In reality though they'd probably have traded Connor for pennies/ futures and had to squeeze out other pieces to fit Barzal. Who knows how theyd have dealt with Chabot. That's 22+ million in cap that would have cost them a quarter of the team.

Barzal means Krejci gets dealt for pieces/picks (-7.5m) and they dont overpay Coyle (-5.25m). Minus Barzal's 7m hit, thats 5.75m in space

Connor means no Hall (+3m on the cap)

Barzal and Connor in for Krejci, Coyle and Hall = 2.75m in additional cap space

Chabot means no Gryz contract.

In addition, Chabot in no way gets overpaid here like Ottawa did. All in all Barzal/Connor/Chabot at worst cost the same as Krejci/Coyle/Hall/Gryz currently do while being far far superior players.

 

[Matty Sundin]

Their chance to win was 2019 when Tampa shit the bed and they didn’t have to face them.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Yep.

They may be playoff contenders. Certainly aren't cup contenders.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

The 2015 Draft has and will continue to haunt B's for longtime and has helped shut window

 

[HuGo Sham]

Pastrnak and McAvoy are young but the rest of the core players are old. How much longer can Bergeron (36) and Marchand (33) be elite? Krejci (35) and Rask (34) are is still good too but again, they’re old.

What’s the game plan for the Bruins going forward?

SLAMMED SHUT. lol
wishful thinking aside, it will be interesting to see what they do.
I'd be very wary of giving Hall anything more than 5 million tops.
They can use that money elsewhere, but outside of Beecher and Lohrei -
who are both still magic beans, curious to know what Sweeney does.
The Atlantic is the group of death

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Shouldve drafted Barzal

 

[HuGo Sham]

Experts said they would miss the playoffs this year...

No one has a clue about anything.

They should have won the series just like Pittsburgh should have.

But that's hockey, every team has a window. Montreal sucks and they are in semi finals next year they won't be.

Montreal doesn't suck; you're f***ing clueless and/or a hater

 

[HuGo Sham]

Eichel is damaged goods if the neck is seriously impinged

he's also too expensive in assets for the bruins to acquire.
They wouldn't gift him to a division rival, and what would they have to offer?
Pastrnak?

 

[dalewood12]

Their division is getting a lot more competitive, so getting deep in the playoffs could be an issue.

 

[Estlin]

The window closed firmly after the Bruins lost to St. Louis a couple of years ago in game seven of the SCF. It's time for management to realize this and begin the rebuild.

 

[Oneiro]

Yeah, it's done.

Finally think that PIT / WAS / BOS-era is closed. NBC almost might be relieved they're losing the TV deal.

 

[Soundwave]

They are a playoff team and as long as you get in ... anything can happen.

So from that POV I would say no. Is the window closed as far as being like a Cup favorite? There I would say yeah.

The days of them being like a consensus top 3-4 favorite to win the Cup are probably ending (happens to everyone).

 

[McGarnagle]

As long as Bergeron holds up they'll be in the picture. Marchand and Pastrnak are in their primes, McAvoy is turning into a Norris level defenseman.

This offseason will determine a lot. Krejci and Hall need to be re-signed. If they keep both, they'll win the division. If they keep one of them, they'll be a solid playoff team. If both leave, they're kind of f***ed.

Rask is gone. Swayman's the future. Use the $7 million from Rask to keep Hall/Krejci.

They have no prospects whatsoever in the pipeline, so they've got to maximize the next 2-3 years. They can't trade for Eichel because there's nothing there to trade. So you've got to retain your free agents and hope for the best.

Also, I like Bruce as a person but he's not the coach for this team. They need someone who can do in-game adjustments and who can come up with a system that allows the 3rd/4th lines to actually contribute something.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

They will be a playoff team and in the mix for as long as that core has legs, but in reality the window closed when Thomas went wildman.
His performance was simply absurd and Rask is excellent, but unlikely to go godmode as Thomas did.
It's been a good run though; two Cup finals and multiple stage two or three playoff pushes is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Their defense looked all sorts of leaky. I know Chara's as old as Moses and Krug costs a lot, but they sure could have used both of those guys versus the Isles.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Also, I like Bruce as a person but he's not the coach for this team. They need someone who can do in-game adjustments and who can come up with a system that allows the 3rd/4th lines to actually contribute something.

Out of curiosity, what does his "system" require of them that it doesn't allow the 3rd or 4th line to contribute? What adjustments do you think he fails to make?

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I think their window is tied with Bergeron. As long as he's elite and he was this year they have a chance. However, once he loses a step that will close the window unless they can find someone else to assume his role. Pasta and McAvoy is a great start to their next core though and they have a few other great pieces.

Bingo

 

[BB88]

Eichel.

That’s the big problem.

Boston doesn’t have trade assets, the prospect pool is empty and outside of the few untouchables there’s nothing that could get anything in a trade

Well done Sweeney

 

[MikeyMike01]

Beating a dead horse here, but man did passing on Barzal 3 times really come back to bite them in the ass, he would've given them a legit future 1st line with Pasta to pass the torch to as Bergeron/Marchand eventually move on. Barzal, Pasta, Mac would've been 3 nice young stars to continue building around and Bergeron/Marchand could obviously still help them as they're still damn solid players despite their age.

The Bruins could’ve had Barzal, Connor, and Chabot. The next three picks. They’d be the best team in the league right now.

 

[McGarnagle]

Out of curiosity, what does his "system" require of them that it doesn't allow the 3rd or 4th line to contribute? What adjustments do you think he fails to make?

His offense runs on cycling, bumper passing, and the nearside defenseman jumping into play. Obviously Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak are the best in the world at it. Perfect for Krejci too, and McAvoy becomes a threat by pinching in.

Bottom 6 absolutely can't play that way. Nobody's in front of the net screening or jamming. You've got Thick Nick Ritchie who is good for one thing and that's being thick, and you have him trying to cycle with Coyle? It's like every play is based off what would the top line do, which often boils down to set up Pastrnak for a one-timer, but they don't realize that there are no finishers on the other lines. When it's Chris Wagner getting the puck from the far side boards, he's not going to hit the target. And even if he were lucky to get a rebound, nobody's there to pick it up. The offense is entirely perimeter, which they get away with due to the prodigious talent of Marchand and Pastrnak. Compounding that is that none of the defensemen can accurately hit the net on a shot. Reilly was probably the most accurate shot from the point. The rest give you the old intentionally wide and hope the forwards dig the puck out behind the net and continue the cycle until a passing lane emerges.

In a nutshell, it's a philosophy that plays to the strengths of your elite top line talent but only sets the others up to fail. The last 4 years he's been eliminated by teams with an aggressive forecheck who finish hits high. And he waits until 5 games go by and something egregious happens to try to work the officials in a reactionary manner when Berube and Trotz were setting the tone from game 2 onward. Lots of gamesmanship that seems to always go in the other teams' favor. There also seems to be an unwillingness to get dirty as well, more effort has gone into trying to "reform" Marchand than to allow your heavies like Ritchie, Frederic, Miller, etc. set the tone themselves. I honestly think the Bruins wind up getting the short end of the stick because you get the third and fourth line with Ritchie/Debrusk/Kuraly getting whistled because they're expected to play Bergeron/Marchand's pace and end up visibly behind the play so it pops out to officials. If they were more like the Blues and Caps and just crosschecked on every single play knowing they can't possibly call all of them, they'd probably wind up creating more turnovers and goals than the slight increase in penalties against would cost. Just my speculation. They're far too soft to play against either way.