Boston Globe KPD: What will Don Sweeney do now with this Bruins roster?

[Fenway]

Bruins have very little time to ponder major moves

What will Don Sweeney do now with this Bruins roster? - The Boston Globe

Sweeney and his entire squad remained unavailable Thursday, and it’s likely he already has plotted his strategy around his roster decisions. He has little choice. The NHL Draft is next week (Friday and Saturday) in Vancouver, and the annual free agent flea market — where the Bruins secured captain Zdeno Chara in 2006 — will take place July 1.

FORWARDS
■ Returning: David Backes, Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, David Krejci, Sean Kuraly, Brad Marchand, Joakim Nordstrom, David Pastrnak, Chris Wagner.
■ Likely to go: Marcus Johansson.

■ Free agents possible to return: Danton Heinen (restricted) and Noel Acciari (unrestricted).

■ Kids who may be ready to advance: Anders Bjork, Peter Cehlarik (restricted), Trent Frederic, Karson Kuhlman.

Sweeney is not expected to touch the current core group, but he may kick the tires on moving Backes and Krejci, whose combined cap hit is $13.25 million.

DEFENSEMEN
■ Returning: Zdeno Chara, Connor Clifton, Matt Grzelcyk, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, John Moore.

The interesting name here is Krug, whose outstanding work in the playoffs somewhat diminished the constant speculation that he’ll be traded. He has one year left on his deal, at $5.25 million, and can walk July 1, 2020, as an unrestricted free agent.

The only sure bet about Krug is that Sweeney won’t allow such an asset to skip out of town without getting something in return.

■ Likely to go: Steve Kampfer (unrestricted free agent).

■ Free agents possibly to return: Brandon Carlo (restricted), Charlie McAvoy (restricted).

No question Sweeney wants their names on contracts. It’s about price and term. Figure Carlo at three or four years in the $3.5 million-$4.5 million range.

Unlike Carlo, McAvoy cannot accept an offer sheet from another team until July 1, 2020. Be that as it may, Sweeney will try to lock down the budding No. 1 blue liner long-term, perhaps with a deal much like the six-year/$40 million pact that Pastrnak finalized at the start of 2017 training camp. That sounds a little rich right now for McAvoy. But if he grows into the role, then $6.7 million per year will look like a bargain by the time 2024-25 rolls around.

■ Kids who may be ready to advance: Jeremy Lauzon, Urho Vaakanainen.

GOALIES
■ Returning: Jaroslav Halak, Tuukka Rask.

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[corpfan1]

Agree with most.

Hope Acciari returns, but someone will probably pluck him up on July 1.

Obviously the team would love to move Backes....but doubt there are takers, unless we are giving up a pick just to move the salary to a team that has to reach the cap....but would he agree to go somewhere like that?

Still think the value of Krejci is underrated and that it would be wise to hold on to him.

Carlo and McAvoy are the future of the team's defence...obviously must signs and must make happy situations.

Clifton is interesting as he seems to be blossoming.

What about Senyshyn next year? Could he make the roster?

Can't really see Sweeney doing a lot. Maybe some minor adjustments, etc... Too bad we prob can't keep Johansson as when he was 100% healthy and started to acclimatize he looked great. But someone will offer him $5M+ and he will move on. What the team really needs is a sniping winger to lighten the load on Pasta and the 1st line... but we can never get it. Kuhlman starting to look like another Marchand in terms of talent - remember when Marchy was playing the 3rd/4th lines and developing? Never thought he would be one of the stars in the league.

The team is obviously very deep and the minor league system is deep on offence. Expect Sweeney to draft a lot of D and a couple of goalies.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

I love Krejci, but it might be the right time to move on. Ideally youd want someone on hand to take over, Coyle is great but better suited in that 3 slot I think. But I think you could get excellent value for him while freeing up $.

Hate the notion of giving up value to get rid of Backes. Such a waste for a contract 90% of people could tell you was a bad idea from the start.

Re Senyshyn, not sure what hes done to make anyone believe hes close to making the roster. Hed have to have an unbelievable camp. Kuhlman, Bjork, Frederic almost certainly ahead of him, arguably Cehlarik, Fitzgerald and Hughes too. Plus Studnicka and Lauko as wild cards who had terrific Jr years.

 

[kthx]

Really hope we get Krug to stay for a long time.

 

[corpfan1]

Really hope we get Krug to stay for a long time.

I like Krug, McAvoy and Grzelcyk being on our 3 separate D-pairs along with Carlo, Moore and the guy who replaces Chara in the future (hopefully we can find a big skilled tough D-man like a Pietrangelo-type or Parayko-type). Love Clifton as a 7th D who can step in all year for injured D-men. Not sure where Vaak and Zboril and Lauzon fit in....

McAvoy - X
Krug - Carlo
Grzelcyk - Moore
Clifton

Obv Z is probably going to play 1 more year, but after that, we need someone similar to young Z as a #1/2 D-man.

 

[C77]

I love Krejci, but it might be the right time to move on. Ideally youd want someone on hand to take over, Coyle is great but better suited in that 3 slot I think. But I think you could get excellent value for him while freeing up $.

Hate the notion of giving up value to get rid of Backes. Such a waste for a contract 90% of people could tell you was a bad idea from the start.

Re Senyshyn, not sure what hes done to make anyone believe hes close to making the roster. Hed have to have an unbelievable camp. Kuhlman, Bjork, Frederic almost certainly ahead of him, arguably Cehlarik, Fitzgerald and Hughes too. Plus Studnicka and Lauko as wild cards who had terrific Jr years.

It's a tough question. Here's how I see it right now regarding Krejci and Krug. If you move Krejci, who is going to be the 2nd line center? We don't have anyone else in the organization ready to play Top 6 center starting in October. I suppose you could slot Coyle in there but he is better suited as 3rd line center. What can we get in return? Realistically Krejci had around 70 points, so they should be able to get one asset of value. Is a pick in the second half of the 1st round out of the question? Do we have to retain salary? I don't see an NHL GM moving out a player like Krejci without a plan to replace him immediately. They have to think about job security as well. If you don't replace Krejci and then Bergeron misses another 15-20 games like each of the past two years, then you might be looking at a non-playoff team. Still, if you hold onto Krejci you are likely to get diminishing returns over the next two years. But after this last playoff run you start getting into the "legacy" territory. Does Krejci "deserve" to finish his career in Boston as nearly everyone would say is the case with Bergeron? He's been a big part of a team that has won a Cup and made it to three Finals.

So that leads to Krug. By all accounts an effective player and quality person who is a real leader in the locker room. At this point, I have no problem if Sweeney identifies him as a core piece and signs him long-term. I don't see him as a guy you give a 7 year deal to, but that's just me. He generates a ton of offense. If they sign him though, then they've got to make other moves as we have beaten over the head a million times regarding the future make-up of the defense. On the other hand, they have Vaakanainen and Lauzon around the corner. Left defense, even with Chara's imminent retirement, could be a position of strength compared to center in the organization and Krug's value is higher than it ever will be at this point and maybe he wants $7.5 million per year on a long-term deal.

Of the two I would move Krug. A player of his value will garner a significant return. The way I see it, this offseason the Bruins should add either a young power forward, dream scenario would be a young center, or a high-end prospect through the draft. Trading Krug allows you to do that. As an attached bit, if they get a great return for Krug, then they could spare maybe a 2nd round pick to get rid of Backes.

 

[Eddie Munson]

Sweeney is in a tough spot between cap and our restricted free agents.

To me, first and foremost you need to do whatever it takes to move Backes.

Then we need to address our issues at RW next to Krejci. Can we please finally get him the power forward we’ve been waiting for? I’d love to get Josh Anderson from CBJ but that’s not likely happening.

Lastly and I know I’ll take heat for saying this. You have an extremely moveable asset that can get a good return making 7m a year: Tuukka. It’s probably just me but I never liked the idea of paying a goalie top dollar.

Regardless of which direction the team goes. It needs to clear some cap and to emphasize drafting the next top centers for this team who can skate with some size.

 

[Hamilton Brian]

Plus Studnicka and Lauko as wild cards who had terrific Jr years.

That's right; Reed mentioned Studnicka yesterday. I kept forgetting that he's in our system.

 

[BruinDust]

Sweeney is in a tough spot between cap and our restricted free agents.

To me, first and foremost you need to do whatever it takes to move Backes.

Then we need to address our issues at RW next to Krejci. Can we please finally get him the power forward we’ve been waiting for? I’d love to get Josh Anderson from CBJ but that’s not likely happening.

Lastly and I know I’ll take heat for saying this. You have an extremely moveable asset that can get a good return making 7m a year: Tuukka. It’s probably just me but I never liked the idea of paying a goalie top dollar.

Regardless of which direction the team goes. It needs to clear some cap and to emphasize drafting the next top centers for this team who can skate with some size.

Neither did Sinden or O'Connell.

How did that work out?

 

[NextBigThing]

Blow it up. Make anyone and everyone available for trade. This team needs to bottom out and then do a proper rebuild before they’re trapped in purgatory. Hell, get rid of Cassidy, Sweeney, and Neely while your at it. Too bad there wasn’t a way to get rid of Jacobs too. Whole organization needs an entire culture change after that embarrassment on Wednesday night.

 

[BB88]

They need to figure out the 2nd line, that's all that matters for the next few seasons.
Need an impact guy who can make a difference, and can't afford to lose any more F depth.

Backes+ Miller out would help a ton.

 

[The don godfather]

Add a big name forward thats the key. A super winger that can pop 30 plus. Any suggestions?

 

[Sevendust]

Blow it up. Make anyone and everyone available for trade. This team needs to bottom out and then do a proper rebuild before they’re trapped in purgatory. Hell, get rid of Cassidy, Sweeney, and Neely while your at it. Too bad there wasn’t a way to get rid of Jacobs too. Whole organization needs an entire culture change after that embarrassment on Wednesday night.

Step away from keyboard.

 

[Krupp]

Blow it up. Make anyone and everyone available for trade. This team needs to bottom out and then do a proper rebuild before they’re trapped in purgatory. Hell, get rid of Cassidy, Sweeney, and Neely while your at it. Too bad there wasn’t a way to get rid of Jacobs too. Whole organization needs an entire culture change after that embarrassment on Wednesday night.

Doesn't that seem like a bit much? Sweeney put together the team that made it to the cup finals. Cassidy has done very well, all things considered, with all the amount of injuries and bullshit suspensions he's had to deal with forcing his hand these past few seasons and trying to get the best out of what he has.

The roster needs tweaking, no doubt about it. But BURN EVERYTHING DOWN? Seems unnecessary if you ask me.

 

[Alicat]

Make small tweaks but do not overreact like what happened post 2013.

 

[Jaguar God]

I hope the Bruins don't do anything stupid. Trading Marchand for scraps would be pretty bad.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Blow it up. Make anyone and everyone available for trade. This team needs to bottom out and then do a proper rebuild before they’re trapped in purgatory. Hell, get rid of Cassidy, Sweeney, and Neely while your at it. Too bad there wasn’t a way to get rid of Jacobs too. Whole organization needs an entire culture change after that embarrassment on Wednesday night.

The nuclear option after reaching game 7 of the SCF seems .... unwise

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

Lastly and I know I’ll take heat for saying this. You have an extremely moveable asset that can get a good return making 7m a year: Tuukka. It’s probably just me but I never liked the idea of paying a goalie top dollar.

The only point I disagreed with in your post. I've seen this mentioned a lot on this board since joining and I'd be willing to bet it's been mentioned long before I signed up. You want to move Rask and his 7M AAV. Okay..... So when you move Rask, is your plan to rebuild? Because that is the most realistic result from a Rask trade.

The Bruins have Halak under contract (for one more season) and then nothing. Halak is not a Cup quality goaltender at this stage of his career. He is a back-up, a good one at that. If you thrust him back into a starting role, you are looking at being a lottery team next season. You do not have an NHL ready goalie in the pipeline. You will need to go out and acquire one in a trade (a la Martin Jones) or sign a UFA.

If you acquire one in a trade, like Jones, you're moving more assets to fill a position that you just had a star goalie in. Trading Rask for a this kind of goalie would be very difficult, in my opinion. Rask isn't going to have many suitors and goalies usually don't return big packages. He's a difficult one to trade to start. Now try finding a team that can take Rask on, wants to take Rask on, and has a young NHL ready goalie that they'd be willing to deal.

If you go the free agency route, what kind of quality goalie are you attempting to get on the market? For one, after Bobrovsky (who is going to get paid) the market S-U-C-K-S, sucks. It is Bob and then 100 feet of crap.

The biggest thing I hate when people say "trade Rask" and then bring up his salary/AAV is that you still need to replace Rask after trading him. It is still going to cost you money. You're not getting 7M in cap space to go sign some star player (or acquire one via trade). Some of that 7M needs to go towards a quality goaltender, if you want to contend. So how much of that money is realistically going to make a huge benefit to the team? It's not like you're going out and signing a stud goalie for 2-3M and have 4-5M to add a player. You're flipping that around if you want to contend. So you're trying to find that goalie for 4-5M. What impact player are you adding for 2-3M?

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I hope the Bruins don't do anything stupid. Trading Marchand for scraps would be pretty bad.

Trading Marchand PERIOD would be stupid/bad.

 

[Spooner st]

Blow it up. Make anyone and everyone available for trade. This team needs to bottom out and then do a proper rebuild before they’re trapped in purgatory. Hell, get rid of Cassidy, Sweeney, and Neely while your at it. Too bad there wasn’t a way to get rid of Jacobs too. Whole organization needs an entire culture change after that embarrassment on Wednesday night.

If we would have that attitude we wouldn't have a cup an 2 finals in past 8 years.

We would be the f***ing Leafs. Or worse.

 

[LouJersey]

You have to sign Krug IMO.

 

[LouJersey]

Make small tweaks but do not overreact like what happened post 2013.

Agreed. Sweeney won't do anything rash I'm hoping.

 

[Alicat]

Agreed. Sweeney won't do anything rash I'm hoping.

Don't think that's Sweeney's business style nor personality

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

Don't think that's Sweeney's business style nor personality

A refreshing quality. If Sweeney made rash moves like people here, Boston would be folded, playing in the AIJHL and be about 50 million over the cap, while icing a team of plug enforcers.

 

[smithformeragent]

I’d basically stand pat and see what it looks like at the midpoint of the season and add/sell accordingly.

The time to blow it up has passed and they’ve essentially committed to this more moderate retool where the older core continues to age and is supplemented by emerging youth, especially on the back end.

My biggest fear is to panic and overpay for yet another aging forward whose contract will prove to be an albatross by year 2 or 3.

As uninspiring as it sounds, I probably ride into camp with “the hole” on the second line.