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

[BruinDust]

Hayes isn't going to sign here. Even if he did, swapping Krejci for Hayes would be beyond awful for the Bruins

It would be. Hayes to me isn't a true 2nd line center, he's basically a left-shot Coyle. And some team is going to pay him on July 1st to be a No.2 center. I hope that team isn't the Bruins.

 

[Eddie Munson]

Boston Bruins: David Pastrnak is not a player you trade

The Boston Bruins lost the Stanley Cup Final and a lot of their key players underperformed, as a result fans are angry and frustrated. A group of those fans are that frustrated with David Pastrnak that they’re suggesting trading him.

Probably the same fans that bitched and moaned about the Thornton, Kessel, Seguin, and Hamilton trades.

Guy plays with passion all season, is young, is on a very good contract. Not the type of player you trade.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Probably the same fans that *****ed and moaned about the Thornton, Kessel, Seguin, and Hamilton trades.

Guy plays with passion all season, is young, is on a very good contract. Not the type of player you trade.

Agree, please don’t put Hamilton in that list.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

Before this we needed speed. Badly.

Now we need size and strength. Again.

Can never go wrong with more talent.

Well, the Big Bad Blues just ate the lunch of the former Big Bad Bruins so, it’s not an outlandish suggestion.

 

[b in vancouver]

I don't want to see too many changes although I think it's become clear from the last playoffs that this team needs more size and strength throughout the line up.

I don't think it was that apparent. They won 15 games. Of their 9 losses I'd say 3 of them were because they were being out-muscled and in 1 of those the refs were letting automatic penalties slide.
This team is a bit different than they have been in the past. They don't intimidate other teams anymore but they (along with St. Louis) are a tough team to play against.
They're a driven, well-structured team that battles for every puck and is a pain in the ass to play against with good leadership and guys rowing in the same direction. It might be a bit different than we're used to but - this is a helluva good team as they're constructed. This team is very composed.

I know they lost in The Finals and we're all frustrated but I don't f*** with the chemistry, structure or approach too much as they're pretty much the definition of a team that 'plays within itself'. Everybody's buying in. No one's trying to prove themselves. Or start shit.

They played some incredible hockey this year and were skating down hill for much of it.

 

[BruinDust]

Well, the Big Bad Blues just ate the lunch of the former Big Bad Bruins so, it’s not an outlandish suggestion.

Yet the argument can be made that the Bruins outplayed the Blues in 5 of the 7 games.

The Blues are a bigger team that played to their strengths. Berube didn't ask a bunch of bigger slower D-men to become a bunch of puck-movers and rovers in the offensive zone. He didn't ask a bunch of two-way forwards to be the Harlem Globetrotters scoring highlight reel goals off the rush. He wanted them to cycle, wear teams down, and capitalize on their opponents mistakes.

One thing I've noticed the past couple seasons is the smaller, faster teams seem to excel more in the first couple months when the hockey is more wide-open with teams adjusting to new team-mates and changes to their overall system as coaches tweek stuff every year. Scoring is typically up in these months. And as the season moves along, teams get tighter defensively, scoring levels out.

Many would of considered the Jets to be a bigger, badder team than St. Louis, and they also got defeated by the Blues. So I don't think we can simply say getting bigger will equal more success.

 

[Memokerobi]

Copying over my thoughts from the other post:


1) Take Pasta and put him in with 46 and 74. Despite his performance this playoffs, Pasta is a young star player in this league on a good contract and they work well together.

2) The immediate replacement at the 1st line RW spot would be Heinen. 37 and 63 play well with him. This is not to say its a permanent solution. I would be definitely ok if they decide to move Heinen. (See next point).

3) Find a bigger and more physical RW that we all seem to have wanted for a long time now and put him on the FIRST line. A guy who can get to loose pucks and move defenders would do serious work on that line. Josh Anderson would really be awesome but don’t see it happening.

3) McAvoy and Carlo need to be locked up. That’s your top 4 RD duo for the foreseeable future.

4) I love Krug. I really do. But 3 factors make me lean towards moving him: he will be a FA and will command huge $/long term deal to be kept, with his smaller stature can his body hold up for the duration of said long term contract? And finally you have another player in Gryz who is as good defensively and can give you 50-60% of Krug’s offensive game at a fraction of the cost. Move Krug, Vaaka/Moore on the 2nd and Gryz on the 3rd pairing while getting PP time. You can get the RW mentioned above or other assets for him filling a bigger need elsewhere.

5) Don’t think its realistic but if there is a way, keep Mojo. Him and Coyle give you one of the best 3rd lines in the NHL. And they can definitely play as a 2nd line if the actual 2nd line is underperforming or there is an injury etc.

6) Move Backes with a draft pick attached to him. They’ve done a good job of finding value deeper in the draft so the loss of a higher pick can be mitigated.


This would give you a lineup of:
Marchand-Bergeron-RW (Heinen)
DeBrusk-Krejci-Pastrnak
Mojo(prospect/FA)-Coyle-Heinen(Pr/FA)
Nords-Kuraly-Wagner


Of course these points are too specific and it won’t play out like this but I thought this is a good basis of some realistic things they can do.

 

[BruinDust]

I'll throw this out there.

Now that we know the Bruins 1st round pick is number 30. Would anyone give up that pick if it meant the team getting the pick had to take Backes as well? Don't forget that by making that deal at the draft, the team taking Backes has to pay his 3 million signing bonus, so they are taking on more of a financial commitment than waiting until after the bonus is paid, hence the high price (pick No. 30) paid by Boston to move the contract.

Obviously Backes would need to be onboard with whatever team he was going to (I don't think his NMC changes to a NTC until July 1st). But it's speculated he'd be open to working with the Bruins to find a landing spot where he'd be more likely an everyday player.

They don't have a 2nd rounder. And I don't think a 3rd + Backes entices a team to take on his contract.

Not saying I'd do it but I think it's worth exploring. Not to mention it gives the Bruins cost certainty cap-wise in case they want to go shopping on July 1st. Normally I'd want them to stay away from July 1st, but the pedigree of being a win away from a cup is something the Bruins might want to capitalize on when trying to attract star UFAs this summer.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

IF Backes got traded, what do you think has to be attached? A 1st? Are folks here ok with that or is that not enough?

 

[BruinDust]

IF Backes got traded, what do you think has to be attached? A 1st? Are folks here ok with that or is that not enough?

If I'm an opposing GM that's the asking price I'd start with. And I'm probably not making that move until I see who slips into that range on the draft floor.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

If I'm an opposing GM that's the asking price I'd start with. And I'm probably not making that move until I see who slips into that range on the draft floor.

Yeah that makes sense. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. Gotta be hard to come back knowing that an injured Acciari was chosen over you in the Finals I would think.

 

[BruinDust]

Yeah that makes sense. It’ll be interesting to see what happens. Gotta be hard to come back knowing that an injured Acciari was chosen over you in the Finals I would think.

I didn't really agree with Backes comment on not being one of the 12 best forwards. I'm trying to knock Cassidy but he had his mind made up on who was going to be on his 4th line, and Backes wasn't going to be part of it. Yet he'd use him on the Krejci line, and used him on what was considered the 3rd line even during that hot Jan/Feb run pre-deadline and even post-deadline early on with Heinen and Coyle. But somehow he wasn't good enough for the 4th? Maybe it was a lack of confidence in Backes defensive game than his offensive one. As Cassidy loved matching up the 4th line against other teams scoring lines.

I also found it aggravating that even Backes said back in January that he struggled playing with Krejci and Debrusk, and he did, he looked lost at times with those two. yet they were together for roughly half of the playoff games.

Actually maybe it is a knock. He'd juggle the top 9 with impunity, but rarely elevated guys off the 4th line. Kuraly to me was one of the most effective Bruin forwards all playoffs and I would of liked to see him used on a different line at times and take advantage of his strong play.

I hope next year we see more fluidity between the forward lines and not get so hung up on a set-in-stone group of 4th liners.

 

[wintersej]

For what it's worth, last offseason when the Bruins were rumored to be in on Tavares, there were reports saying that other teams around the league considered Krejci as a #1C. I think Krejci would return far more than a 1st. However, I don't think it would be worth moving him just to replace him with Hayes who is probably going to get a $6M+ contract from somebody.

If you were to ask me which center would I choose between, Krejci or Hayes, I will always choose Krejci. Granted he did play some games with Marchand and Pastrnak during the season, 73 points with DeBrusk, who I think he has little chemistry with, and a revolving door of RWers is impressive. Hayes is a middle 6 tweener. He has not scored more than 50 points once in his career and is better utilized as a #3C. The Bruins would be much worse with that trade off.

Only Kucherov, Panarin, Crosby, Marner and Kane had more 5 on 5 apples than Krejci. Despite that RW issue.

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

I didn't really agree with Backes comment on not being one of the 12 best forwards. I'm trying to knock Cassidy but he had his mind made up on who was going to be on his 4th line, and Backes wasn't going to be part of it. Yet he'd use him on the Krejci line, and used him on what was considered the 3rd line even during that hot Jan/Feb run pre-deadline and even post-deadline early on with Heinen and Coyle.

Actually maybe it is a knock. He'd juggle the top 9 with impunity, but rarely elevated guys off the 4th line. Kuraly to me was one of the most effective Bruin forwards all playoffs and I would of liked to see him used on a different line at times and take advantage of his strong play.

I don’t know, I think maybe he was the 13th best forward. That was probably mostly due to his lack of speed.

Kuraly definitely was one of the most effective forwards. He’s a keeper.

 

[BruinDust]

I don’t know, I think maybe he was the 13th best forward. That was probably mostly due to his lack of speed.

Kuraly definitely was one of the most effective forwards. He’s a keeper.

He's still a better player IMO than Acciari. But he had no special teams role and I think Cassidy sees him as a bit of liability without the puck (because of that lack of speed you mentioned) That to me is the only justification for not using him on the 4th line.

One thing that was sort of glossed over was the 4th line got hemmed in the Bruins zone quite often on the Blues cycle game during the finals. Granted that was likely affected by them going up against the Blues top 2 lines.

 

[sarge88]

For me it comes down to whether or not to trade Krug.

Option 1 - resign Johansson and move Krug (alone or in a package) for a top 6 forward.

Move Backes (long shot) otherwise use him as the 13th F.

Marchand - Bergeron - (Krug acquisition)
Johansson - Krejci - Pasta
JDB - Coyle - Heinen
Blidh - Kuraly - Nordstrom

Chara - McAvoy
Grzelcyk - Carlo
Miller/Moore/Clifton/Vaakanainen/Lauzon

Option 2 - Keep Krug - which probably only allows them to sign Johansson or someone similar,

Marchand - Bergeron - Pasta
Johansson - Krejci - ???/JDB
?????? - Coyle - Heinen
Blidh - Kuraly - Nordstrom

Chara - McAvoy
Krug - Carlo
Grzelcyk/Miller/Moore/Clifton/Vaakanainen/Lauzon

Obviously, they can trade Miller/Moore, etc. to thin the herd on defense, but none will bring back what Krug will.

Not sure of the cap ramifications in either scenario, as I have no idea what Krug will bring back and if they can move Backes, that obviously gives them more cash to spend on a FA.

I do know, they need to give it a legit shot with this group!

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

I'll throw this out there.

Now that we know the Bruins 1st round pick is number 30. Would anyone give up that pick if it meant the team getting the pick had to take Backes as well? Don't forget that by making that deal at the draft, the team taking Backes has to pay his 3 million signing bonus, so they are taking on more of a financial commitment than waiting until after the bonus is paid, hence the high price (pick No. 30) paid by Boston to move the contract.

Obviously Backes would need to be onboard with whatever team he was going to (I don't think his NMC changes to a NTC until July 1st). But it's speculated he'd be open to working with the Bruins to find a landing spot where he'd be more likely an everyday player.

They don't have a 2nd rounder. And I don't think a 3rd + Backes entices a team to take on his contract.

Not saying I'd do it but I think it's worth exploring. Not to mention it gives the Bruins cost certainty cap-wise in case they want to go shopping on July 1st. Normally I'd want them to stay away from July 1st, but the pedigree of being a win away from a cup is something the Bruins might want to capitalize on when trying to attract star UFAs this summer.

In.
A.
Heartbeat.

Agree; he’s not our 13th forward. He’s more like our 15th.

Time to end it if we can.

 

[Memokerobi]

I don’t know why it must be a Power Forward for the 2nd Line RW. I think our 2nd line RW is already on the roster. Sliding Pasta down there makes so much sense. Krejci would be perfect in setting him up for high scoring chances and they already have another W to do work in the dirty areas in JDB.

Heinen would be an immediate replacement on the first line as that line looked good with him before and if they really want they can look at an upgrade via FA/trade.

 

[BruinDust]

Obviously, they can trade Miller/Moore, etc. to thin the herd on defense, but none will bring back what Krug will.

!

Moore is potentially out until November. Miller may or may not be ready to start the season. I'd expect both back next year now.

 

[BruinDust]

If they move Krug it better be one heck of a forward coming back the other way. None of this horse for 3 ponies-type stuff. If they intend to take one more kick at the can next year with this group, you need basically the Krug-equivalent or better coming back at forward. That's a top end guy to me for a guy like Krug whose one of the Top 5 offensive D-men in the sport.

 

[Clode]

I don't think it was that apparent. They won 15 games. Of their 9 losses I'd say 3 of them were because they were being out-muscled and in 1 of those the refs were letting automatic penalties slide.
This team is a bit different than they have been in the past. They don't intimidate other teams anymore but they (along with St. Louis) are a tough team to play against.
They're a driven, well-structured team that battles for every puck and is a pain in the ass to play against with good leadership and guys rowing in the same direction. It might be a bit different than we're used to but - this is a helluva good team as they're constructed. This team is very composed.

I know they lost in The Finals and we're all frustrated but I don't **** with the chemistry, structure or approach too much as they're pretty much the definition of a team that 'plays within itself'. Everybody's buying in. No one's trying to prove themselves. Or start ****.

They played some incredible hockey this year and were skating down hill for much of it.

I agree with you for the most part but I still think they need another big body or two to create space in front of the net and to win battles along the boards. Both in the Tampa series last season and in the SCF our skill players were completely shutdown because they had no space to operate, a lot of perimeter play because they couldn't get to the middle and especially against St. Louis, they had a real hard time getting to rebounds because the Blues D would just out-muscle them. This seems to be a recurring theme with the Bruins when they run into heavy teams and I highly doubt they aren't going to have through one of Washington or Tampa next year.

Don't get me wrong I'm not asking for a goon or anything like that, but I think they could benefit from someone like Michael Ferland (who is a UFA this year that I hope they take a crack at). He'd look good on DKs right wing I think since he seems to thrive when he has guys creating space for him, or drop Pasta down to play with Krejci and Debrusk and put him with Bergy.

 

[BruinDust]

I agree with you for the most part but I still think they need another big body or two to create space in front of the net and to win battles along the boards. Both in the Tampa series last season and in the SCF our skill players were completely shutdown because they had no space to operate, a lot of perimeter play because they couldn't get to the middle and especially against St. Louis, they had a real hard time getting to rebounds because the Blues D would just out-muscle them. This seems to be a recurring theme with the Bruins when they run into heavy teams and I highly doubt they aren't going to have through one of Washington or Tampa next year.

Don't get me wrong I'm not asking for a goon or anything like that, but I think they could benefit from someone like Michael Ferland (who is a UFA this year that I hope they take a crack at). He'd look good on DKs right wing I think since he seems to thrive when he has guys creating space for him, or drop Pasta down to play with Krejci and Debrusk and put him with Bergy.

I like Ferland but if the Bruins want a power-forward type, then trade for one in his prime whose contract isn't too long, or draft and develop their own.

Signing Power Forwards within their unrestricted free agency age to long-term deals will almost always come back to haunt the team that signed them unless that guy is an elite-level player (think Wheeler, Benn, etc.)

Lucic, Backes, Neal, Ladd, Beleskey, the list goes on.

If St. Louis have fallen in love with Maroon and give him a long-term deal they will come to regret that too.

 

[PlayMakers]

I think you have to kick the tires on Duchene. It's rare for top2 centers to be available in free agency. They took a run at Tavares (who saw that coming?) so it wouldn't be out of character. Krejci is coming off a great season and a good playoff run, he's very tradable. Duchene is 5 years younger and could be a better fit for DeBrusk in that they're both high-energy guys who play fast. DeBrusk is actually a lot like Dzingel, and Duchene had a career year with Dzingel (and Bobby Ryan).

 

[Fenian24]

Just because it didn't work last year doesn't mean it will never work. We can't just give up on integrating kids into the lineup because it didn't work that one time.

I'll admit, I'm usually more patient when it comes to this sort of thing. I generally want to see a young player dominate the AHL before moving up and neither Frederic or Studnicka have done that yet. So yeah, it's probably a little early to ask for one of them to step in, but this Providence team is hard to figure out. Nobody "dominates" down there. DeBrusk didn't. Gryz and Clifton didn't. I don't think they set things up for players to dominate. It's like they make it as hard as possible on the young player and hope he can find a way to drive his line or pair.

But that's the beauty of Charlie Coyle. You can try all of your options. Frederic, Studnicka, Steen, Kuhlman, Senyshyn... I think a big part of regular season success comes from young legs and getting a push from a rookie or two. You get offense from an unsuspected source, they bring all this drive and energy. I don't know who it will be but I think it's important that 1 spot in that top9 be filled by a fresh face trying to prove he belongs in the league.

Coyle is better in the middle, get the second line an in his prime or close 25 goal scorer with size and physicality. There arent many but there are some. Over pay for Anderson with prospects, sign Ferland, would rather him as Coyles wing but he gets 20-25 with Krejci and DeBrusk.

ELC's are important, but they just lost the seventh game of the cup final with a veteran core, now is not the time to see if Senyshyn, Studnicka, Frederic et al are ready. Now is the time to fill gaps and make one more run with this core.

I have always wondered why Providence hasn't produced a dominant player in so long, last one i can really think of was Boychuk and he was a minor league vet when he got there.

 

[Fenian24]

adding a winger to ride shotgun with DK who plays with grit is a must but no way do I want to see Sweeney go out and completely abandon his plan just to put together, once again, a slugging but big team. The Blues model won it this year, IMO, this is an outlier, game is completely shifting

Explain Columbus sweeping Tampa? Also an outlier? Islanders over Penguins? Sharks making semi finals playing the last pure goon in many playoffs games in Haley?