Apparently is the Vegas GM, McCrimmon, said the trade market is gridlocked due to the flat cap.
Seems to be more than a few deals made the past couple days.
And Bruins have a fair amount of cap space. They could afford Schmidt.
Maybe it meant moving Gryz to afford Schmidt. Well then still seems like a smart move. Gryz whether they settle before the hearing or accept the award, is probably getting around 3 million per. I'd much rather a legit No.2 D-man in Schmidt at 6 million than a guy who may only be a No.4/5 in Gryz at 3 million.
Say you trade a 2nd for Schmidt, then move Gryz for a 2nd or 3rd, your still upgrading your team for next to nothing.
It's the same as his rational for not contacting the Pietrangelo camp. He basically said he didn't see the fit with the current RD on the Bruins. Huh? WTF is that? If, if, you can convince Pietrangelo to come here, all of sudden you have a 24-year old Carlo you can move to acquire assets, further deepening your organization. I don't believe Sweeney is moronic enough to believe the logic of what he said on Saturday. He does think the Bruins fans are dumb enough to believe it. If that's his thought process he shouldn't be anywhere near a NHL GMs chair.
They just aren't interested in spending the money to upgrade the D. They had no interest in Pietrangelo, they had no interest in Schmidt. Sweney has his "plan" and it doesn't involve bringing any D-men in.
And their "offer" for OEL was most likely for show, same as their 3-year offer to Hall and their 2-year offer for Dadonov. There is a reason they went hard after the "value" signing of Craig Smith.
Does Sweeney and his cronies know something the rest of the league doesn't regarding the cap moving forward? Maybe he got wind of something from Jacobs and much like their 2004-05 lockout plan (that backfired BTW) they are working on some assumptions that we aren't privy to.