Proposal: What Should the Bruins do this Summer? II

[Dr Quincy]

If we lose McQuaid I just have a gut feeling Alzner will be signed via UFA.

And I wouldn't sleep on Dmitry Kulikov. He's our type of player.

No to both, and I was the biggest Kulikov booster in his draft year.

Alzner is a shell of what he was and Kulikov never developed the offensive game it looked like he had in JR. He doesn't seem to skate like he used to either which is weird for a guy not that old.

 

[TorontLoL 67]

Neely expects a quiet free agency for the Bruins but will not rule out any trades

Thanks Cam. I checked the weather today. The weather man said it might rain, and it might not.

 

[cobrak]

The point I was trying to make was that every single great team has had to add players via trade, whether they do that the year they win or 2 years before has nothing to do with it. They don't sit around and wait to see if all their prospects will turn into impact guys.

The Bruins have made 5 1st round picks in the last 2 years, so I'm not buying them not being a position to do a 3 for 1 trade to aquire a player.

Is there a player in the system that you think could step onto Krejci's LW and be effective for a full season? I'm not seeing one and if they don't take care of that they will struggle again this season.

Do you think JFK, Bjork, DeBrusk, Heinen, Gabrielle, Senyshn, Cheralik, Acciari, Czarnik etc are all going to play for the Bruins in the near future in a full time capacity? If not, then why not package some of them up and try to get someone that will?

Did anyone here think they were going to make those 3 consecutive picks in 2015 leading up to the draft? Or both the picks last year? Hell, lots of people here think they'll end up dealing this year's first rounder for something. Why is that? I would say it's because they need some immediate help and they also don't really have the room for all those prospects.

I remember when Subban was untouchable and every team was asking about him and the Bruins refused to trade him, even though they had just signed Rask to a long term deal. Now look, they'd be lucky to get a md round pick for the guy and he's unlikely to crack this lineup as a back up. I would be lying if I said that I'm not worried about some of the current crop of prospects being in that same situation in 3 or 4 years from now.

As cool as it is to stockpile prospects and fantasize about how great the future will be, they should still be trying to ice the best team they can right now while guys like Marchand are having career years and Rask is still a top flight goalie.

And that's where my point comes in. We are not 1-2 guys away from winning the cup. We are still 2 years from being good nevermind competitive. Right now the lines look something like:
Marchand-Bergeron- Pasta
XXXXX-Krejci-xxxxxx
Beleskey- Backes-Vatrano
Nash- Schaller-Hayes
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
KMiller-xxxx

Rask
Khudobin

That is three definite spots and I don't really count Belesky/Hayes/Vatrano/Nash/Khudobin as cup contender quality.

I think you might be thinking the current team is much closer than I am or you are planning on trading for 8 impact players with our prospects? Even at 2 to 1 I don't think we have enough to fill those gaps.

Let's see how they fit and trade for what we need instead of a prospect firesale once we get a little bit closer to not having half the team be disposable, please

 

[bruinmann77]

DS needs to make trades in keeping with his present plan

 

[Gordoff]

Doan will likely retire, before choosing another franchise, very similar to Bourque asking to go to Colorado.... too much of an iconic presence, and it's why COL retired 77....

He thought that he was going to Philly as did the Flyers. But good ol' Harry wanted him in the West even though the B's were a team in turmoil and not anywhere near being able to contend for anything.

 

[cobrak]

DS needs to make trades in keeping with his present plan

Absolutely, but trading for an "impact" player is not going to fill the 8+ holes we have right now. There needs to be some temperance with trading prospects so we continue to have a deep pool while also improving. Just making a trade to get 1 or even 2 guys is not going to win the cup at this point. We saw how decimated the team was in the playoffs losing just a couple of players. We have a serious need for more depth and quality players, which happens with proper development sprinkled in with trades

 

[wintersej]

I think people are writing off Beleksey too quickly.

 

[wintersej]

Trade ideas w Vegas...

Spooner for Nate Schmidt
Spooner + Hayes + Cehlarik + EDM 2nd for Methot
Spooner + Hayes + 1st for Scandella (assuming Vegas is paying them to leave Dumba alone)

 

[Alberta_OReilly_Fan]

I think people are writing off Beleksey too quickly.

agreed if you mean cant play.. i expect he will go back to what he was

but disagree if you mean worth the caphit to us

same for hayes... i expect both belesky and hayes will be decent bottom 6 players this year but neither is worth the contract to us

 

[ashnathan]

Would hate both these moves. There's no reason for either guy, whether McQ is here or not.

Especially with our recent (lack of) success in the FA market.

agree x100

 

[finchster]

No way a team could ever win with Phil Kessel. I was told that in 2010. Then again, in the spring of 2011 I was told that Tyler Sequin was a 2way beast who was committed to being the best player he could possibly be. And in 2012 I was told that Dougie Hamilton was a physical Dman who was elite already.

I was a Kessel fan when he was here and I wanted the Bruins to keep him. But there was a little slither of truth to the bold statement. I stated back then no team could win if Phil Kessel is their best player, but if he is your second or third best guy he would be an extremely important piece. I felt the Bruins would've won with him too.

Guy has been a top point producer and a playoff stud his whole career. Sometimes I think fans forget that scoring points is the most important skill a player can bring to a team. Things like leadership, toughness etc. is like salt and pepper on the steak. If you don't have meat, salt and pepper isn't going to feed you. However a steak will be terrible without some seasoning. It's always cheaper to buy salt and pepper than to get the meat

When they put out

Lucic - Savard- Kessel

I knew we were back in business

What a fun line

Hard not to like Kessel

That Hockey News cover was horrible

Been a Bruins fan my whole life (admittedly not as long as your life ), that 2008-09 team was one of the best Bruins I ever saw. It needed one more defencemen and experience.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

Been a Bruins fan my whole life (admittedly not as long as your life ), that 2008-09 team was one of the best Bruins I ever saw. It needed one more defencemen and experience.

Sweeping the Habs was fun. Losing to Carolina in round 2 not so much...

 

[bp13]

DS needs to make trades in keeping with his present plan

I'm happy to hear someone knows what his current plan is. Can you tell the rest of us? And I'm being 100% sincere. For the life of me I can't figure out his plan. I know he wants to build up the pipeline and I'm assuming he has ideas on what the team looks like 3-5 years down the road knowing those prospects, but that's a long way away. And he's already been here 3 years. So if you think you know, what is/was his plan?

 

[Sharp Shooting Neely]

Minny reporter describes talks between The Wild and the B's on Brodin as never being close. The TSN article also ties the Isles Haminoc as being the focus for being the player to move in their discussions with the Avs, Oilers and Habs for a scoring forward.

"The Boston Bruins were rumoured to be in the bidding for Minnesota Wild defenceman Jonas Brodin before Saturday's trade freeze, but Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports nothing was ever close between the two teams."

http://www.tsn.ca/off-season-watch-hamonic-on-the-table-for-a-scorer-1.783833

 

[Gee Wally]

Minny reporter describes talks between The Wild and the B's on Brodin as never being close. The TSN article also ties the Isles Haminoc as being the focus for being the player to move in their discussions with the Avs, Oilers and Habs for a scoring forward.

"The Boston Bruins were rumoured to be in the bidding for Minnesota Wild defenceman Jonas Brodin before Saturday's trade freeze, but Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports nothing was ever close between the two teams."

http://www.tsn.ca/off-season-watch-hamonic-on-the-table-for-a-scorer-1.783833

Bruins were interested in Brodin. Wild wanted more than B's offer. So much so they elected to protect him over others in their stable.

 

[Over the volcano]

When they put out

Lucic - Savard- Kessel

I knew we were back in business

What a fun line

Hard not to like Kessel

That Hockey News cover was horrible

Always thought the Lucic - Savard - Kessel line reminded me of these three:

 

[LouJersey]

I wonder what the offer was for Brodin?

 

[bp13]

Bruins were interested in Brodin. Wild wanted more than B's offer. So much so they elected to protect him over others in their stable.

IF Sweeney is in fact trying to upgrade this roster through trade, then this is a result that doesn't surprise me in the least. Just seems like he's a prospect-first guy, a player development guy. Seems likely to fall in love with his prospects and eager to keep his draft picks. Also obviously doesn't feel like a closer.

Similarly it feels like a "window of competition" is completely indiscernible. Does he actually see a deep playoff run with this roster? Assuming not, what's missing and when/where does he add it from? Summer time is the time for any meaningful deals, so if he sits out the summer again we can conclude he either likes this roster or isn't foreseeing that this is a "run" year, right? If that, did he take this job and install a 5+ year plan? With keeping Chara, Bergeron, Krejci, even Marchand?

So this is why I keep asking if anyone can tell me the plan.

 

[NeelyDan]

IF Sweeney is in fact trying to upgrade this roster through trade, then this is a result that doesn't surprise me in the least. Just seems like he's a prospect-first guy, a player development guy. Seems likely to fall in love with his prospects and eager to keep his draft picks. Also obviously doesn't feel like a closer.

Similarly it feels like a "window of competition" is completely indiscernible. Does he actually see a deep playoff run with this roster? Assuming not, what's missing and when/where does he add it from? Summer time is the time for any meaningful deals, so if he sits out the summer again we can conclude he either likes this roster or isn't foreseeing that this is a "run" year, right? If that, did he take this job and install a 5+ year plan? With keeping Chara, Bergeron, Krejci, even Marchand?

So this is why I keep asking if anyone can tell me the plan.

I feel like his plan is/was to a) get out of cap hell, b) (re)stock the cupboard, and c) try and produce a winner while a large portion of the club is still in a competitive window by plugging holes and shoring up. He's done fine in a) and b) and seems completely out of his element on c) - which perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise given his rookie status in parallel with being surrounded by equally inexperienced executives from a pro roster management perspective. JFJ , I guess, but hell....god help us if that's our well of knowledge.

 

[patty59]

IF Sweeney is in fact trying to upgrade this roster through trade, then this is a result that doesn't surprise me in the least. Just seems like he's a prospect-first guy, a player development guy. Seems likely to fall in love with his prospects and eager to keep his draft picks. Also obviously doesn't feel like a closer.

Similarly it feels like a "window of competition" is completely indiscernible. Does he actually see a deep playoff run with this roster? Assuming not, what's missing and when/where does he add it from? Summer time is the time for any meaningful deals, so if he sits out the summer again we can conclude he either likes this roster or isn't foreseeing that this is a "run" year, right? If that, did he take this job and install a 5+ year plan? With keeping Chara, Bergeron, Krejci, even Marchand?

So this is why I keep asking if anyone can tell me the plan.

This is my thoughts as well. I think he knows he needs to improve the roster since he's always rumored to be "in" on guys and big name guys too. He just seems to have trouble closing the deal.

As for a plan, I think he has one. He made some trades to eliviate the cap issues and he also restocked the prospects fairly well. I think he was planning on making a few trades over the last year and this summer but can't seem to get that done.

I'm totally on board with not trading McAvoy and Carlo, but he's got the assets to get something done and until he does he'll have a lot of skeptics.

 

[patty59]

And that's where my point comes in. We are not 1-2 guys away from winning the cup. We are still 2 years from being good nevermind competitive. Right now the lines look something like:
Marchand-Bergeron- Pasta
XXXXX-Krejci-xxxxxx
Beleskey- Backes-Vatrano
Nash- Schaller-Hayes
Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
KMiller-xxxx

Rask
Khudobin

That is three definite spots and I don't really count Belesky/Hayes/Vatrano/Nash/Khudobin as cup contender quality.

I think you might be thinking the current team is much closer than I am or you are planning on trading for 8 impact players with our prospects? Even at 2 to 1 I don't think we have enough to fill those gaps.

Let's see how they fit and trade for what we need instead of a prospect firesale once we get a little bit closer to not having half the team be disposable, please

They don't need 8 impact palyers. In reality they need a top 6 fwd and decent LHD. The bottom 6 can be filled easily with what they have. You can work your young guys in on the bottom 6 fairly easily with limtied TOI, the problems come when you try to force a guy into 18mins a night when they clearly aren't ready to play in that role.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

I would target a top-6W to play with eith Bergy or Krejci before adding a D.

I'm fine to start the year with this top-7:

Chara
Krug
McAvoy
Carlo
K.Miller
C.Miller/McQuaid
Morrow

Trade Spooner+ for a top-6 W, see if Ari or LV wants Beleskey and give them an asset to free up 3.8M and move Backes to C.

Marchand-Bergy-Pasta
DeBrusk-Krejci-Trade
Vatrano-Backes-Bjork
4th line+13th F= 4 of: JFK/Acciari/Blidh/Heinen/Hayes/Nash/Moore/Schaller/other ELC/UFA

Chara-McAvoy
Krug-Carlo
K.Miller-McQuaid
Morrow

Rask
backup

 

[Fenian24]

My fear is Sweeney is turning into a not as smart version of Theo Epstein. He loves all his prospects so much he won't deal any of them and expects then to carry his team to a championship. While drafting is vital to win championships in a cap are so is making good free agent signings and trades. I like the Backes signing but he has done nothing else in Free agency or by trade to make me have any faith in him. We'll see how the prospects do but I have little faith in many of them.

It looks more and more like the start of another 39 years of lining Jacobs pockets without being smart enough or having the commitment from ownership to ever win again

 

[DKH]

I was a Kessel fan when he was here and I wanted the Bruins to keep him. But there was a little slither of truth to the bold statement. I stated back then no team could win if Phil Kessel is their best player, but if he is your second or third best guy he would be an extremely important piece. I felt the Bruins would've won with him too.

Guy has been a top point producer and a playoff stud his whole career. Sometimes I think fans forget that scoring points is the most important skill a player can bring to a team. Things like leadership, toughness etc. is like salt and pepper on the steak. If you don't have meat, salt and pepper isn't going to feed you. However a steak will be terrible without some seasoning. It's always cheaper to buy salt and pepper than to get the meat



Been a Bruins fan my whole life (admittedly not as long as your life ), that 2008-09 team was one of the best Bruins I ever saw. It needed one more defencemen and experience.

The Age of (present day) Innocence

I loved that team as well

 

[Greek_physique]

Bruins were interested in Brodin. Wild wanted more than B's offer. So much so they elected to protect him over others in their stable.

Doesn't surprise me...I think a lot of teams did the same with Minnesota.

Do we want Brodin? Sure....but lets see if we can get him cheaper prior to the expansion draft.

If that doesn't work, Minny has to expose Dumba...which they didnt want to do.