Management Who should the Bruins protect at the expansion draft?

[kjpm]

Kind of think there could be a trade before this is really that stressful. Before Sweeney exposes Lauzon to expansion I'd hope he'd trade him. A lot of teams took some serious crap for not trying that before with the last one.

Take a losing trade, who cares. Get an asset.

I mean... They're going to lose a good player no matter what. Say you trade Lauzon to some other team for a 3rd (or whatever). Seattle goes ahead and takes Frederic. Now you've lost two good young assets for a low pick. Wouldn't it be better to just take the hit on Lauzon and keep Frederic? Or vice versa. And this is all contingent on finding a trading partner that has an open protection spot and a need for the player you're trading away.

I'd rather just accept that Seattle will take a decent player and move on. That's what the owners signed up for.

 

[TSBruins13]

Look at Nick's career. What indicates that he's going to continue this nice season for the foreseeable future?

He's only 25.

 

[Mione134]

He's only 25.

And Jake is 24. AND has shown more in 3 years, than the 6 years Nick has he's been in the league.

 

[Alicat]

I would try to make trades with Seattle to protect the guys you can't due to the rules.

I like Ritchie but I'm keeping DeBrusk unless he's dealt at the actual draft

 

[Alicat]

Bleacher Report predicts we will lose Trent Frederic. I'm honestly fine with this

Updated 2021 NHL Expansion Draft Predictions for the Seattle Kraken

 

[Pia8988]

I would try to make trades with Seattle to protect the guys you can't due to the rules.

I like Ritchie but I'm keeping DeBrusk unless he's dealt at the actual draft

I wouldn’t. Lose Lauzon, bruins would be just fine. All of Vegas’s best picks came from teams trying to make deals

 

[Smitty93]

I'm holding out for Debrusk to break out of his funk - but if I had to make the decision today, it would be Ritchie, and its not even close in my opinion. Producing more, sticking up for teammates while Debrusk skates around and shakes his head.

I think it's worth remembering with Ritchie that his production was largely based on a fast start, driven by powerplay production. 15 points in his first 21 games this year (8 goals/7 assists). 5 of the 8 goals were on the powerplay, and 9 of the 15 points. In his last 20 games, he's at 5 points (2 goals/3 assists). DeBrusk is only at 9 points (4 goals/5 assists) in 28 games. They've both got 3 points in their last 10 games.

Prior to this season, Ritchie's most productive season was worse than DeBrusk's least productive season. I'm trusting the track record of DeBrusk 10 times out of 10.

For me, Frederic's the guy to leave unprotected. I think there's two strategies you take with protection: you either just protect the guys you value the most OR you try to think about which players Seattle would be most interested in. Sweeney & co. may really like Frederic, but does Seattle? Besides the 1st round pedigree, which was questionable in the first place, I don't think he's exactly shown much where Seattle would want to take him over one of the defensemen.

 

[UConn126]

Forwards:
Bergeron
Marchand
Pastrnak
Coyle
Smith
Frederic
DeBrusk or Ritchie

D:
McAvoy
Carlo
Gryz

G:
Vladar

UFA (hopefully re-sign but not until after expansion draft):
Krejci
Hall
Rask
Reilly
Miller(?)

Exposed:

F:
Ritchie or DeBrusk
Kase
Wagner
Lazar
Kuhlman
Senyshen

D:
Lauzon
Zboril
Moore
Clifton

G:
Booth


This is my current take. Earlier in the season, I was in the Lauzon over Gryz camp, but I've changed my tune. Gryz has performed well in an elevated roll, and the emergence of Reilly as a potential option moving forward has eased the blow of losing potentially one of Lauzon or Zboril.

For the forwards, I think we have 3 guys competing for 2 spots. Ritchie, DeBrusk, and Frederic. I'm thinking Smith gets protected based on his recent performance. Personally, I am a huge fan of Freddy and what he brings to the team, so I protect him. Ritchie is about on pace with his best season to date points wise, on track to beat his season high for goals over a full season. Does he have another gear or is this it? DeBrusk obviously has potential. Looked like a potential 30-goal guy, but hasn't looked great this year, although has looked good on the PK, adding value to the team that way. I go back and forth between these two.

The big mystery for me is would Seattle prefer one of Ritchie/DeBrusk/Frederic over Zboril or Lauzon? I would think yes, as the forwards available are likely to be substantially worse than the defensemen available in general. Ritchie and DeBrusk could both be a top 6 option for them, and Frederic is a former first who brings a grittiness that teams definitely value. I would much rather lose Zboril or Lauzon, as I think Reilly or Vaak would replace them nicely.

 

[Pia8988]

I think it's worth remembering with Ritchie that his production was largely based on a fast start, driven by powerplay production. 15 points in his first 21 games this year (8 goals/7 assists). 5 of the 8 goals were on the powerplay, and 9 of the 15 points. In his last 20 games, he's at 5 points (2 goals/3 assists). DeBrusk is only at 9 points (4 goals/5 assists) in 28 games. They've both got 3 points in their last 10 games.

Prior to this season, Ritchie's most productive season was worse than DeBrusk's least productive season. I'm trusting the track record of DeBrusk 10 times out of 10.

For me, Frederic's the guy to leave unprotected. I think there's two strategies you take with protection: you either just protect the guys you value the most OR you try to think about which players Seattle would be most interested in. Sweeney & co. may really like Frederic, but does Seattle? Besides the 1st round pedigree, which was questionable in the first place, I don't think he's exactly shown much where Seattle would want to take him over one of the defensemen.

I think they would consider Frederic. The F are always worse than the D that get exposed. Easier to pick a D comparable or better than Lauzon vs thinking Frederic may have untapped upside.

I'd 100% protect Frederic over Ritchie though.

 

[ReggiesLemons]

I would keep:

Bergeron, Marchand, Coyle, Pastrnak, Smith, Ritchie & DeBrusk.

McAvoy, Carlo and probably Grzelcyk.

Vladar in net.

Losing Lauzon or Zboril would sting a bit but I would have to think Seattle goes that route unless a trade is made.

Leave Krejci, Hall & Rask exposed and hopefully re-sing after the expansion draft. Maybe even re-sign Reilly as well if he keeps his play up.

 

[kjpm]

I wonder if it would make sense to expose Vladar with the hopes they take him and leave the skaters intact. Dom posted a list of goalies that will potentially be available a while back and it was a pretty thin talent pool from what I recall. Vladar seemed to clearly be one of the top choices if he was left exposed.

Guess it comes down to how much they value Frederic and Lauzon vs. Vladar. They're pretty deep at goalie with Keyser behind Vladar and of course Swayman performing at a high level so maybe they sacrifice Vladar to protect the others.

Will be annoying either way lol. Damn owners.

 

[Kegs]

I mean... They're going to lose a good player no matter what. Say you trade Lauzon to some other team for a 3rd (or whatever). Seattle goes ahead and takes Frederic. Now you've lost two good young assets for a low pick. Wouldn't it be better to just take the hit on Lauzon and keep Frederic? Or vice versa. And this is all contingent on finding a trading partner that has an open protection spot and a need for the player you're trading away.

I'd rather just accept that Seattle will take a decent player and move on. That's what the owners signed up for.

Ya this idea that we trade an asset because we lose them in the expansion is so stupid. Now you’re down two assets. SMH.

 

[Kegs]

I wonder if it would make sense to expose Vladar with the hopes they take him and leave the skaters intact. Dom posted a list of goalies that will potentially be available a while back and it was a pretty thin talent pool from what I recall. Vladar seemed to clearly be one of the top choices if he was left exposed.

Guess it comes down to how much they value Frederic and Lauzon vs. Vladar. They're pretty deep at goalie with Keyser behind Vladar and of course Swayman performing at a high level so maybe they sacrifice Vladar to protect the others.

Will be annoying either way lol. Damn owners.

Edit. I miss read

 

[Mick Riddleton]

I am not convinced DeBrusk is adequate there. He can be a great player but he goes missing so often. Like the past two in NY. Great game one, basically an invisible man last night.

I think Lauko can do everything Jake does.

 

[DiggityDog]

Forwards:
Bergeron
Marchand
Pastrnak
Coyle
Smith
Debrusk
Frederic

Defense:
Mcavoy
Carlo
Gryz

Goaltender:
Vladar

I expose Ritchie and Lauzon. Ritchie has been solid this year, but it isn’t enough to warrant a protection slot. They could move on from him and be fine.

Lauzon would be the guy I would expect to be taken. Had a good start to the year, but Gryz has more than cemented himself as a lock for the expansion. Not to mention the Reilly acquisition making it a less bitter pill to swallow

Your defense next season:
Gryz-Mcavoy
Reilly-Carlo
Vaak/Zboril-Clifton/Miller

 

[BruinDust]

Forwards:
Bergeron
Marchand
Pastrnak
Coyle
Smith
Debrusk
Frederic

Defense:
Mcavoy
Carlo
Gryz

Goaltender:
Vladar

I expose Ritchie and Lauzon. Ritchie has been solid this year, but it isn’t enough to warrant a protection slot. They could move on from him and be fine.

Lauzon would be the guy I would expect to be taken. Had a good start to the year, but Gryz has more than cemented himself as a lock for the expansion. Not to mention the Reilly acquisition making it a less bitter pill to swallow

Your defense next season:
Gryz-Mcavoy
Reilly-Carlo
Vaak/Zboril-Clifton/Miller

And Debrusk has? What about Frederic? What has either done this season to warrant protecting one of them over Nick Ritchie? He's got more goals and more points than both of them combined.

At least with Debrusk you can argue he has a 27-goal season under his belt. What has Frederic done this year besides chirp the opposition?

Everyone is in love with Craig Smith these days and Ritchie has just as many goals as he does.

 

[BruinDust]

Bleacher Report predicts we will lose Trent Frederic. I'm honestly fine with this

Updated 2021 NHL Expansion Draft Predictions for the Seattle Kraken

I know it's easy fodder for hockey journalists, but trying to predict who Seattle would take is a waste of time. Vegas didn't even come close to choosing the players from teams everyone thought they would take and several times went "off the board" so to speak.

If I'm Seattle I already have mock expansion lists done for every team, and if I'm looking at the Bruins, I see a bunch of fairly comparable players who should be available. Is there really that much to pick from when comparing Frederic/Lazar/Zboril/Clifton/Lauzon/etc.

No there isn't. Performance-wise, age-wise, contract-wise they are basically the same. Conversely, if the Bruins say desperately want to retain Frederic for example, should they have to cough up something else significant to do so? Because the additional asset is to basically bridge the gap between Frederic and the other next most desired player. I don't see the gap between say Lazar and Frederic being a 1st or 2nd round pick. The most I'd go is a 3rd maybe but preferably a 4th. If that doesn't turn Seattle's crank, than I'd just let them pick whoever they want.

 

[Dr Hook]

Everyone is in love with Craig Smith these days and Ritchie has just as many goals as he does.

He got most of them on the PP and has we have learned around here, those don't count the same.

 

[DiggityDog]

And Debrusk has? What about Frederic? What has either done this season to warrant protecting one of them over Nick Ritchie? He's got more goals and more points than both of them combined.

At least with Debrusk you can argue he has a 27-goal season under his belt. What has Frederic done this year besides chirp the opposition?

Everyone is in love with Craig Smith these days and Ritchie has just as many goals as he does.

I’m sorry my opinion has offended you so much.

Debrusk has had a down year no question, but I think it would be totally stupid to expose him to the Kraken and lose him for nothing. I’m not married to Debrusk, but if I’m losing him it better be for something.

Same thing for Frederic, personally I would rather gamble that he turns into a player, than lose him for nothing.

Are you seriously going to sit there and try and tell me that Ritchie and Smith are on the level because they have the same amount of goals? Tell me when you watch the Bruins who is the better player in just about every way? If your answer isn’t Smith, might I suggest Lasik?

I like Ritchie, he has had a decent season. He is not worth protection. I would be flat out shocked if they protected him when the time comes.

 

[goldnblack]

Ya this idea that we trade an asset because we lose them in the expansion is so stupid. Now you’re down two assets. SMH.

In fairness it also depends what you're trading them for. If you trade for something liquid like a pick, you can acquire a player later for that pick. This is fluid, not static.

 

[BruinDust]

I’m sorry my opinion has offended you so much.

I'm not offended I apologize if it came across that way.

 

[inactive user]

And Debrusk has? What about Frederic? What has either done this season to warrant protecting one of them over Nick Ritchie? He's got more goals and more points than both of them combined.

At least with Debrusk you can argue he has a 27-goal season under his belt. What has Frederic done this year besides chirp the opposition?

Everyone is in love with Craig Smith these days and Ritchie has just as many goals as he does.

Well to be fair most of what Ritchie has contributed was mostly at the start of the season. He's pointless in his last 10 games and -7 in that span. But I would rather protect him over Frederic. Frederic doesn't really impress me all that much tbh.

 

[BruinDust]

Well to be fair most of what Ritchie has contributed was mostly at the start of the season. He's pointless in his last 10 games and -7 in that span. But I would rather protect him over Frederic. Frederic doesn't really impress me all that much tbh.

And for non-core level guys like Ritchie, or Smith, or Frederic, your gonna get some lulls now and then. It's when the lulls really drag on that it becomes concerning. Smith had his stretch where he wasn't noticed much too. Frederic impressed early getting in the faces of opponents, but that shtick can only get you so far, you gotta perform between the whistles too.

I actually like Frederic. I'd like to see more of him at Center where he played most of his pro career. I'm just not sold on his upside.

 

[Dr Hook]

Well to be fair most of what Ritchie has contributed was mostly at the start of the season. He's pointless in his last 10 games and -7 in that span. But I would rather protect him over Frederic. Frederic doesn't really impress me all that much tbh.

And most of what Craig Smith has done has been recent. These are secondary scorers/support forwards. If either guy could keep that scoring pace for a whole season they would cost a lot more and would almost certainly not be on the Bruins right now. They'd be playing on someone's top line somewhere.

 

[rocketdan9]

update for me is

Forwards:
Marchand
Bergeron
Pasta
Coyle
Smith
Debrusk
Hall (signed)

Defense:
McAvoy
Carlo
Lauzon

Goalie:
Vladar

reasoning. Even though Debrusk is having the worst year of his career, natural goal scorers are still considered a premium. If he continues to struggle, trade him via deadline and get something in return for him

If I'm the Kraken and saw this list, I would offer Krejci a 3 year deal. And just take him