Boston Bruins Your roster changes / proposals XII

[PlayMakers]

Brisson represents Mike Reilly...

 

[bbfan419]

The other thing is that Robert Thomas was ranked somewhere in the mid 100's at the start of his draft year. He was literally the fastest riser coming into the draft. So, yeah, hindsight makes the Vaakanainen pick look absurd. If I recall, some scouting channels had Vaak ranked in the top 10 for periods of time.

Vaak is only 22. While I will not hold out hope for a miraculous transformation into a top 4 NHL D for the Bruins, at one point the potential was there...

I just remember Dom telling us if Thomas was still available he should be our pick and I think DS was going to take him, until the scout kept harping to take vaak.

 

[The National]

It's not the team that's publishing that rumour.

Where does the publisher(Fluto) get his info from?

 

[UConn126]

Brisson represents Mike Reilly...

 

[bruinmann77]

Defenseman Usually take longer to take shape .

 

[Gordoff]

Defenseman Usually take longer to take shape .

So, how long for Vaak? 10 years, 20? Generally I agree but as someone else said, that hit by Borowiecki "broke" him. Feels like it's permanent.

 

[DKH]

Eichel hanging with Bruins players makes you wonder if he’s got the Bruins bug

 

[CaperJay]

Vaak may not have panned out as well as Thomas, but man, when Vaak was captaining the Finnish WJC team skating 25+ minutes a game, he looked like a potential top pair D. He looked good in the early go as a Bruin. That Borowiecki cheap shot really took the wind out of Vaak's sails.

Exactly. He's 22. Gryz was 23 when he got his chance and alot of ppl didn't think he had a chance either, and it was for the same reason most think Vaak ain't ready. Too soft on the puck, but Gryz figured it out and Vaak still has time too. Gryz was better as a pick rusher but defensively Vaak is ahead of Gryz at the same age and he also has a very good first pass

 

[Dr Hook]

Exactly. He's 22.

Can't say that enough, honestly. So many fans expect these young guys to be grown up and finished products at 21 or 22 and if not, it's bustaroo time. Yes the timeframe is compressed compared to many other careers out there, but 22 is not much more than a kid. If he's not made any improvements by 25, okay, then. But you're right, he has time to figure out.

 

[Blowfish]

Eichel hanging with Bruins players makes you wonder if he’s got the Bruins bug

Hope he's saying Boston and forcing Sabre's hand...

Going to take some firsts and some quality players to make this trade.

2022 first
2023 2nd
Studnicka

Would that do it?

 

[Gee Wally]

Hope he's saying Boston and forcing Sabre's hand...

Going to take some firsts and some quality players to make this trade.

2022 first
2023 2nd
Studnicka

Would that do it?

nope.
Theyd most likely want more.
But even bigger issue, need to come up with 10 million aav on Bruins end.

 

[Blowfish]

nope.
Theyd most likely want more.
But even bigger issue, need to come up with 10 million aav on Bruins end.

Oh yah that thing...

In that case not going to happen. Really too bad.

 

[HumBucker]

Where does the publisher(Fluto) get his info from?

How should I know? You're implying it's a rumour the team wants out there? Where's the evidence for that?

 

[shelbysdad]

nope.
Theyd most likely want more.
But even bigger issue, need to come up with 10 million aav on Bruins end.

How close does Grz, DeBrusk, Moore get us to the 10M? Have them take Wagner too?

 

[Gee Wally]

How close does Grz, DeBrusk, Moore get us to the 10M? Have them take Wagner too?

strictly math gets you there.

now…but..but…but…why on earth would they take Moore and Wagner?

As well as replacement cost now for Gryz and JDB. So at a minimum add another 1 million per for that.

Math wise anything is possible. But probable?

 

[ODAAT]

Exactly. He's 22. Gryz was 23 when he got his chance and alot of ppl didn't think he had a chance either, and it was for the same reason most think Vaak ain't ready. Too soft on the puck, but Gryz figured it out and Vaak still has time too. Gryz was better as a pick rusher but defensively Vaak is ahead of Gryz at the same age and he also has a very good first pass

Good post
Boychuk played what? Almost 5 full AHL seasons before getting "it", Quaider a few years too, now, obviously Vaak was a higher draft pick but I`m never shocked if and when a D-man takes time regardless of the round unless they are one of the special one`s

 

[HumBucker]

So a DECADE of 1st round picks accomplishments and where it brings us today:
Accomplishments: 1 Stanley Cup , 2 Stanley Finals losses, 3-5 opening night starting lineup players
Current players:
2014 - Pastrnak - Top line RW, NHL star
2015 - Zach Senyshyn - fringe NHL/AHL tweener
2015 - Jake Debrusk - Struggling middle 6/bottom 6 forward
2015 - Jacob Zboril - current depth defenseman, unable to hold a steady job in the lineup
2016 - McAvoy - Top pairing RHD
2016 - Frederick - Current depth, 4th line winger
2017 - Urho Vaakanainen - AHL call up-7/8th defenseman
2019 - John Beecher - TBD
2021 - Fabian Lysell - TBD, recently signed

Great write-up. But, y'know, looking at this list, at least from 2014, it could be better, sure... but it's not that bad. Whatever DeBrusk's recent struggles are about, he's been capable of scoring 25–30 goals. He's got the skills. That he's recently been struggling is hard to fault the drafting for that.

I think there's every chance Frederick finds a role in the bottom 6 here. Beecher and Lysell still too soon to say. Seny, Zboril and Vaak are the bubblers, so, yeah, disappointed there.

So three that seem to be falling short, but three bona fide NHL players in JDB, McAvoy and Pasta, the latter two super/stars – a future Norris winner stud and a Rocket Richard scoring champion, respectively. If Beecher and Lysell live up to their promise, that's not so bad.

 

[shelbysdad]

strictly math gets you there.

now…but..but…but…why on earth would they take Moore and Wagner?

As well as replacement cost now for Gryz and JDB. So at a minimum add another 1 million per for that.

Math wise anything is possible. But probable?

Incentivize them with a few picks, or the fact that they wouldn't need to retain...

 

[bbfan419]

strictly math gets you there.

now…but..but…but…why on earth would they take Moore and Wagner?

As well as replacement cost now for Gryz and JDB. So at a minimum add another 1 million per for that.

Math wise anything is possible. But probable?

Moore could go on LTIR and Wagner sent to the AHL.

 

[shelbysdad]

Moore could go on LTIR and Wagner sent to the AHL.

Do we know that that is an option for Moore....I think I have seen conflicting reports he may be ready to start the season.....

 

[Dr Hook]

nope.
Theyd most likely want more.
But even bigger issue, need to come up with 10 million aav on Bruins end.

Is Eichel the guy you do whatever it takes to get? I don't know.

 

[wintersej]

But thing is, when we've been exercising a bit too much about it, maybe there actually is a problem with it. Especially what they've done with our firsts... really stunted the organizations ability to stay in the elite coming into this decade. I mean what I'm typing isn't anything new, but a recap just to see it all at once:

1 decade of Bruins first rounders and what the Bruins accomplished or did with them. Just covering 1st rounders, as an extensive full draft drill down would be even longer.

2021: Fabian Lysell, a lot of promise and Bruins most exciting prospect in a while. TBD
2020: Did not select, traded with part of Backes contract & prospect, and for a handful of games of Kase. (Anaheim selected Jacob Perreault)
2019: John Beecher, promising player, MAYBE middle 6 upside, TBD? Bruins lose in SCF.
2018: Did not select, traded to NYR with part of Belesky's contract, Lindgren & Spooner for... Rick Nash and a quick playoff exit. NYR selected Jacob Bernard-Docker)
2017: Urho Vaakanainen, swing and a miss. At least he was rated somewhere around there. Better players obviously on board. There's still time, but it's probably running out given the Bruins recent defense-core.
2016: McAvoy & Frederick, McAvoy is a cornerstone piece, and Frederick is young and an NHL player... with what looks like limited upside. Frederick pick was from a trade with SJS for long-time Bruin Martin Jones ( /s)
2015: Don't think I even need to say anything here. We all know. For the record, Senyshyn was the Flames pick acquired for Hamilton, Zboril was the pick acquired from LA for Milan Lucic, and Debrusk was the Bruin's own pick.
2014: Chiarelli still, but Pastrnak seems like the last top 6 forward we've been able to draft and develop ourselves in the past decade.
2013: Did not select, but we had a cup appearance and added a Jersey collection for any Jagr fans out there. (Dallas used pick to select Jason Dickinson). Bruins lose in SCF.
2012: Malcom Subban, waived and lost for nothing (later traded for Robin Lehner).
2011: TOR pick, Dougie Hamilton, moved for picks, which ended up being Zach Senyshyn, Jakob Forsbakka Karlsson, and Jeremy Lauzon (recently selected via expansion draft). Boston pick traded to Ducks via Toronto (Rickard Rackell). Bruins win Stanley Cup.

So a DECADE of 1st round picks accomplishments and where it brings us today:
Accomplishments: 1 Stanley Cup , 2 Stanley Finals losses, 3-5 opening night starting lineup players
Current players:
2014 - Pastrnak - Top line RW, NHL star
2015 - Zach Senyshyn - fringe NHL/AHL tweener
2015 - Jake Debrusk - Struggling middle 6/bottom 6 forward
2015 - Jacob Zboril - current depth defenseman, unable to hold a steady job in the lineup
2016 - McAvoy - Top pairing RHD
2016 - Frederick - Current depth, 4th line winger
2017 - Urho Vaakanainen - AHL call up-7/8th defenseman
2019 - John Beecher - TBD
2021 - Fabian Lysell - TBD, recently signed

How this affects our current roster?
Forwards (3 top 12 fowards)
xxx - xxx - Pastrnak
xxx - xxx - xxx
Debrusk - xxx - xxx
Frederic - xxx - xxx
xxx
Senyshyn
Defenseman (1 top 6 defenseman)
xxx - Charlie McAvoy
xxx - xxx
xxx- xxx
Zboril
Vaakanainen

Goalies (this position was mostly unaffected, besides the blunder of wasting a pick to select Malcom Subban)
xxx
xxx

So maybe this is a POINTLESS exercise, but maybe a lesson in how we've managed our assets in the last decade and how we can actually improve from past mistakes. I know every single player and pick won't play on this team, but we've also done an awful job at using any of those trades to find lasting core players on this roster. Zboril and Frederic are the best players we've acquired from picks we traded for (which says a lot), and we used 1/5 of the last 10 years of our own firsts to get rid of bad contracts. We've managed to use none of those firsts to bring back players that actually played on the team more than a full season (not counting Kase as he literally managed to play 9 regular season games and 11 post-season games as a Boston Bruin), I understand that's the cost of being a contending team, but we really could have done better than getting rid of bad contracts or buying rentals.


tl;dr: While it's a pointless exercise to go back and see what they could have done, it's an opportunity to learn from mistakes and hopefully do better drafting, developing, and/or trading.

Another exercise...

What team has done better at drafting elite talent in the last 10 years without a lottery pick? Its a short list.

I agree that they have, honestly, sucked at getting supplemental talent out of the first round the last decade. The draft that must not be named was an unmitigated disaster.

However, coming up with elite talents like Pastrnak and McAvoy without having to tank has to be worth something. I know we all obsess about the one draft... but how often do we look at the players drafted right after Pasta and McAvoy. YIKES.

 

[WhalerTurnedBruin55]

Another exercise...

What team has done better at drafting elite talent in the last 10 years without a lottery pick? Its a short list.

I agree that they have, honestly, sucked at getting supplemental talent out of the first round the last decade. The draft that must not be named was an unmitigated disaster.

However, coming up with elite talents like Pastrnak and McAvoy without having to tank has to be worth something. I know we all obsess about the one draft... but how often do we look at the players drafted right after Pasta and McAvoy. YIKES.

I'm not just talking about how we draft, it's what we do with who we draft. We've traded most of it for mostly nothing at this point.

A lot of misteps with assets, and those all add up to lacking something later on. That was my point, the whole process, a lot of missteps.

Trading the picks or players for other reasons than rentals and getting rid of bad contracts could have helped a lot, too.

As you said, it's not a disaster, having Pasta and McAvoy are the keys from the decade. And Lysell looks very promising, too.

But a lot of missteps, bad development, questionable asset management. Like I said... Hope they are learning from their mistakes, but it cost them in the long run.

 

[Kegs]

Is Eichel the guy you do whatever it takes to get? I don't know.

Well it’s pretty hard to find a top line centre. But then again his back is a mess.

 

[UncleRico]

Eichel hanging with Bruins players makes you wonder if he’s got the Bruins bug

I hope so but krug, Jimmy vesey, noel acciari, Brian pihno and a few others have been skating and hanging out with bruins players too. It is intriguing that he got a new agent tho.