Team to close to sell: Trade Dealine Looms
This team is currently in the 9th spot in the conference. This team is too close to be sellers. I think the team owes its fans for the past 2 seasons to acquire an impact player. Even if it does not lead to a championship, ala Ryan Smyth.
Now, this team can't really be a seller either, because who are they going to trade? We have one UFA at the end of the season who people really want, Aaron Ward. I think Ward is a solid defenseman, and I would try to re-sign him to a 1-2 year extension for around 1.8 per.
The Bruins aren't a team with any gaping holes. They play solid defense. Solid goaltending. The offense is what kills us. When we lose games, it is rarely, 5-4 or something. It is more like a 3-1 type game. Giving up 3 goals isn't bad in the new NHL. This isn't the old. Defense doesn't win championships, it is a combination of both. The Bruins have a top defense in the league, but a awful offense. We don't have a single 20 goal scorer. Ovechkin has 47 and counting. The Bruins need a true goalscorer who can also make plays.
The problem with the offense is that they dump the puck too much. Esp. on the PP. They need to bring it in with skilled forwards and put the puck on net more. Many teams score goals from rebounds and redirections, but the Bruins don't put the puck on the net enough. Shawn Thornton did that last night and he scored 2.
With the deadline moving closer, many fans think that we need a defenseman, like Boyle, Cambpell, Liles, Morris, so on. No. We don't. We need a forward. Marian Hossa is the guy I am looking at. Olli Jokinen would be great, but I doubt he gets dealt. Hossa is an impending UFA. Not only is he one of the best wingers in the league, but he played with Savard and Chara, so he knows people on the team. If we are to acquire him, there is a good chance an extension could be reached. I crunched some numbers for next season, including a 3 million dollar bump in the cap, which is rumored to 53.3 million. I added Marian Hossa for 8 million a season, and upped some money for RFA's, and added a few other UFA's and we are around 52.5 million. The team can afford him for next season.
Even if the Bruins don't land Hossa, I would hope for an decent player like a Nagy, or Vyborny. The team needs some offense. It is killing us. Sturm, Savard, Kessel, Murray, Kobasew are the only ones who can really score. We don't have a GREAT offensive defenseman like a Gonchar or Lidstrom. (We once did...).
My point, acquire an impact offense player and this team can be very good.
Leading me to my next point. Two things piss me off. Selanne and Niedermayer, and Forsberg. I don't get why these guys are eligable to play this season. For Niedermayer, I can see it as he was under contract, so it is more acceptable to me, but I think there should be a cap penalty because anyone could tell their high priced veteran to sit the first few months, suspend them, and then come back. My proposed rule. If a player under contract over the age of 35 with a salary over 4 million dollars who does not play before December 1st not due to injury and decides to come back has a cap hit of 1.5 million plus his contract. So basically, if Niedermayer would be a cap of 1.5 plus the remainder of his salary, which is 6.75 million or w/e divided by 82, times the number of games played. Or days I don't know how they do it.
Now for Forsberg and Selanne. I think this one is COMPLETE crap. If you aren't signed by December 1st, that is it. It is unfair for a veteran like Selanne or Forsberg to be able to sign with a competing team for a cheap deal, when it is obvious they are going to sign with only 2-3 teams. Selanne gets to go back to Anaheim after missing 3+ months of the season. Forsberg could sign back with Philly. How is that fair? Any UFA veteran could hold out and sign with a favorite team late in the season. My proposed rule. If a player is not signed by December 1st, they are uneligable to play in the NHL for that current season, unless UFA was injured during the offseason and the first 2 months of the season. If that is the case, the player can sign with any team, but the contract will all count against the cap regardless of the days he is on the team. The contract must be fully guaranteed, and it must be accurate of the previous seasons play if it is a 1 year deal or the per year value of the last contract signed. So if Forsberg signs with Philly for a 1 year, he can sign, but say he signs for 1.4 million, instead of 850,000 or so counting against the cap, all 1.4 million will. Also, he can't sign a 1 year deal for 500,000. That is ridiculous. He can sign for a realistic amount for that type of player for a half season or so. The 2nd part of the rule just protects guys who just came off 50 goal seaons to sign for 950,000. But if the 50 goal scorer made 2 million, the deal can be for 1 million.
Now, this team can't really be a seller either, because who are they going to trade? We have one UFA at the end of the season who people really want, Aaron Ward. I think Ward is a solid defenseman, and I would try to re-sign him to a 1-2 year extension for around 1.8 per.
The Bruins aren't a team with any gaping holes. They play solid defense. Solid goaltending. The offense is what kills us. When we lose games, it is rarely, 5-4 or something. It is more like a 3-1 type game. Giving up 3 goals isn't bad in the new NHL. This isn't the old. Defense doesn't win championships, it is a combination of both. The Bruins have a top defense in the league, but a awful offense. We don't have a single 20 goal scorer. Ovechkin has 47 and counting. The Bruins need a true goalscorer who can also make plays.
The problem with the offense is that they dump the puck too much. Esp. on the PP. They need to bring it in with skilled forwards and put the puck on net more. Many teams score goals from rebounds and redirections, but the Bruins don't put the puck on the net enough. Shawn Thornton did that last night and he scored 2.
With the deadline moving closer, many fans think that we need a defenseman, like Boyle, Cambpell, Liles, Morris, so on. No. We don't. We need a forward. Marian Hossa is the guy I am looking at. Olli Jokinen would be great, but I doubt he gets dealt. Hossa is an impending UFA. Not only is he one of the best wingers in the league, but he played with Savard and Chara, so he knows people on the team. If we are to acquire him, there is a good chance an extension could be reached. I crunched some numbers for next season, including a 3 million dollar bump in the cap, which is rumored to 53.3 million. I added Marian Hossa for 8 million a season, and upped some money for RFA's, and added a few other UFA's and we are around 52.5 million. The team can afford him for next season.
Even if the Bruins don't land Hossa, I would hope for an decent player like a Nagy, or Vyborny. The team needs some offense. It is killing us. Sturm, Savard, Kessel, Murray, Kobasew are the only ones who can really score. We don't have a GREAT offensive defenseman like a Gonchar or Lidstrom. (We once did...).
My point, acquire an impact offense player and this team can be very good.
Leading me to my next point. Two things piss me off. Selanne and Niedermayer, and Forsberg. I don't get why these guys are eligable to play this season. For Niedermayer, I can see it as he was under contract, so it is more acceptable to me, but I think there should be a cap penalty because anyone could tell their high priced veteran to sit the first few months, suspend them, and then come back. My proposed rule. If a player under contract over the age of 35 with a salary over 4 million dollars who does not play before December 1st not due to injury and decides to come back has a cap hit of 1.5 million plus his contract. So basically, if Niedermayer would be a cap of 1.5 plus the remainder of his salary, which is 6.75 million or w/e divided by 82, times the number of games played. Or days I don't know how they do it.
Now for Forsberg and Selanne. I think this one is COMPLETE crap. If you aren't signed by December 1st, that is it. It is unfair for a veteran like Selanne or Forsberg to be able to sign with a competing team for a cheap deal, when it is obvious they are going to sign with only 2-3 teams. Selanne gets to go back to Anaheim after missing 3+ months of the season. Forsberg could sign back with Philly. How is that fair? Any UFA veteran could hold out and sign with a favorite team late in the season. My proposed rule. If a player is not signed by December 1st, they are uneligable to play in the NHL for that current season, unless UFA was injured during the offseason and the first 2 months of the season. If that is the case, the player can sign with any team, but the contract will all count against the cap regardless of the days he is on the team. The contract must be fully guaranteed, and it must be accurate of the previous seasons play if it is a 1 year deal or the per year value of the last contract signed. So if Forsberg signs with Philly for a 1 year, he can sign, but say he signs for 1.4 million, instead of 850,000 or so counting against the cap, all 1.4 million will. Also, he can't sign a 1 year deal for 500,000. That is ridiculous. He can sign for a realistic amount for that type of player for a half season or so. The 2nd part of the rule just protects guys who just came off 50 goal seaons to sign for 950,000. But if the 50 goal scorer made 2 million, the deal can be for 1 million.
posted by Matt at 11:16 AM
5 Comments:
I would give up Kessel, Either Lashoff or Alberts and a low draft pick to get Jokinnen. This guy is a franchise forward with a few years left on his contract. The only hope is that FL would be willing to take that package. The B's could easily replace Kessel in the off seasn via UFA.
Just a reminder that there is another Bruins blog for your viewing pleasure. Now, you can have this blog and another one on top of it! Pittsburgh preview is up.
http://spokedb.blogspot.com/
the Spoked B is a great site! The guy really seems like he loves the game and the Bruins! As for the trade deadine, the B's really need a scorer for Savard. I'm fed up with Kessel sucking on the first line. I know he is young but something has to be done, even if it is a wake-up call.
I'm sick of Murray sucking as usual. He can't skate, can't make plays, and is hurt for over half the year. What a waste of 4.2 million dollars!
The B's don't need a defenceman? Who would be passing the puck to said 'scoring forward' from the Bruins end? They have no one who can start a good rush from their own end. I will say Dennis Wideman has been great this year, and Zdeno Chara isn't bad offensively but honestly. The B's need a slick skating, puck moving defenseman.
Then again what team doesn't? Detroit? Pittsburgh? We all know where they're sitting in the standings right now.
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