[Discussion] What do the Boston Bruins do in the offseason?

[Crabcakes]

Bergeron and Krejci probably retire this year which is going to mean re-tool.  They have a pretty nice core besides and they have just re-upped Pasternak 8 x 11.25, McAvoy 8 x 9.5, Lindholm 8 x 6.5 and Zacha 4 x 4.75.  They clearly have a plan for the future and you don't just pivot from that and rebuild.  Jim Benning is long gone. 

 

They still have a gaping hole down the middle that has to be dealt with.  They have no draft capital but there are plenty of attractive assets that they could deal.    

[AnthonyG]

54 minutes ago, Bobby James said:

Who cares about 2-3 years for that group right now? They are a winning team right now. 

Gillis didnt care about 2-3 years from now. Look how well that ended up. IF BOSTON WAS SMART THEY WOULD BE PROACTIVE. Doesnt mean they are going to blow it up. BUT IF THEY WERE SMART THEY WOULD. 

 

Do I make my stance clear to everyone??????? This frustration isn't directed at you, its just in general, because there are so many "Canuck fans" here that are completely forgetting about Gillis's tenure here and how much of the future was mortgaged. Plus between him and Nonis, they drafted almost nothing between 2005-2013.

 

Everyone sits here sh*tting on Gillis and FA for not rebuilding sooner. THIS IS BOSTONS EXACT POSITION RIGHT NOW. 

 

It's about being PROACTIVE, PREEMPTIVE. They without a doubt DO need to rebuild at some point. Do you agree? It is a lot closer to within the next 2-3 years that they ABSOLUTELY need to. If they sold off all their top trade chips and tanked for 4 years, they would be right back to being an up and coming team with a 15-20 new era of Boston hockey. Instead, if they re-invest in this extrodinary season, they are reinvesting in guys who are at their peak, about to plateau, already plateaued or declining. Its all a net negative for their future. They need to get ontop of this ASAP.

 

 

54 minutes ago, Bobby James said:

I think we disagree on this. The best regular season they've had, I don't see them as just decent next year. The Canucks will hopefully be decent, Boston should likely be in the top 5-6 again. 

2010-11 VAN 1st place

2011-12 VAN 1st place

2012-13 VAN 8th place

2013-14 VAN 23rd place

2014-15 VAN 8th place

2015-16 VAN 28th place

2016-17 VAN 29th place

 

You followin me yet? How fast a team can fall from the top, when they have no influx of youth, sold off the future, players that have plateaued and began to decline????

THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH BOSTON

 

Top 5-6 you think????

 less than 6 mil in cap space

there entire centre depth is gone. 2 top 6 C's, one being the best 2way C in the league.

Whos distributing Pasta the puck? 59 of his 76 ES points came from a play off of Bergeron and Krejci's stick.

 

Remember... Orlov, Bertuzzi, Hathaway... all rentals.... sold the future to go all in. After moves like that, teams typically lean towards rebuilding. The all-in attempt didnt work and now they need to consider the future because this season and all the moves made were all about "today" not tomorrow. Today ended up being rain and clouds, tomorrow you might want to consider wearing a jacket and bringing an umbrella because you got caught in the rain. You need to start thinking about tomorrow.

 

54 minutes ago, Bobby James said:

You are making it sound like they got smashed by Florida or swept? They were better and just ended up not being able to close the series off. 

(god why am I defending Boston...) Dude they earned the right to compete again if they want to. This organization has been good for over a decade, they beat us for the cup and never really faded away from contention since. Their main guys are still excellent and they are potentially losing 1 of them (Bergeron), but you wanna toss it all out.

 

 

They didnt get smashed, but they were unable to close out 1 measly game. Lost 3 games at home, almost half as many as they lost all season at home.They werent better, they were better on the PP. 7/11 goals in their last 3 games came from the power play. They couldnt score 5v5, they also didnt generate much 5v5/ES

 

FLA had 20GF at ES and 14GA

xGF 19.14

xGA 16.99

 

HDCF 75

HDCA 62

 

HDSF 56

HDSA 44

 

HDGF 11

HDGA 7

 

MDGF 5

MDGA 6

 

LDGF 1

LDGA 3

 

Boston had more medium and low danger chances/shots for. They had a harder time getting to the scoring area's than Florida. They scored from medium and low danger area's at even strength. If it wasnt for their PP's efficiency, they would have stomped BOS.

 

It was an unreal season, but HALF OF THE GUYS WHO WERE THERE ARE GONE NEXT SEASON. 

 

Bergeron

Krejci

Orlov

Bertuzzi

Foligno

Nosek

1 of Swayman/Ullmark due to cap (remember they only a little over 5 mil in cap space next season and alllllll those guys listed above are off the books, plus a few others will have to be moved to become cap compliant for a full 23 man roster. They need to shed significant cap to build a team)

 

SURE they earned the "right" to compete again, but is that really what is best for the LONG-TERM state of the organization??? They've given up 4 or 5 1st round picks in the last few drafts as well as the next couple upcoming drafts. They've built a HUGE talent deficit and that you cannot deny. 

 

If they continue to try and build a "contender" around Pastrnak, they will forever be mediocre and then one day Marchand will be gone in a few years, Pastrnak will be on a steady decline, McAvoy's patience will wear thin and they will be 10-15 years behind on drafting and developing and building the new core to take over. This is not rocket science its common sense. WE JUST WENT THROUGH THIS AS CANUCK FANS FFS.

 

Name their main guys after Bergeron, Krejci, Bertuzzi, Foligno, Orlov and one of Swayman/Ullmark are gone, plus whoever the cap shedding causalties will be this off season. Hall for starters, then who?? Cant move a C like Coyle or Zacha because they just lost their top 2 Cs. So its either DeBrusk, Marchand or maybe some one on the back end like Lindholm?

 

This whole season was about 1 last run. Thats why Pastrnak flew back to Czech Republic and talked Krejci into coming back to play ONE LAST SEASON with Bergeron. Or did everyone not get that memo?? 

Pastrnak visits Krejci in Czechia and the pair discuss a return to Boston - HockeyFeed

 

1 hour ago, Bobby James said:

Sure if they blew it all up now they could start on their rebuild and in 4-5 years they'd start looking promising OR they give a winning group another shot or two at a run and then start the rebuild if the time is right. This is what a successful organization looks like, they respect the players and management that got it to this point and don't pull the plug on them early. Sure I also wished the Canucks rebuilt after our team was no longer competitive (trending that way), but the main difference between Boston and Vancouver (unfortunately) is they have a championship history whereas we don't. As a result we shouldn't operate the same way. Our goal here should be win at all costs. In Boston they have a legacy to consider and that includes not dumping the players that won this much for you or the fanbase who are eager to compete right now.

 

Tell me your roster construction for next season to build a winning pedigree again in Boston.

CAP HIT

 

AAV

 

TOTAL SAL.

 

BASE SAL.

 

SIGNING BONUS

 

PERF. BONUS

 

CLAUSES

 

FORWARDS (14 - $46,279,167)		TERMS	POS	STATUS	ACQUIRED	AGE	CAP%	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28
Pastrnak, David		M-NTC, NMC	RW	NHL	Draft	26	8.1	$6,666,667	$11,250,000	$11,250,000	$11,250,000	$11,250,000	$11,250,000
Marchand, Brad "A"		M-NTC	LW	NHL	Draft	34	7.4	$6,125,000	$6,125,000	$6,125,000	UFA
Hall, Taylor		M-NTC, NMC	LW	NHL	Trade	31	7.3	$6,000,000	$6,000,000	$6,000,000	UFA
Coyle, Charlie		M-NTC, NMC	C, RW	NHL	Trade	31	6.4	$5,250,000	$5,250,000	$5,250,000	$5,250,000	UFA
DeBrusk, Jake			RW, LW	NHL	Draft	26	4.8	$4,000,000	$4,000,000	UFA
Foligno, Nick		M-NTC	LW, C, RW	NHL	Signed	35	4.6	$3,800,000	UFA
Zacha, Pavel			LW, RW, C	NHL	Trade	26	4.2	$3,500,000	$4,750,000	$4,750,000	$4,750,000	$4,750,000	UFA
Bergeron, Patrice "C"		35+NMC	C	NHL	Signed	37	3.0	$2,500,000	UFA
Bertuzzi, Tyler		RS	LW, RW	NHL	Trade	28	2.9	$2,375,000	UFA
Nosek, Tomas			C, LW	NHL	Signed	30	2.1	$1,750,000	UFA
Hathaway, Garnet			RW, LW	NHL	Trade	31	1.8	$1,500,000	UFA
Frederic, Trent			LW, RW	NHL	Draft	25	1.3	$1,050,000	RFA
Krejci, David		35+NTC	C	NHL	Signed	37	1.2	$1,000,000	UFA
Greer, AJ			RW, LW	NHL	Signed	26	0.9	$762,500	$762,500	UFA
TOTAL						30.2	56.1	$46,279,167	$38,137,500	$33,375,000	$21,250,000	$16,000,000	$11,250,000
DEFENSE (8 - $30,200,000)		TERMS	POS	STATUS	ACQUIRED	AGE	CAP%	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28
McAvoy, Charlie			RD	NHL	Draft	25	11.5	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	$9,500,000	$9,500,000
Lindholm, Hampus		NTC, NMC	LD	NHL	Trade	29	7.9	$6,500,000	$6,500,000	$6,500,000	$6,500,000	$6,500,000	$6,500,000
Carlo, Brandon			RD	NHL	Draft	26	5.0	$4,100,000	$4,100,000	$4,100,000	$4,100,000	$4,100,000	UFA
Grzelcyk, Matt			LD	NHL	Draft	29	4.5	$3,687,500	$3,687,500	UFA
Forbort, Derek		M-NTC	LD	NHL	Signed	31	3.6	$3,000,000	$3,000,000	UFA
Orlov, Dmitry		RSM-NTC	LD	NHL	Trade	31	1.5	$1,275,000	UFA
Zboril, Jakub			LD/RD	NHL	Draft	26	1.4	$1,137,500	$1,137,500	UFA
Clifton, Connor			RD	NHL	Signed	28	1.2	$1,000,000	UFA
TOTAL						28.1	36.6	$30,200,000	$27,925,000	$20,100,000	$20,100,000	$20,100,000	$16,000,000
GOALIES (2 - $5,925,000)		TERMS	POS	STATUS	ACQUIRED	AGE	CAP%	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28
Ullmark, Linus		NMC	G	NHL	Signed	29	6.1	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000	UFA
Swayman, Jeremy		ELC	G	NHL	Draft	24	1.1	$925,000	RFA
TOTAL						26.5	7.2	$5,925,000	$5,000,000	$5,000,000
BURIED PENALTY (2 - $2,100,000)		TERMS	POS	STATUS	ACQUIRED	AGE	CAP%	2022-23	2023-24	2024-25	2025-26	2026-27	2027-28
Wagner, Chris			RW, C	Minor	Signed	31	0.3	$225,000	UFA
Reilly, Mike			LD	Minor	Trade	29	2.3	$1,875,000	$1,875,000	UFA
TOTAL						30.0	2.5	$2,100,000	$1,875,000
ACQUIRED METHOD SUMMARY 010M20M30M40M50M60M70M80MCap Hit0510152025Method   DraftSignedTrade
Roster Statistics
				ROSTER SIZE				24	14	9	6	5	3
				STANDARD PLAYER CONTRACTS				49	26	16	6	5	3
				AVERAGE AGE				29.2	29.2	30.6	30.2	30.4	31.7
				ROSTER SIGNING BONUSES				$16,942,500	$14,750,000	$14,500,000	$10,000,000	$9,000,000	$7,000,000
Cap Hit Statistics
				ROSTER & BURIED CAP HIT				$84,504,167	$72,912,500	$58,475,000	$41,350,000	$36,100,000	$27,250,000
				DEAD CAP HIT				-	-	-	-	-	-
				CARRYOVER BONUS OVERAGES				-	-	-	-	-	-
				PROJECTED CAP HIT				$84,090,323	$72,912,500	$58,475,000	$41,350,000	$36,100,000	$27,250,000
				SALARY CAP				$82,500,000	$83,500,000	$87,500,000	$92,000,000	$92,000,000	$92,000,000
				PROJECTED CAP SPACE				$27,342	$10,587,500	$29,025,000	$50,650,000	$55,900,000	$64,750,000
				CURRENT CAP SPACE				-	-	-

 

 

In bold are the players who are no longer under contract or up for a new RFA deal the big 14 in size 72 font is the number of players under contract next season

they $10,587,500 is their cap not including bonuses being paid out, which reduces their cap to roughly 5ish million. 

 

HOW DO YOU BUILD A CONTENDER???

1 hour ago, Bobby James said:

Lastly, this is a wild statement. 26 years old, career high in goals (61) and points (113) and you think he's about to start his career decline instead of he's now in his prime. Okay. 

 

 

Even Strength Best Linemate

PTS	Linemate
44	DAVID KREJCI
42	PAVEL ZACHA
15	PATRICE BERGERON
13	BRAD MARCHAND
12	TYLER BERTUZZI
9	TAYLOR HALL
7	JAKE DEBRUSK
4	CHARLIE COYLE
3	TOMAS NOSEK
3	NICK FOLIGNO
1	TRENT FREDERIC

 

 

Left side are the points contributed by linemate. 

 

Hope you take a good look and notice who #1 is and where he most likely will be next year. 

 

Oh and for #2 on Pastrnak's list

 

 

PTS	Linemate
34	DAVID PASTRNAK
29	DAVID KREJCI
11	TAYLOR HALL
6	CHARLIE COYLE
5	NICK FOLIGNO
4	TYLER BERTUZZI
3	JAKE DEBRUSK
1	TRENT FREDERIC
1	CRAIG SMITH
1	TOMAS NOSEK

 

 

Looks like Mr. David Krejci had a massive impact on both him and Pastrnak. 

 

You think because of one great season that Pastrnak can do it without help now?

 

 

Johnny Gaudreau

Left Wing -- shoots L
Born Aug 13 1993 -- Salem, NJ
[29 yrs. ago]
Height 5.09 -- Weight 165 [175 cm/75 kg]

Drafted by Calgary Flames

- round 4 #104 overall 2011 NHL Entry Draft

  

 

 

 

 

			Regular Season						Playoffs
Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2010-11	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL	60	36	36	72	36	21	11	5	6	11	6
2011-12	Boston College	H-East	44	21	23	44	10
2012-13	Boston College	H-East	35	21	30	51	29
2013-14	Boston College	H-East	40	36	44	80	14
2013-14	Calgary Flames	NHL	1	1	0	1	0	1	--	--	--	--	--
2014-15	Calgary Flames	NHL	80	24	40	64	14	11	11	4	5	9	6
2015-16	Calgary Flames	NHL	79	30	48	78	20	4	--	--	--	--	--
2016-17	Calgary Flames	NHL	72	18	43	61	4	-7	4	0	2	2	0
2017-18	Calgary Flames	NHL	80	24	60	84	26	2	--	--	--	--	--
2018-19	Calgary Flames	NHL	82	36	63	99	24	18	5	0	1	1	2
2019-20	Calgary Flames	NHL	70	18	40	58	12	-10	10	4	3	7	0
2020-21	Calgary Flames	NHL	56	19	30	49	6	2	--	--	--	--	--
2021-22	Calgary Flames	NHL	82	40	75	115	26	64	12	3	11	14	2
2022-23	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL	80	21	53	74	22	-33

 

 

I see that worked well for Gaudreau. Moved to a less talented team and had a massive decline in production

 

You guys really put a lot of stock in Pastrnak/Boston being a top team without half the guy who made them so bloody dominant.

 

They are without a doubt taking 2-3 steps backwards next season

 

Their division consists of 

TOR - a very good team

TBL - still a VERY good team and much better than Boston will be next year

FLA - who is as we can see a pretty damn good team and will not be easy for Boston to beat

BUF - who has insane offence and will be a very tough team next year

DET - up and coming and not a guaranteed win

OTT - very solid young team on the rise

 

Those are going to be a ton of tough games, without their top 2 C's and throwing Coyle and Zacha into 1C 2C roles and trusting they can handle the teams mentioned above. So if they cant earn a divisional spot because of obvious reasons (being a very tough division) they will have to try and beat out who ever doesnt make the top 3 in their div along with WSH/NYI/PIT and who ever else takes a step forward and competes for a WC spot. 

 

This season was an all or nothing season as a send off for Bergeron. It didn't pan out in the playoffs, its time to recoup the picks they sold off and start rebuilding the future. 

[mll]

8 hours ago, hammertime said:

Ya I think they run it back. They got caught it happens choked in the 1st. They will just be hungrier next year. 

 

Maybe they take a stab at Miller. 

 

1st 2025 un protected + Coyle + Lysell + Beecher

Cassidy got fired because he was only catering to their vets.  Neely bluntly explained that he was not doing a good job with their young players - they had to be developed so that the team could keep going. 

 

Rutherford himself points out Miller's defensive shortcomings and talks of needing patience as Crosby too took some time to understand the position.  Bergeron is a multi-Selke winner - would expect them to target someone that's younger (Haula-Zacha trade had that in mind) + better defensively and with much more footspeed.  

[flickyoursedin]

They’re in cap trouble so a team might be able to take advantage of their need to clear cap space. Much like we did years ago getting JT Miller from Tampa. We unfortunately don’t have the cap space to swap just picks and prospects for a good forward or Dman.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Honestly I think they'll be fine if they just let all their pending UFAs walk and fill their bottom-6 with fringe NHL/AHLers. They'll lose a lot of depth, all of their great TLD acquisitions, and lack a true 1C, but with that top defence, good goaltending and Pastrnak and Marchand, they should be a wild card team next year.

 

They need a bit of a longer term plan though and they should try and build around their young guys. If I were Boston I'd look to trade the older guys. No one will touch 0.5PPG 6M Hall, but I wonder if a team would take Marchand for some youth?

[BoKnows53]

Re tool

[Bobby James]

20 hours ago, AnthonyG said:

Do I make my stance clear to everyone??????? This frustration isn't directed at you, its just in general, because there are so many "Canuck fans" here that are completely forgetting about Gillis's tenure here and how much of the future was mortgaged. Plus between him and Nonis, they drafted almost nothing between 2005-2013.

No I definitely understand what you're saying and I fully agree that the Canucks made the wrong choice back then about the direction to take the team. Also don't worry I'm not taking any of this personally and am not bothered by your frustration (it's just an interesting conversation). 

 

But you are comparing Vancouver to Boston way too much here in my opinion. We are not the same. In your posts it essentially feels like you are saying that Bergeron and Krejci are far and away the best players on Boston and both will be leaving so how can you recover (especially taking their low cap hits into account). So essentially like our Sedin twins in the comparison to the 2011 era coming to the end of their prime, but no one there to take the mantel.  

 

Except unlike Vancouver who had nothing following the Sedins outside of a young Horvat who was projected as a 3C maybe 2C at the higher end (which I'd say he reached), Boston isn't in that same position. In my opinion their best players now are Pasta and McAvoy who are 26 and 25. Those guys along with their other younger guys like Carlo (26) and Zacha (26) are the ones poised to take over the team and continue their winning culture. 

 

Orlov and Bertuzzi played only like 20 regular season games with them. The excellent team we all saw during the season was for the majority of the time not because of those rentals they got at the deadline. Sure losing them hurts (Bertuzzi mostly I'd say), but there is still a very solid group of players signed for next season. Their D is mostly all there still and they have a great goalie signed to a good contract. Yes they will lose Swayman, but that role can be filled with perhaps a veteran backup on a cheap contract. 

I agree their main need will be a top 6 C. They will have to be creative or move one of the remaining pieces they have with value. That could be Lysell, Beecher, 2025 1st or even maybe Swayman who is an RFA and likely hungry for a starting role somewhere (or if they choose Swayman over Ullmark then Ullmark will have good value on the trade market). 

 

It is all wait and see to see how the next couple years go for Boston. Sure if they end up being the fringe playoff team you are saying they will be then hindsight will say they should have blew it all up and started rebuilding this offseason. However, I think a lot of people (myself included) look at that current roster and think a smart re-tool will keep them in the hunt for another few years at least. 

[billabong]

Boston does have 4.5m in performance bonus overage to deal with next year so that won’t be fun 

 

Canucks only have 850k 

[AnthonyG]

6 hours ago, Bobby James said:

No I definitely understand what you're saying and I fully agree that the Canucks made the wrong choice back then about the direction to take the team. Also don't worry I'm not taking any of this personally and am not bothered by your frustration (it's just an interesting conversation). 

Okay good, glad that you didn't take it personally, I don't want to beef with someone, I do appreciate logical or at least well thought out views/different takes and enjoy a well versed debate.

So we and many other all agree Vancouver SHOULD have started a rebuild sooner. We came off a game 7 SCF loss, went right back to work, won the presidents trophy back to back years, then dropped a tiny bit.... We held on to the "we almost won" too long... Which is why we prolonged the rebuild. I would say that Boston is in a very similar situation. They have dominated for 15 years now, during that 15 years, the only thing to come up through the system and keep that competitive edge going are Pastrnak, McAvoy, Swayman, Carlo and DeBrusk.... Thats not bad. I'll give them that. It doesn't look terrible on the outside. But on the inside, there is very, very, VERY... few prospects in their system that could make a difference in the next few years. Next year, they are closer to competing for a WC spot than they are a contender, which I would believe is a fair statement to make just based off roster construction going into next season, their cap situation and the teams around them who have gotten a lot younger and a lot better.

 

 

 

5 hours ago, billabong said:

Boston does have 4.5m in performance bonus overage to deal with next year so that won’t be fun 

 

Canucks only have 850k 

So right here, this is my immediate alarm bell for Boston moving forward next season. 4.5mil in cap space, thats frightening especially with the current cap situation and the uncertainty of how soon the cap will begin to take big leaps. They 11 pending UFA/RFAs.... and only 4.5mil in cap space after all of those guys walk/need a new RFA deal... How do they create enough cap space with only a handful of good trade chips and then some less appealing contracts. Marchand might be appealing to another team, but I doubt they pay a premium. Hall, they might get a 3rd or a late 2nd at best.

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Bobby James said:

But you are comparing Vancouver to Boston way too much here in my opinion. We are not the same. In your posts it essentially feels like you are saying that Bergeron and Krejci are far and away the best players on Boston and both will be leaving so how can you recover (especially taking their low cap hits into account). So essentially like our Sedin twins in the comparison to the 2011 era coming to the end of their prime, but no one there to take the mantel.  

I can draw a ton of similarities between Vancouver between 2011-2018 and Boston today.

Both teams dominated for a period of time. Vancouver needed a rebuild and had no talent coming up

Boston also has dominated for what seems eternally, however the youth that have come up in their system are now midway through a career. Pasta is going into his 10th season.

We held on forever and prolonged what was needed

Boston has held on a long time, they've maintained a competitive pedigree, however they are about to lose 2 crucial pieces to their success.

2 top 5 scorers retired/retiring

similar aged trade chips (Kesler/Pastrnak  Tanev/McAvoy  Schneider/Swayman or Ullmark) Yes I know Tanev and McAvoy are not in the same stratosphere, but Tanev was a pretty damn good shut down D that ANY team would be after, especially when he was still just on the up and up.

There are a ton of similarities between the two organizations...

 

I can draw upon Krejci's impact this season versus how Boston was a WC team LAST season....Krejci wasn't part of the 2021-22 team. He WAS part of this historic run and I attribute a lot of their success to their depth at C and how they often start with the puck. They dont have to work as hard to win the puck after a lost faceoff, because they win over 50% They were 2nd in the league in FOW% 

 

It's not that I'm saying Krejci and Bergeron are far and away their best players.. Its their overall impact on their linemates production that is HUGE. Not only that but... Losing 1C and 2C???? And two VERY good C's at that, who can both produce and play a strong 2way game. Colorado was a beast last season and in the playoffs, they lost Kadri and they weren't quite the same. Largely the same team, but missing a key centerman that had a huge influence on possession AND production.

 

We gave up our Selke C a few seasons later and we plummeted. Then we lost our #1 C and a top winger and it was too much to overcome. Shortly after losing them we added another top C with Miller and look at the difference it made. Horvat and Miller made the world of a difference. 

 

 

 

Sure Pastrnak is there and Debrusk, but how will they build strong enough support around them on cap friendly cost controlled deals if they dont have anyone within their system? or they have maybe 1-2 guys.. It's not enough and by the time those young bucks get going, Pastrnak is heading into a decline. Sure it may be slow, but still each passing year it gets further and further away from a collected core and it becomes a dissarray of players not in sych with their break outs/peaks/plateaus. Instead its more of one plateauing while another one declines. Its all timing and its best to just blow it up and start from scratch and try to get their youth pipeline pumping out talent and have overlapping contracts locked up at one time instead of Pasta signing a monster deal, then heading into a decline while the next big star (if they find one) is looking to ink HIS big deal.

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Bobby James said:

Except unlike Vancouver who had nothing following the Sedins outside of a young Horvat who was projected as a 3C maybe 2C at the higher end (which I'd say he reached), Boston isn't in that same position. In my opinion their best players now are Pasta and McAvoy who are 26 and 25. Those guys along with their other younger guys like Carlo (26) and Zacha (26) are the ones poised to take over the team and continue their winning culture. 

Vancouver had Boeser who was coming off a couple 25+ goal seasons in under 70 games. They also had Horvat who was becoming noticed around the league.

We didnt have many others ON the roster, but Pettersson made his debut the following season and won the calder and led the team in points. The one difference between who is taking over for Boston now and who took over for the twins is our youth were JUST coming into the league and JUST starting to make a name for themselves and STILL a few years from their peak athletic prime. Pastrnak IS in his prime and IS going into his 10th season, there is less time to build around his prime than there is around Pettersson, Hughes, Horvat (at the time) etc etc. 

 

Pastrnak is 27 at the end of this month, he has hit his peak athletic prime, he will be plateauing soon and he will be declining soon after... This shortens their window to try and win another cup in the now Pastrnak era... Its way too much of a time crunch considering where their prospect pool is at, what their cap situation is, who they are losing and who they have to move.

 

Its just not a wise idea to continue trying to force this for them. I speak solely out of what they should do. Its literally where the Canucks were 9 years ago. Came off a back-to-back season winning President's trophies, which is pretty damn incredible considering I dont recall the last time a team did that. Then within 3 years it was an ugly state of affairs.

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Bobby James said:

Orlov and Bertuzzi played only like 20 regular season games with them. The excellent team we all saw during the season was for the majority of the time not because of those rentals they got at the deadline. Sure losing them hurts (Bertuzzi mostly I'd say), but there is still a very solid group of players signed for next season. Their D is mostly all there still and they have a great goalie signed to a good contract. Yes they will lose Swayman, but that role can be filled with perhaps a veteran backup on a cheap contract.

Bertuzzi and Orlov may have only played 20 games.... But who were their most reliable players in the playoffs for scoring/shutting down the opposition........ Orlov and Bertuzzi....Their "core" for next year failed to get anything going. 

Consider this... Boston had 14 even strength goals in a 7 game series that saw them score 27 goals.... HALF of their goals game from the PP.. 

Taylor Hall scored 5 of those 14 ES goals... Pastrnak and DeBrusk had 2 each.

Bertuzzi at least had 10 points and kept coming up big for them in most games... Pastrnak didnt really come up clutch at all. He had 5 goals no assists. 3 PPG.. 2 ESG...

 

Question is, how will Boston's next backup handle 20-30 maybe 40 games if there are injuries to Ullmark?? This could become a Spencer Martin situation.... To me there just seems to be toooooo much risk going into next season and trying to win a cup or build a contender when their prospect department has been severely neglected.

 

 

6 hours ago, Bobby James said:

I agree their main need will be a top 6 C. They will have to be creative or move one of the remaining pieces they have with value. That could be Lysell, Beecher, 2025 1st or even maybe Swayman who is an RFA and likely hungry for a starting role somewhere (or if they choose Swayman over Ullmark then Ullmark will have good value on the trade market). 

They need a 1C, maybe Zacha or Coyle could become the 2C, but I do not see them being ready to take on 1C duties. Plus how is their 2way game compared to Krejci and Bergeron?? Those are going to be big shoes to fill and going against top lines now. Opposing teams will only have to key in on a few guys to shut down Boston's offence. They wont have to worry about

1) winning the bloody draw

2) Pastrnak

3) Bergeron

4) Marchand

5) Krejci

etc etc... 

 

I would think they might move Ullmark and try to roll the dice on Swayman due to age and they could at least stretch his career out, even if they went through a rebuild. Ullmark is 30 this summer.... Kinda similar to Schneider getting moved... There was less time to build around Schneiders best years, so they cut bait and moved him out and began the first steps in starting the rebuild. 

 

 

6 hours ago, Bobby James said:

It is all wait and see to see how the next couple years go for Boston. Sure if they end up being the fringe playoff team you are saying they will be then hindsight will say they should have blew it all up and started rebuilding this offseason. However, I think a lot of people (myself included) look at that current roster and think a smart re-tool will keep them in the hunt for another few years at least. 

I just dont see how they re-tool... If they are to retool... who do you see them moving out to gain picks/prospects or young RFAs? If you're looking for good returns... its going to have to be a good player.... who still has several good years of hockey ahead of them... Hall, Marchand.... those guys arent going to help much with a strong retool. 

 

Just look at how many picks they have given away the last 6 years and the next few upcoming drafts as well.... They will be putting themselves so incredibly far behind if they do not get going soon on a rebuild. 

Edited May 5, 2023 by AnthonyG