Less than two weeks to go until the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 29, and the Bruins sit in a rather odd position. The B’s are very clearly in the playoff picture, and have some obvious holes on their NHL roster (top-3 D-man, a right wing that can play top-6 and perhaps even a gritty, veteran type for one of the bottom two forward lines) that could assist them in their final playoff drive if they’re properly addressed.
Still, they still have a major situation with impending free agent Loui Eriksson in which they will most likely be a seller at the deadline when it comes to the Swedish winger. The Bruins are right to not want to sign the 30-year-old Eriksson to a five-to-six-year deal in the $6 million per season range. That means they’ll need to get whatever they can for him rather than let him walk away for nothing at the end of the season. Still, they also need to think long and hard about how an Eriksson deal will impact their own playoff push over the final few months of the season. It’s this conundrum that makes it such a complicated situation for GM Don Sweeney.
So, I’m sure there will be plenty of questions about it in this week’s Hagg Bag mailbag. As always, these are real questions from readers sent to my Twitter account using the #HaggBag hash tag, emails sent to my jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com email account and messages sent to my CSN Facebook page. Now, on to the mailbag:
Let's be realistic here. Chances to win the Cup this year are slim. If they could trade Chara they should do it!
--John Rambo (@Jonhnnynumberfive)
JH: Swinging the big lumber right out of the gate, eh?
If a team is willing to bowl over the Bruins with an offer for Zdeno Chara, then I would certainly entertain it after watching him battle for consistency as a 38-year-old the Bruins are forced into still utilizing as a No. 1 defenseman. Chara still has his good games, but he’d be much better off on a team where he can be a No. 3 or No. 4 defenseman playing 20 minutes a night rather than close to 25 minutes a night he’s still logging with the Black and Gold.
Boston Bruins
If the Los Angeles Kings or Chicago Blackhawks want to send the Bruins an offer they can’t refuse for Chara, then they’d need to consider it. Chara has a no-movement clause, but there is a distinct possibility he would be willing to waive it for teams with Cup aspirations and teams that also have good friends of Chara on each roster in Slovaks Marian Gaborik (Kings) and Marian Hossa (Blackhawks).
The problem for the Bruins: if they deal Chara, then they immediately fall out of playoff contention this season. There’s just no shot for the Bruins defensemen corps if Chara was subtracted on a permanent basis. If it’s a priority to return to the playoffs after missing last season, then Chara needs to stick around until they have a potential heir apparent in place.
If I’m GM of the Bruins then I make every single decision based solely on the long-term future, and that would mean shipping Chara out for the best package of assets while taking the appropriate lumps for such a gold decision. Still, it’s not always that easy in reality.
Not really sure it makes any sense to trade Loui Eriksson. The Bruins have the fourth most points out of 16 teams in the east. #NHL
--Glen McCarthy (@DaBruins77)
JH: But do you really think the Bruins are the fourth-best team in the East? In this particular situation it’s probably more instructive to use your eyes while watching this team operate, and projecting where they stack up in the East. While it’s true there is a wide gap between the Washington Capitals and everybody else in a pretty wide open Eastern Conference, the Bruins haven’t done enough to prove to me they are ready for the elevated pressure and intensity level in the playoffs against good teams. Instead, they’ve fallen flat on their faces in most instances where they needed to elevate their games, and that doesn’t bode well for their playoff lives.
They haven’t given any hint of being a team capable of a Cup run this season and that means getting full value for Loui Eriksson at the trade deadline rather than let him walk away for nothing on July 1. Think of Carl Soderberg last year in this spot: the Bruins probably could have received a first-round pick for him if they traded him at the deadline and been a little more realistic about where that team was before they collapsed down the stretch.
Instead, they got a nominal draft pick from Colorado in the summer right before Soderberg signed with the Avalanche, and let’s hope learned a lesson about good asset management for a team that’s in re-tooling mode rather than Cup contender mode.
Joe,
Wouldn't one think that the Bruins are overselling this thing that "We are surprising more people" idea? I believe that it is the down fall of other teams within the conference, and that make the Bruins look better than they are! Montreal, Pittsburgh, Ottawa, Philadelphia, etc. The team could easily be a sunken ship if not for the misfortune of these other teams. Parity definitely has a hold on the league this year. Time for the bottom half of the roster to step up; or we will be talking about how the team did considering all the personal changes. I still believe 2hrs, 4th, 60 to go....We want Cup #7!
--Bob Boisclair (via CSN Facebook page)
JH: Well said, Bob. I think the lack of quality in the Eastern Conference has allowed the Bruins to operate under the illusion they have a legitimate shot this season. While it’s true they’re an above-average team among the 30 NHL teams while in a playoff spot, I don’t think they are anywhere close to an above-average playoff team. They have allowed 10 more goals (158) than anybody else in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and that usually spells doom when it comes to the playoffs. I’d be stunned if the Bruins are anything more than first-round playoff fodder for whichever team they come up against, and that should be a realistic possibility that factors into every move they make over the next couple of weeks.
Curious how Chris Kelly is doing?
--Ed Choi (@EGChoi)
JH: He’s doing a great job as a color analyst during the Mini One-on-One segments during Bruins games. As far as on the ice, he’s off the crutches and casts and is walking around with not much in the way of visible discomfort or difficulty. I still don’t think Kelly will be able to return quickly enough to actually play again for the Bruins this season, but he’s still been an active presence in the dressing room, and that’s a good thing given his importance within the B’s leadership structure.
Haggs,
I can't wait to hear what you have to say about this atrocity [against the LA Kings] on Toucher & Rich tomorrow! Yet again - Bruins out-hustled, out played - and am I the only one who is noticing how often the B's struggle to score more than two goals - no matter how many the opponent scores?! Ugh...
--Valerie Bowden (via CSN Facebook page)
JH: The offense has slowed down for the Bruins, and the power play has dropped to fourth in the NHL with just one PP goal in February. So, things are definitely getting bogged down in the dog days. As far the loss to the Kings, it’s just another instance of the Bruins falling pathetically short in a big, important and emotional game to a playoff-caliber team. Those losses are starting to stack up for the Black and Gold, and tell you what this hockey team is all about unfortunately.
I know Bergy is the man, but could we also acknowledge Krejci's remarkably consistent season? He’s almost a point per game, and trailing Patrice Bergeron by 3 points.
Pavel Pilecky (@PavelPilecky)
JH: No doubt that Krejci has been one of the best players on a nightly basis for the Black and Gold and has carried the Bruins offense at times along with Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Eriksson. The playmaking center has only had two instances all season where he’s gone multiple games without a point, and that is pretty remarkable consistency. He even jumped right back in quickly when returning after missing nearly a month with an upper body injury. He stepped up and had one of his best games of the season against the Minnesota Wild with Bergeron out of the lineup, but it was also crystal clear how much the Bruins missed No.37 when Pavel Datsyuk was running wild against the Bruins with the Red Wings dropping six goals on the B’s last weekend.
Darren Dreger reporting Bruins preference is to sign Loui to 3 or 4 yr deal. Any chance he accepts that?
--Ron C. (@sportshuddle55)
JH: That’s been widely reported all season, Ron. It’s the crux of the problem with this negotiation. The Bruins want a shorter term deal for a 30-year-old player with concussion issues on his resume. Eriksson will be able to easily get a five-to-six-year contract on the free market after July 1 given the huge offensive season he’s enjoying in his walk year. It’s also the biggest reason why Eriksson won’t end up finding a deal with the Bruins in the next couple of weeks or prior to the July 1 open of free agency. He would be insane to turn down an extra $12-13 million by agreeing to a hometown discount with the Bruins. I’ve always had the sense that Eriksson likes it in Boston, but that he could be just as happy in Detroit, Vancouver or St. Louis, or just about anywhere else for that matter, as he’s been in Boston the last three years. For all his good qualities, Eriksson also isn’t the toughest guy in the world to play against and that makes him less of a priority than re-signing Brad Marchand to a similarly long term, big money deal come July 1 when he’s entering the final year under contract with the Bruins.