Bruins in 18-19

FL4WL3SS · May 18, 2018

All this talk about 3rd line center and I'm reminded of the cost to aquire Rick Nash and cringe.

I don't know if they would have made it work or not, but having Spooner as an option is a lot better than discussing whether to trade even more assets to fill that hole.

Water under the bridge, but I'm not talking myself into over-priced rentals ever again*.

*I have the right to change my mind on future transactions.

lexrageorge · May 18, 2018

Spooner is about to be an RFA, so it’s questionable that the Bruins would have wanted to resign him to a contract they would likely regret.

cshea · May 18, 2018

The center UFA market is abysmal this year. It is Tavares, Stastny, Thornton....then probably Riley Nash. It is a wasteland. Any 3C would probably have to come in via trade or currrently exist internally. The only C I’ve heard of being on the trade market at this point is Ryan O’Reilly, but that is a tough contract to fit in.

I listed to some of McKenzie’s podcast that laid out some of the storylines headed into the offseason. On Carolina he says they’re a big wild card, thinks the untouchables are Aho, Teravainen, Slavin, Pesce and prospect Martin Necas. From there, everyone else is fair game. He thinks Jeff Skinner is a goner and that they are listening on Faulk and Hanifin. Friedman on his podcast said the B’s would almost certainly be in on Hanifin. So take that FWIW.

veritas · May 18, 2018

Well there are no Tim Horton's in MA so Boston would be a good fit for O'Reilly

FL4WL3SS · May 18, 2018

lexrageorge said:
Spooner is about to be an RFA, so it’s questionable that the Bruins would have wanted to resign him to a contract they would likely regret.

Why would they regret it? He played as well as Krejci last season and is only 26. He'd look pretty good on the roster.

cshea · May 18, 2018

They decided he wasn’t a center for them, and he isn’t a 4th liner. Where are you playing him?

TheRealness · May 18, 2018

FL4WL3SS said:
Why would they regret it? He played as well as Krejci last season and is only 26. He'd look pretty good on the roster.

I completely disagree. Spooner is a pure offensive player, and lacks the ability to play in any of the other thirds of the ice. He's a minus player. I don't know why people forget this only a few months after he last played here.

Good riddance.

Jordu · May 18, 2018

cshea said:
The center UFA market is abysmal this year. It is Tavares, Stastny, Thornton....then probably Riley Nash. It is a wasteland. ...

Yes. Which is why the Bruins should pay Riley Nash. He’s 28 and a late bloomer. Yes, his offense is streaky, but he’s a quality 200-foot center and valuable on the PK. Cassidy obviously trusts him.

That said, I see two potentially serious problems with signing Riley Nash:

1. Maybe Forsbacka Karlsson or Frederic can give the Bruins more than Nash does. Maybe one of those two young players is ready to improve a third line that disappeared in the playoffs. Counting on one of them for next year would be a sizable gamble. JFK had a decent but not outstanding season in Providence. Frederic is a big kid who is likely to struggle against NHL-level speed.

2. Riley Nash never fully came back from the hip injury and the concussion he suffered late in the season. He looked like a ghost in the playoffs (the will was there but the skill was not).

If Riley can get himself well, he’s an NHL veteran and the top second-tier center on the FA market who’s worth 2/$5-6m.

Otherwise, you’re counting on a prospect to be your third-line center. The
Bruins are not deep at center. Keep Riley Nash and call up JFK and Frederic when injuries require.

EDIT: I just remembered I was a loud voice here for re-signing Loui Eriksson, so factor that into my from-the-sofa GM abilities.

veritas · May 21, 2018

Hockey stats guy Matt Cane (https://twitter.com/Cane_Matt) did some work on a model to predict FA salaries: https://docs.google.com/ spreadsheets/d/1Q-Pnzfvmo_1hDlWu7WqJHVyTZqy15386jVESKSOf0V4/htmlview?sle=true#gid=0 <--- Remove the space after google.com/ . The embedding is broken

Has Riley Nash at $2.27m AAV / 3years. That's a number I think I'd pay, but I think he can probably get more.

edit: ummm does anyone know how to link to a google doc without embedding it?

Salem's Lot · May 21, 2018

Jordu said:
Yes. Which is why the Bruins should pay Riley Nash. He’s 28 and a late bloomer. Yes, his offense is streaky, but he’s a quality 200-foot center and valuable on the PK. Cassidy obviously trusts him.

That said, I see two potentially serious problems with signing Riley Nash:

1. Maybe Forsbacka Karlsson or Frederic can give the Bruins more than Nash does. Maybe one of those two young players is ready to improve a third line that disappeared in the playoffs. Counting on one of them for next year would be a sizable gamble. JFK had a decent but not outstanding season in Providence. Frederic is a big kid who is likely to struggle against NHL-level speed.

2. Riley Nash never fully came back from the hip injury and the concussion he suffered late in the season. He looked like a ghost in the playoffs (the will was there but the skill was not).

If Riley can get himself well, he’s an NHL veteran and the top second-tier center on the FA market who’s worth 2/$5-6m.

Otherwise, you’re counting on a prospect to be your third-line center. The
Bruins are not deep at center. Keep Riley Nash and call up JFK and Frederic when injuries require.

EDIT: I just remembered I was a loud voice here for re-signing Loui Eriksson, so factor that into my from-the-sofa GM abilities.

Riley Nash is exactly the type of player that you don't pay unless you want cap problems. He's coming off a career year at age 28 in a contract year. I don't buy that 3/2.27 AAV estimate for a second, there are very few centers out there in free agency after the top guys, and someone is going to give him $4 million for 4 years IMO. They should continue to trust the player development system and let guys like JFK and Frederic compete for the job.

TheRealness · May 21, 2018

Salem's Lot said:
Riley Nash is exactly the type of player that you don't pay unless you want cap problems. He's coming off a career year at age 28 in a contract year. I don't buy that 3/2.27 AAV estimate for a second, there are very few centers out there in free agency after the top guys, and someone is going to give him $4 million for 4 years IMO. They should continue to trust the player development system and let guys like JFK and Frederic compete for the job.

A 1000000x this. Paying 3rd and 4th line players is part of what got Chiarelli into trouble. They are not worth it, and Nash can be replaced by what they have in Providence. At the very least, re-sign Czarnik and I think he gives you 90% of what Riley Nash did this year.

Jordu · May 21, 2018

Salem's Lot said:
Riley Nash is exactly the type of player that you don't pay unless you want cap problems. He's coming off a career year at age 28 in a contract year. I don't buy that 3/2.27 AAV estimate for a second, there are very few centers out there in free agency after the top guys, and someone is going to give him $4 million for 4 years IMO. They should continue to trust the player development system and let guys like JFK and Frederic compete for the job.

TheRealness said:
A 1000000x this. Paying 3rd and 4th line players is part of what got Chiarelli into trouble. They are not worth it, and Nash can be replaced by what they have in Providence. At the very least, re-sign Czarnik and I think he gives you 90% of what Riley Nash did this year.

Thanks. I admit I don’t pay as much attention to the market & salaries & contracts as I should. If some GM wants to offer Riley Nash 3 or 4 years at $3 AAV, then the Bruins should shake Riley’s hand and wish him good luck in a new city.

I wish I had TheRealness’s confidence that Czarnik can give the Bruins 90 percent of what Nash has. Czarnik didn’t show much in his half season or so in Boston. Maybe Kuraly can move up to the third line and get something done. The Bruins can see if Czarnik or JFK or Frederic can grow into fourth line role.

I understand the advantage of going with young players in a cap league. Prospects are cheap, but they’re prospects. Jake DeBrusk was a great prospect in Providence, but so was Seth Griffith.

Heck, I don’t know the answer. I guess I underestimated Riley Nash’s market value in this off-season. Maybe one of the prospects will pleasantly surprise us.

Eddie Jurak · May 22, 2018

Salem's Lot said:
Riley Nash is exactly the type of player that you don't pay unless you want cap problems. He's coming off a career year at age 28 in a contract year. I don't buy that 3/2.27 AAV estimate for a second, there are very few centers out there in free agency after the top guys, and someone is going to give him $4 million for 4 years IMO. They should continue to trust the player development system and let guys like JFK and Frederic compete for the job.

Yes. I think paying him $7 million (total) over 3 years would be the no brainer of no brainers, but he's likely to command twice that at minimum.

jk333 · May 22, 2018

If they view Backes, Donato, and Bjork as wings, I’d really like them to just give Czarnik the job next year. They can toggle him or Kuraly as needed and it gives them injury depth with the prospects as the depth. Normally, I like giving the younger player a shot but with Krejci and Bergeron as the 1 and 2, it would be bad if the prospects didn’t pan out and Krejci were injured, for example.

RIFan · May 22, 2018

I don't think they view Czarnik as a center anymore. He played almost exclusively on the wing in Providence. I still like him lot as a player, but I don't know where he'll fit with Boston. He's a UFA and I think someone either pays him more than the B's are willing or at least offers him a solid big club opportunity. I think it's Kuraly's job to lose as the 3C.

Reggie Hammond · May 22, 2018

Is anyone concerned about the Bruins' overall lack of size at forward? And how that impacts team-wide offensive play when they go against teams with more size, such as Washington and Tampa?

Outside of Bergeron, DeBrusk, Backes (who has size but is slow), Kuraly (who has size but seems slotted as a fourth-line forward/occasional PK specialist, they don't have a lot of big forwards who can sustain the pace of today's NHL. As for the rest of the forwards who would be considered worthy of being slotted onto one of the top three lines, who, outside of Marchand and Pastrnak, do you consider to be elite? Let's remove Donato from this consideration because he has yet to experience the rigor of a complete season and we don't know what we have with him. But how do you feel about Heinen? Bjork? Czarnick? Bjork showed flashes until he got trucked by Matt Martin, which wasn't his fault, but would you have been confident if he had gotten regular minutes in the Tampa series? Do you think he would have performed well against the size and speed of Tampa?

I'm a huge fan of the Bruins - from a team-building perspective - doing what they've done over the last several years, drafting for skilled, speedy and savvy players to increase the organizational depth. But I think it would be good if they could also find some skilled players that they like who have some size. Maybe Frederic will be one answer.

burstnbloom · May 22, 2018

It would be nice if they had more size but I don't really think that is an issue. The lightning arent really all that big up front. Most of their most effective players are quite small actually (Johnson, Gourde, Kucherov, Palat). They only have one 200lb forward (JT Miller).

They do have a pretty big defense, which may be what you're talking about, and if so I agree they should get a big LHD that can move the puck, but those are very expensive. I think this team was so good this year simply because they abandoned the old way of drafting big dudes who can "chip in".

They do also have some size coming with Frederic and Senyshyn, though the latter hasnt been all that physical so far in his pro career.

RIFan · May 22, 2018

Donato, DeBrusk, Pastrnak, Bjork, and JFK were all born in '96. Heinen in '97. They all have the same physical profile of 6' to 6'1 180-185#'s. They're young and it figures that they have a lot of filling out to do. Frederic is already 6'2 205 and he just turned 20. They're not going to be sending a smurf squad out there. I do think they'll work to bring back Schaller and see if they can get a favorable deal with Rick Nash to not get over reliant on the young guys being able to step up physically.

veritas · May 22, 2018

I love Kuraly as much as anyone, but they're fucked if he's the 3C. They're not going into the season with that.

Someone like Czanrik at 3C means you now have 2 centers that need to be sheltered, and will fundamentally change how Bergeron is used. I'd be stunned if it's not Riley Nash or someone from outside the organization.

Lack of size at forward? They have 2 forwards in their projected lineup next year under 6 feet tall. One is Marchand and the other is brick shithouse Acciari. Size is overrated in the modern NHL

cshea · May 22, 2018

Fuck it, sign Tavares.

timlinin8th · May 22, 2018

veritas said:
I love Kuraly as much as anyone, but they're fucked if he's the 3C. They're not going into the season with that.

Someone like Czanrik at 3C means you now have 2 centers that need to be sheltered, and will fundamentally change how Bergeron is used. I'd be stunned if it's not Riley Nash or someone from outside the organization.

Lack of size at forward? They have 2 forwards in their projected lineup next year under 6 feet tall. One is Marchand and the other is brick shithouse Acciari. Size is overrated in the modern NHL

I think they are even more fucked at RW. Given all the misgivings about playing Donato (and seemingly, DeBrusk and Heinen as well since only Heinen did it for an extremely short amount of time) I think all three of them and Marchand are your left wings. That leaves the projected RWs as Pasta, Bjork, Backes, and Acciari. Putting all your eggs in the Bjork basket when your 3RW is Backes is scary.

At least at C there is JFK and Frederic that they can cycle up and down, give exposure to and avoid the rookie wall (and as a backup in case the other one really sucks). Problem is there isn’t much on the UFA RW front either. Grabner is probably the best of the lot and he finished off the season terribly in NJ, though that may also mean he is a buy-low candidate. If Bjork does well he’s your 3RW, if not so well he slides up to 2RW and you’re probably screwed anyways. Backes cycles between 3RW,4RW, and 4C as a break-glass-in-case scenario (and yeah, probably screwed if that comes to pass too).

Marchand-Bergy-Pasta
DeBrusk-Krejci-Grabner/Bjork
Donato-Kuraly/JFK/Frederic-Grabner/Backes/Bjork
Heinen-Kuraly/Backes-Acciari/Backes

veritas · May 25, 2018

timlinin8th said:
I think they are even more fucked at RW. Given all the misgivings about playing Donato (and seemingly, DeBrusk and Heinen as well since only Heinen did it for an extremely short amount of time) I think all three of them and Marchand are your left wings. That leaves the projected RWs as Pasta, Bjork, Backes, and Acciari. Putting all your eggs in the Bjork basket when your 3RW is Backes is scary.

Wingers are much less important and easier to find than centers. Pastnrnak and Marchand are two of the best in the league. Between Debrusk, Heinen, Bjork, Donato, Backes, I feel pretty good about the middle six wings. . Someone will have to play on their off hand, I don't think that's a huge deal though. I like the idea of Donato playing on his off wing, given his shooting ability. I also think Heinen could be a great fit on the top line if he is comfortable on the right given his intelligence and defensive acumen. That would let them try Krejci and Pasta together again.

Not to mention, if more than one of Frederic/JFK/Studnicka make the team, that's another potential winger.

Really, I don't think they're fucked anywhere. But especially not at wing.

jk333 · May 25, 2018

veritas said:
Wingers are much less important and easier to find than centers. Pastnrnak and Marchand are two of the best in the league. Between Debrusk, Heinen, Bjork, Donato, Backes, I feel pretty good about the middle six wings. . Someone will have to play on their off hand, I don't think that's a huge deal though. I like the idea of Donato playing on his off wing, given his shooting ability. I also think Heinen could be a great fit on the top line if he is comfortable on the right given his intelligence and defensive acumen. That would let them try Krejci and Pasta together again.

Not to mention, if more than one of Frederic/JFK/Studnicka make the team, that's another potential winger.

Really, I don't think they're fucked anywhere. But especially not at wing.

Isn’t most of JFK’s value tied into his ability to be a two way center? The idea of Krejci and Pasta together makes sense except that every time they’ve tried, it hasn’t worked. If Pasta can score 30 on another line, it makes sense to do that because Marchand and Bergeron are an elite top line without him.

That 3rd line C is going to make or break them. Also, If they split Pasta off the top line, they could have four scoring lines but one line would be very young and need to be sheltered. I’d also like Acciari to be the 13th forward.

Haunted · May 31, 2018

kenneycb · May 31, 2018

What is a group 6?

Haunted · May 31, 2018

I’ve no idea. The rest of that isn’t surprising.

Jordu · May 31, 2018

kenneycb said:
What is a group 6?

According to Cap Friendly it’s a player who:

1. is 25 or older

2. has completed 3 or more professional seasons

3. has played fewer than 80 NHL games

https://www.capfriendly.com/faq

cshea · Jun 1, 2018

Flute has a bit more detail from the Sweeney availability:

https://theathletic.com/376061/2018/05/31/shinzawa-as-nhl-draft-nears-don-sweeney-remains-low-on-ammunition/

- Unlikely the Bruins move back into the 1st round. They’ll see what happens, but he doesn’t sound very confident that they can do it.
- Sweeney think there will be some league wide trade activity around the draft, particularly teams with new coaches. Could be an opportunity there.
- Fluto thinks Khudobin gets a new deal before 7/1
- Sweeney has had talks with Rick Nash’s camp about an extension
- Hope Zboril takes the next step, training camp will be big for him
- Vaakanainen is coming. Says he played 23 min a night in the Fin Elite league, so he could help but “we’ll see” at camp.

biff_hardbody · Jun 1, 2018

With tempered expectations, I am excited about Vaakanainen coming over and perhaps being able to slot in to the defensive group next year.

Please don't re-sign Rick Nash.

veritas · Jun 1, 2018

Even if UV is good enough to be one of their top 6, I think he's better off getting at least a half season in the AHL. He sounds like a similar player to Carlo, who I think would have been much better off developing his offensive/transition game in the AHL for a little while (he wasn't eligible, but UV is).

veritas · Jun 1, 2018

A pretty glowing report on UV: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/06/01/bruins-prospect-urho-vaakanainen-finnish-league-nhl-matt-kalman/

Brett Carson is a 32-year-old defenseman with 90 games of NHL experience.

This past season he played for SaiPa in the Finnish Elite League and had no problem communicating on a regular basis with his defense partner, Bruins 2017 first-round draft pick Urho Vaakanainen.

“We’d go back and forth and talk about things. He’d tell me something he wanted me to do and I’d do the same with him,” Carson told CBS Boston this week. “Sometimes young guys wouldn’t say that much, but he wasn’t afraid. We helped each other out. And even just the way he presents himself at the rink, comes in and works. You could see he knew what he had to do to be a professional.”

Vaakanainen’s confidence to go back and forth with his teammate about strategies and his maturity to stand up to the rigors of playing at such a high level of the sport impressed Carson even more because Vaakanainen didn’t turn 19 until Jan. 1.

“You wouldn’t have even thought that he was even that young of a kid,” Carson said. “I had to keep reminding myself that he was still a junior-age kid, an 18-year-old kid.”

“He was their best defenseman by far,” Perrin said. “I just remember [him] always being on the ice, doing really good things and that stands out to me. … These little things that we know, usually you say to your guys ‘get on their D, they’re having a hard time.’ But he wasn’t one of those guys that we were talking about. It was other guys. So we knew we had to kind of more keep an eye on him, because he joined the rush, things like that, that we had to stay aware about him at all times.

cshea · Jun 1, 2018

Kovalchuk’s return is a go this season. He’s hired an agent and there’s no trade with NJ hurdles to clear anymore since he’s 35+. It’s a call I’d make, probaby even prefer him to Rick Nash. Dreger’s article says he’s looking for a 2/3 year deal around $6.25AAV (Marleau deal as a the comp). I think that is doable. He just turned 35, scores 31 goals in 53 KHL games last season.

https://www.tsn.ca/talent/dreger-report-kovalchuk-says-winning-the-priority-in-nhl-return-1.1100940

cshea · Jun 5, 2018

Custance has a Top 20 Trade board out on the Athletic.

https://theathletic.com/381059/2018/06/05/nhl-trade-big-board-20-players-who-could-be-on-the-move-this-summer/

Krug checks in at 20. The blurb says that the B’s prefer to clear out Krejci or Backes, but Krug moving is a possibility because he’d be an attractive target. The B’s have a pretty specific need though (a better LHD), so finding a match could be tough and the Bruins are perfectly fine keeping him.

Haunted · Jun 6, 2018

I do not want to trade Krug. He was awful I’m his own end in the playoffs but - and this is purely anecdotal - I think every time I got really frustrated with him, he’d snipe a goal and pick the team right back up. They don’t have anything even approaching that offensive dynamic at the back end.

Put Carlo back in and his minutes are different. Maybe even add another top 4 defense to ensure Krug is on the 3rd pair and I think he goes from arguable-liability to outright weapon.

burstnbloom · Jun 6, 2018

I don't want to trade Krug either, but he's more of a PP producer than anything. I think his value is pretty high, its unlikely that they will sign him when his contract is up and they can reasonably replace his PP value by using a forward and McAvoy on the first PP. It will be hard to do that AND replace his ES points, but Krug is just an OK offensive D at ES. I would certainly consider it if it led to an upgrade at his position across the board.

I also don't think he is here beyond 19/20 so now would be a good time to cash in, but only if you can fill his spot with another guy with term or team control.

TSC · Jun 6, 2018

Haunted said:
They don’t have anything approaching that offensive dynamic at the back end.

There’s this guy Charlie McAvoy you may have heard about..

Haunted · Jun 6, 2018

TheShynessClinic said:
There’s this guy Charlie McAvoy you may have heard about..

Who?

In all seriousness, I'm not sure I'd put McAvoy up there, offensively, with Krug. He's miles and miles better overall, and in their own end it's like comparing an NHL defender to some random ECHL player. But on the PP? and in the attack zone in general? I'm not so sure.

McDrew · Jun 6, 2018

As much as I want to use Krug as a piece for a trade, the fact that the only LHD that scored more goals them him were Victor Hedman, Zach Werenski and Ivan Provarov makes it hard to. He's tied with OEL and Roman Josi for 4th last season.

Given that Krug has 2 years left on his current deal, I'd trade him straight up maybe for Hanifin or Sergachev, and not much else.

LogansDad · Jun 6, 2018

I agree with the above, but I also think that Krug has more value to the Bruins than to most other teams in the league (partially because of team construction, and partially simply because of experience in the system). I'd love to move him to the third line and upgrade the D-zone play on the second line, but I'm not sure that there's many ways that moving Krug results in a net positive for the Bruins' blue line.

I also think the Bruins defense plays way better if Carlo doesn't get hurt and miss the entire playoffs the last two years.

veritas · Jun 7, 2018

With the news (rumors?) that the Oilers are trying to pay teams to take Lucic, I think we should take a minute to appreciate some of the crippling contracts the Bruins didn’t make. They got a haul for Lucic, didn’t sign Horton, or Loui.

Krejci got overpaid and the Backes deal is not good. But they’re both useful players still, far more than Lucic and Loui.

cshea · Jun 8, 2018

Yeah, I don’t know how the Oilers move Lucic, but it seems like there is enough smoke around a Lucic trade that something could happen. His contract is all signing bonus’ too so it is buyout proof.

Anyways, here is TSN’s trade board:

https://www.tsn.ca/erik-karlsson-tops-first-trade-bait-board-of-the-summer-1.1105047

No Bruins crack the list. OEL and Hanifin are the only LHD. OEL is mulling over an 8/$66 million contract offer from the Coyotes. Arizona is anxious for an answer, he could go at the draft if he turns them down.

Another notable is PK Subban.

cshea · Jun 12, 2018

FWIW, Lebrun’s rumors piece today has the Bruins as a “top contender” for Kovalchuk. LeBrun thinks the list is:

Top tier: Kings, Bruins, Rangers, Sharks
2nd tier: Red Wings(!?), Blues, Stars, Ducks

https://theathletic.com/389526/2018/06/12/lebrun-conversations-among-gms-picking-up-kovalchuk-destinations-thorntons-future-stastny-watch/

The Bruins are the best team on the list, get it done Don. Only issue I can see is my memory of Kovy is that he is a right shot that plays primarly LW. B’s don’t really need a LW, they’d be looking for a RW. Not sure if he’s moved around more back in the KHL.

TheRealness · Jun 12, 2018

cshea said:
FWIW, Lebrun’s rumors piece today has the Bruins as a “top contender” for Kovalchuk. LeBrun thinks the list is:

Top tier: Kings, Bruins, Rangers, Sharks
2nd tier: Red Wings(!?), Blues, Stars, Ducks

https://theathletic.com/389526/2018/06/12/lebrun-conversations-among-gms-picking-up-kovalchuk-destinations-thorntons-future-stastny-watch/

The Bruins are the best team on the list, get it done Don. Only issue I can see is my memory of Kovy is that he is a right shot that plays primarly LW. B’s don’t really need a LW, they’d be looking for a RW. Not sure if he’s moved around more back in the KHL.

Bruins have never done well with Russian players. I have to think that negatively impacts them here. Maybe they bring Koko back to center the line with Kovy?

I would bet he goes to the Sharks or Kings. Rangers seem like they are too far away, and Kovy seems intent on joining a contender that can win a cup.

Smiling Joe Hesketh · Jun 12, 2018

Is that really true? Samsonov was a 1st round pick and had several good years before injuries got to him. Khudobin has repeatedly said he loves it here. Yes, Koko's not here, I get that.

OK, Kvartalnov didn't work out long term, but he was 27 when drafted. Zhitnik was a bust but he was 35. I dunno, I'm not so sure about blanketing all Russian players as not working out here.

lexrageorge · Jun 12, 2018

And Koko just wasn't very good, and hasn't shown that his ineffectiveness was due to the fact that he was with Boston. Sometimes 2nd round picks don't work out.

cshea · Jun 12, 2018

I wouldn’t close the door on Khokhlachev. Also, I wouldn’t say “he wasn’t very good.” He had 68 points in 60 games for Providence in his final year, and this past season scored 50 points in 52 KHL teams to lead his team. He can play, I’d take him back in a heartbeat.

Ty Anderson had a piece on 98.5’s website a few weeks ago about Koko. Koko did just re-sign in the KHL for 1-year, but there has apparently been an open line of communication between the B’s and Koko about a return. B’s staff met with him in Moscow this past season and he expressed a desire to return, having liked playing for Cassidy. Earliest is 2019-2020, so obviously things could change, but this particular door isn’t shut entirely.

As for Kovalchuk, the reports last season when he tried to come back was that he would like to play for a contender in the East. Maybe the geography has changed as he visited SJS and LAK already. He played for DeBoer in NJ, so maybe SJS is a fit, but they’re chasing Tavares and can probably only fit one. STL and DAL have Tarasenko and Radulov, no idea if he is buddies with them, but they both missed the playoffs and he’s have to play through NSH and WPG every season. NYR doesn’t smell like a contender, but apparently Detroit is on the list too so who knows? There has been speculation about NYI with Lou in charge, but they kind of have to figure out Tavares first.

TheRealness · Jun 12, 2018

Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
Is that really true? Samsonov was a 1st round pick and had several good years before injuries got to him. Khudobin has repeatedly said he loves it here. Yes, Koko's not here, I get that.

OK, Kvartalnov didn't work out long term, but he was 27 when drafted. Zhitnik was a bust but he was 35. I dunno, I'm not so sure about blanketing all Russian players as not working out here.

It's just two guys that have made it here, and one is a certifiable Russian Gangsta goalie who is just crazy enough to make it work. Samsonov was just so damn talented, but even he flamed out over time.

I'm not saying the Bruins can't have Russian players have success, I am just concerned about the perception given the limited number of Russians (comparatively) that have succeeded here. I also wonder how much the Bruins former style of play would have affected them, as right now they play a much more Euro like game where a Russian's natural style could thrive.

I'm also with cshea that Koko coming back would be something I welcome. He has a ton of talent.

As for lines, I'd leave Bergeron's line intact and put Kovalchuk on Krejci's wing with DeBrusk.

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The Man in the Box

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