2015 Offseason- Where do we go from here?

[cshea]

Now that the front office and coaching staffs are in place, it's time to turn our attention to the roster. The draft is 3 weeks from today, and is quickly followed by free agency on July 1. So a month from now we could have a vastly different team.

Using General Fanager, the Bruins have $4.8 million in cap space, assuming the cap stays at $69 million. That is for 12 forwards, 4 D and 1 G. There have been some rumblings in the past few days that it could rise to $71.5, but it's probably best to operate with the assumption that $69mm is number.

Here's the cap outlook on GF: http://www.generalfanager.com/teams/3

The key players that need to be retained are Dougie Hamilton, Ryan Spooner sand Brett Connolly. The latter two should come cheap but Hamilton could take up that entire $4.8 million in free space and then some on his own. So the one thing that is clear this year is money has to go out the door. The usual suspects are being bandied about as possible salary dumps- Lucic, Eriksson, Seidenberg, Kelly or maybe even Krejci.

I honestly have no clue as to where they go from here. It is as fascinating an offseason as they've had in a while. Sweeney has a lot of important decisions to make. Personally, I think Hamilton needs to be priority #1. Get him done before 7/1, then you avoid the crippling offer sheet scenario and the rest of the offseason can fall in line.

 

[BigMike]

Now the 4.8 million number doesn't include the Savard LTIR removal.
 
 
To me everything just makes so much sense to trade Lucic.  Maybe Krejci goes as well if someone will overpay,  but Lucic just stands out like a sore thumb. I can't envision resigning him for 7 years at more money than he makes now (a pending disaster).   
 
Much like Lucic I also think you need to treat Eriksson in the similar way.  He is too valuable to let walk next year for nothing.  So I need to try and lock him up for 3-5 more seasons, and maybe you can get him on a more team friendly contract. If I can't lock him up, then I have to consider moving him.  Eriksson was easily the team's 2nd best forward last year, and   I think Eriksson is likely to age better than Lucic, and may cost less.

 

[lexrageorge]

I would have to believe that jettisoning Seidenberg and Kelly, assuming they can find takers, is all that is needed from a 2015-16 cap management perspective.  
 
I see no reason to salary dump Eriksson or Krejci.  The former was one of the team's best players, and the latter just had bad luck with a couple of random injuries last year.  
 
Lucic is the obviously the big one.  I think he needs to go, as I see no way the Bruins will retain him after this season.  

 

[The B’s Knees]

[SIZE=10pt]I’m actually a Lucic fan, but I know that a lot of teams are [/SIZE][SIZE=13.3333330154419px]enamored[/SIZE][SIZE=10pt] with him due to his so-called presence on the ice.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]But - it would be interesting to see if the “Barry Pederson gravy train” can keep giving.[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=10pt]As a fun reminder:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Barry Pederson brought us Neely and Wesley[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Wesley brought us McLaren, Aitken, and Samsonov[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Samsonov brought us Reasoner, Y Stastny, Lucic[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Lucic could bring ??[/SIZE]

 

[LogansDad]

Well Soderberg apparently isn't receiving an offer.  Interesting start.

 

[TSC]

Well Soderberg apparently isn't receiving an offer.  Interesting start.

Where are you seeing that??

 

[kenneycb]

I'm on mobile but Friedman reported it.

 

[cshea]

Where are you seeing that??

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/30-thoughts-nhl-to-ban-shot-blocking-techniques/

 

16. With Dougie Hamilton as Boston’s number-one priority and a tight cap situation, a couple sources said this week the Bruins informed UFA-to-be Carl Soderberg that he was unlikely to be re-signed. Teams are always looking for centres, and here’s an interesting stat: Soderbergh had 36 even-strength points. That’s tied with Claude Giroux, Hornqvist, Kessel and Jason Spezza, among others.
17. Don Sweeney would not comment on the Soderberg story, but I did chat with him a little over a week ago. He had some interesting comments on becoming Boston’s GM, as he was considered the likely choice going in
 

There are a few other Bruin items in the column as well.

 

[RedOctober3829]

Haggs talked to his agent and he confirmed no offer from Bruins for Carl. Guess that means Spooner is 3rd line center.

 

[LogansDad]

Where are you seeing that??

Sorry for not linking... been a long weekend.
 
Here's one though, even if it is a little late: http://www.csnne.com/boston-bruins/soderberg-wont-be-returning-bruins

 

[MiracleOfO2704]

I'll be honest. Considering the raise he was going to get, and the relative depth at center, I'm okay with this. In a perfect world, he stays, but someone will give him multiple years at $3M+ AAV (just a guess, but I think someone gives him about 4/$14M), and that shouldn't be the Bruins.

 

[jk333]

I'll be honest. Considering the raise he was going to get, and the relative depth at center, I'm okay with this. In a perfect world, he stays, but someone will give him multiple years at $3M+ AAV (just a guess, but I think someone gives him about 4/$14M), and that shouldn't be the Bruins.

The most interesting part of the report is that the Bruins very likely aren't trading Krejci. I've always thought Kelly, Seidenberg and Lucic were more likely to be traded (in that order) but Krejci for a top 4 D made sense as a backup plan, especially if they needed cap space and couldn't get it elsewhere.
 
Bergeron/Spooner/Soderberg would be much weaker but at a cost of 11-12M and with an asset (top 4 d?) vs. Bergeron/Krejci/Spooner @ 15M...
 
Soderberg's contract will be interesting to watch, he was brutal over a long stretch but 0.59 PPG on the Bruins is impressive. At 3M he'd be great value.

 

[lexrageorge]

The most interesting part of the report is that the Bruins very likely aren't trading Krejci. I've always thought Kelly, Seidenberg and Lucic were more likely to be traded (in that order) but Krejci for a top 4 D made sense as a backup plan, especially if they needed cap space and couldn't get it elsewhere.
 
Bergeron/Spooner/Soderberg would be much weaker but at a cost of 11-12M and with an asset (top 4 d?) vs. Bergeron/Krejci/Spooner @ 15M...
 
Soderberg's contract will be interesting to watch, he was brutal over a long stretch but 0.59 PPG on the Bruins is impressive. At 3M he'd be great value.

The problem is that the team would be so much weaker at center with Soderberg vs. Krejci that a 2nd pairing blue liner would hardly make much of a difference.  The problem with Soderberg is that he's hit his ceiling, and that ceiling is on the 3rd line.  There's also the issue that Krejci's trade value is probably hurt somewhat from his injury riddled 2014-15 season.  Bottom line is that the Bruins value Krejci far more highly than most of this forum.  
 
Of course, this is all speculation at this point.  Things can change dramatically between now and July.

 

[behindthepen]

Lucic is probably the most tradeable player on the team (outside of the true "core"), but I'm conflicted on trading him only because it's a contract year.
 
To me, the "core" is Bergy, Marchand, Krejci, Dougie and Rask.  And I guess Pasta.  Those are the guys we can't cost-effectively replace.  And the results of the next couple of seasons will mainly depend on what we get out of Chara and Seids, since we're probably not finding a top 4 D with the assets we have to deal.
 
But the biggest question for me, is what is the identity of this team?  Last year had no definition.  Give me something to get behind.

 

[Toe Nash]

The problem is that the team would be so much weaker at center with Soderberg vs. Krejci that a 2nd pairing blue liner would hardly make much of a difference.  The problem with Soderberg is that he's hit his ceiling, and that ceiling is on the 3rd line.  There's also the issue that Krejci's trade value is probably hurt somewhat from his injury riddled 2014-15 season.  Bottom line is that the Bruins value Krejci far more highly than most of this forum.  
 

Krejci last year at even strength 5v5: 1.70 P/60, 51.26 CF%, 102.1 PDO, 49.64% (Corsi% of competition)
Soderberg last year at ES: 1.53 P/60, 51.35 CF%, 101.7 PDO, 49.93 CorC% 
 
Krejci last three years combined at ES: 2.05 P/60, 52.12 CF%, 102.8 PDO
Soderberg last 3 years at ES: 1.79 P/60, 52.16 CF%, 101.5 PDO
 
Krejci's better, but I'm not sure there is a huge gulf and it doesn't seem like the usage was that different last year -- Bergeron's line takes the toughest matchups, after that there are few teams that have a great second line. You also have to take Krejci's injuries into account projecting him forward. 
 
You are correct they value him more highly than most of the forum...so it doesn't really matter because he's part of the "core." But should they?

 

[kenneycb]

I'm not sure why you need to take Krejci's injuries into account moving forward.  Outside of his broken wrist in 2010, he's never in his career missed any significant time.  He hadn't missed more than seven games in a year outside of this year. 
 
Also, I would only compare Soderberg and Krejci's last two years given Soderberg was only in Boston for the final couple of weeks of the regular season.

 

[Toe Nash]

I'm not sure why you need to take Krejci's injuries into account moving forward.  Outside of his broken wrist in 2010, he's never in his career missed any significant time.  He hadn't missed more than seven games in a year outside of this year. 
 
Also, I would only compare Soderberg and Krejci's last two years given Soderberg was only in Boston for the final couple of weeks of the regular season.

They have a comparable number of games if you go back three years but ok, here's two years:
Krejci: 1.85 p/60, 51.85 CF%, 102.9 PDO
Carl: 1.81 p/60, 52.37 CF%, 101.8 PDO

 

[FL4WL3SS]

They have a comparable number of games if you go back three years but ok, here's two years:
Krejci: 1.85 p/60, 51.85 CF%, 102.9 PDO
Carl: 1.81 p/60, 52.37 CF%, 101.8 PDO

How do those numbers compare to other top centers in the league? How do they compare to Bergeron?

 

[RIFan]

I'm not sure why you need to take Krejci's injuries into account moving forward.  Outside of his broken wrist in 2010, he's never in his career missed any significant time.  He hadn't missed more than seven games in a year outside of this year. 
 
Also, I would only compare Soderberg and Krejci's last two years given Soderberg was only in Boston for the final couple of weeks of the regular season.

There is talk that the groin issues this year could be related to hip issues. That could be something to be concerned about.

 

[cshea]

Bergeron is basically God. 58% CF, 1.95 p/60, 969 PDO (he was supremely unlucky this past year- .895
On ice save percentage).

I'll try and find some comps for Krejci and Soderberg.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Bergeron is basically God. 58% CF, 1.95 p/60, 969 PDO (he was supremely unlucky this past year- .895
On ice save percentage).

I'll try and find some comps for Krejci and Soderberg.

Are those career stats?
 
I'd be interested to see playoff comps for Krejci/Soderberg/Bergeron. I don't think regular season possession stats tell the entire story and folks are undervaluing Krejci a bit.

 

[BoSoxFink]

Are those career stats?
 
I'd be interested to see playoff comps for Krejci/Soderberg/Bergeron. I don't think regular season possession stats tell the entire story and folks are undervaluing Krejci a bit.

Bruins fans constantly do and it's rather annoying.

 

[lexrageorge]

Agreed on Krejci being undervalued by some.  The publicly available possession stats are useful tool, but should not be the ultimate arbiter.  Krejci is on the #1 line, and as such normally faces the opposing team's top defensive line and top defensive pairing.  Soderberg played on the third line, and therefore did not face the same competition across the ice.  In fact, we saw him struggle when he was moved up to the second line.  

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Agreed on Krejci being undervalued by some.  The publicly available possession stats are useful tool, but should not be the ultimate arbiter.  Krejci is on the #1 line, and as such normally faces the opposing team's top defensive line and top defensive pairing.  Soderberg played on the third line, and therefore did not face the same competition across the ice.  In fact, we saw him struggle when he was moved up to the second line.  

Well, there are stats that account for talent of competition and talent of linemates for those possession stats.

 

[cshea]

Regardless of the possession numbers, I don't think trading Krejci makes a whole lot of sense. He has more value on the Bruins than he does to the rest of the league.

 

[TheRealness]

Regardless of the possession numbers, I don't think trading Krejci makes a whole lot of sense. He has more value on the Bruins than he does to the rest of the league.

 
Krejci is a lot better point producer, and skater than Soderberg. I don't know if people just erased the final two months of the season, but Soderberg was awful. He's too slow to be an effective top 2 center, IMO, and spending the money on him when they have Spooner (who I think is a much more talented skater and offensive player) would be a colossal waste of cap space and resources. Frankly, I don't know how anyone who watched Soderberg during the final games of the season would want him over Krejci. It's absolutely insane to me. 

 

[McDrew]

Dougie is going to get an offer sheet at 51.1M/7 years from another team, and the Bruins will take a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instead of matching. 
 
51.1/7 = 7,300,000 cap hit.  Compensation goes from 1st/2nd/3rd to 1st/1st/2nd/3rd at 7,305,000 or so.  No team is going to pay 2 1st for Dougie, but a team will pay 1st for him.  I say take that money and go grab a couple 3-4M veterans, and enjoy your extra picks next year. 
Paul Martin, Cody Franson, Oduya, and others will/might be available.
 
Edit: before you say its rediculous that Dougie would get 7.3M/year for 7 years: Johnny Boychuck got 7 years, 42M (6M/yr).  Dougie is going to get paid more than Boychuk. 

 

[kenneycb]

Boychuk was a UFA.  Dougie still has 4 years of RFA years.

 

[jk333]

Dougie is going to get an offer sheet at 51.1M/7 years from another team, and the Bruins will take a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd instead of matching. 
 
51.1/7 = 7,300,000 cap hit.  Compensation goes from 1st/2nd/3rd to 1st/1st/2nd/3rd at 7,305,000 or so.  No team is going to pay 2 1st for Dougie, but a team will pay 1st for him.  I say take that money and go grab a couple 3-4M veterans, and enjoy your extra picks next year. 
Paul Martin, Cody Franson, Oduya, and others will/might be available.
 
Edit: before you say its rediculous that Dougie would get 7.3M/year for 7 years: Johnny Boychuck got 7 years, 42M (6M/yr).  Dougie is going to get paid more than Boychuk. 

Offer sheets of more than five years are calculated based on the value over 5 years so that offer would be 10M/yr and 4 1st round picks.

 

[cshea]

Boychuk and Hamilton are bad comps. One was a 30 year old hitting free agency, the other is a 21 year old under team control. Two very different situations, although the conclusion that somebody will pay Hamilton $7+ million is correct. The Bruins better be the team paying it, too. They'd be insane to walk away.

The comps for Hamilton are Doughty, Pietrangelo, Subban and Hedman. Doughty's second contract was 7/$56*. Pietrangelo got 7/$45. Subban got 2/$5.5 as a bridge before an arbitration spat led to his current 8/$72 deal. Hedman was 5/$20.

* Doughty and Hedman's deal were signed before the lockout, so a somewhat different financial climate.

Dougie performance puts him about in the middle. Not quite as refined as Doughty and Pietrangelo were at age 22, but ahead of Subban and Hedman. DJ Bean had a pretty good piece comparing Hamilton and Hedman through their ELC's today (http://bigbadblog.weei.com/sports/boston/hockey/bruins/2015/06/09/how-victor-hedman-plays-into-the-dougie-hamilton-conversation/). Somewhat topical with Hedman's performance last night.

22 year old #1 defenseman don't grow on trees. I match pretty much anything.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

21 year old #1 defenseman don't grow on trees. I match pretty much anything.

Yikes, no.
 
I'm not sacrificing the depth of my team to pay one player 'pretty much anything'. If that's the route the Bruins go, then I will be highly skeptical of the plan moving forward. I would rather see the team work out a trade, ala Kessel, with the team offering the contract or take the compensation if the price gets too high. You don't need a strict #1 defenseman to win in this league, you can fill out your roster with very solid 1B type players for half the cost.

 

[cshea]

If you're not paying Hamilton, who are you paying? I'd match probably up to the 4 first round pick level.

I'd also disagree that you don't need a #1 defenseman to win. Since the 04 lockout here I can only find 1, maybe 2, Stanley Cup winners without a #1 D.

06: Carolina- didn't really have one.
07: Anaheim- Niedermayer and Pronger
08: Detroit- Lidstrom
09: Pittsburgh- Letang
10: Chicago- Keith
11: Boston- Chara
12: LA- Doughty
13: Chicago- Keith
14: LA- Doughty
15: Chicago or Tampa- Keith/Hedman.

Letang can be debated. The rest are Norris winners. I'd argue that a bona fide #1 defenseman is the most important position to fill on a Stanley Cup winner.

 

[Salem's Lot]

If your not paying Hamilton, who are you paying? I'd match probably up to the 4 first round pick level.

I'd also disagree that you don't need a #1 defenseman to win. Since the 04 lockout here I can only find 1, maybe 2, Stanley Cup winners without a #1 D.

06: Carolina- didn't really have one.
07: Anaheim- Niedermayer and Pronger
08: Detroit- Lidstrom
09: Pittsburgh- Letang
10: Chicago- Keith
11: Boston- Chara
12: LA- Doughty
13: Chicago- Keith
14: LA- Doughty
15: Chicago or Tampa- Keith/Hedman.

 
I agree. You have to pay young defensemen with Dougie's upside. Find ways to get rid of the mid level veterans or low upside young guys like Kelly or Smith before losing a 21 year old potentially elite talent. 

 

[TFP]

If the Bruins walk away from an offer sheet on Dougie then I'm walking away. He's a franchise level 21 year old defenseman. He's exactly the type of player you spend your cap space on. I think a deal around Pietrangelo's sounds about right. I'd be thrilled with anything under 7/40 even though it's unlikely.

The worst idea is to go the Subban route I think. It'll set them up for the next couple years but then it'll cost them dearly. Is saving money for 2 years worth spending more for the next 5-8?

 

[TheRealness]

If the Bruins walk away from an offer sheet on Dougie then I'm walking away. He's a franchise level 21 year old defenseman. He's exactly the type of player you spend your cap space on. I think a deal around Pietrangelo's sounds about right. I'd be thrilled with anything under 7/40 even though it's unlikely.
The worst idea is to go the Subban route I think. It'll set them up for the next couple years but then it'll cost them dearly. Is saving money for 2 years worth spending more for the next 5-8?

I am definitely with you and cshea on this, as I am a huge fan of Dougie. Now is their best chance at getting him locked up long term before his full break out. Dougie will be their best defenseman next year, and I dont think it's going to be close.

Pay the man his money.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Offer sheets of more than five years are calculated based on the value over 5 years so that offer would be 10M/yr and 4 1st round picks.

So he will get an offer sheet of 5 years or less.  I think if you are the Bruins you match 5 and up to at least $36.5 MM and 2 firsts coming back.
 
Are teams still allowed to poison pill their offer sheets?  Eg offer 5 and $36MM with $20 million of it due in year 1? 

 

[veritas]

I am definitely with you and cshea on this, as I am a huge fan of Dougie. Now is their best chance at getting him locked up long term before his full break out. Dougie will be their best defenseman next year, and I dont think it's going to be close.

Pay the man his money.

 
I agree with all of this, but on the bolded, I think that says more about the team's D than it does about Dougie.
 
If some team gives him a stupid offer sheet, I think you take the four first round picks, unless it's a long term, lower AAV (because of the 5 year division rule) deal. The next level down gets a little dicey though. A team could offer him a 5 year, $45,658,225 deal and only owe 2 1st rounders, a 2nd rounder, and a 3rd rounder. That's A LOT of money for anyone. And as much as I love Dougie and think he has Norris/HOF potential, he's not there yet and there's always the risk he never gets there. His floor seems pretty high at this point, being a good #2 defenseman, but paying a good #2 defenseman over $9 million a year is crippling to your cap situation
 
edit: I agree he will be their best defenseman, but disagree that it won't be close. Chara is still very good

 

[Eddie Jurak]

If the Bruins walk away from an offer sheet on Dougie then I'm walking away. He's a franchise level 21 year old defenseman. He's exactly the type of player you spend your cap space on. I think a deal around Pietrangelo's sounds about right. I'd be thrilled with anything under 7/40 even though it's unlikely.

The worst idea is to go the Subban route I think. It'll set them up for the next couple years but then it'll cost them dearly. Is saving money for 2 years worth spending more for the next 5-8?

Would you match an offer that was high enough to be worth 4 firsts as compensation?  I think that would be hard to turn down, depending on the team.

 

[cshea]

So he will get an offer sheet of 5 years or less.  I think if you are the Bruins you match 5 and up to at least $36.5 MM and 2 firsts coming back.
 
Are teams still allowed to poison pill their offer sheets?  Eg offer 5 and $36MM with $20 million of it due in year 1? 

Nope. Contracts can still be front loaded, but the decline in the later years can't be as steep. Variance can only be 35% year to year and 50% over the life of the contract. So if a team offered a year 1 salary of $12 million, year 2 salary would have to be at least $7.8 million and could never drop under $6 million.

 

[lexrageorge]

I'm sure there is a point where one stops and thinks about whether to match an offer sheet to Dougie.  To me, anything less than that $7.3M threshold is a no-brainer to match, even if it is 7 years.  At 21, the 7 years should not be an issue, especially as it buys out a couple of years of UFA in the process.  I don't know why the B's wouldn't match the 51/7 deal; it would be extremely shortsighted to not do so. 
 
There is room for debate if the offer sheet comes in the 1/1/2/3 range, especially if it's at the upper end of that range.  

 

[TFP]

Would you match an offer that was high enough to be worth 4 firsts as compensation?  I think that would be hard to turn down, depending on the team.

That I agree, I should have said that if they walk away from anything in the range that's being discussed here (up to the 7.3M offer range) then I'd be furious. 4 1st round picks is a lot to take back, but I don't see a team making an offer in that range so I'm not too worried.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

I think that's right. If they know what they are doing, the real question should be "how much higher than $7.3 should we go if it comes to that?" And of course they should be trying to sign him before it comes to that.

 

[Dummy Hoy]

that was my original point- lock him up now.
 
Edit: I mean, we've seen enough of Dougie to know, right? Anything can happen, but he's looking like he's going to be a Norris caliber guy.

 

[RIFan]

You also need to consider who is making the offer and what their prospects are over the next few years. Edmonton seems good on the surface, but add Dougie, McDavid, and some passable goaltending and your looking at a pick in the 10-13 range next year and a good chance to be in the 20's after that. The draft is still a huge crapshoot and Dougie is relatively a known quantity. I can't see swapping out a possible 10 year foundational piece for risky future picks.

 

[PedroSpecialK]

Here's the cap situation as I'm seeing it now, with a mix of CapGeek and GeneralFanager's numbers:
 

 

 

 
 
Total Salary Cap Hit: $71,593,333.33
Salary Cap Max: $71,700,000 projected
Day 1 Cap Space: $106,666.67
Preseason Cap Space: $7,276,667
 
 
My estimates on the RFAs, particularly Dougie, are relatively conservative. However, I think Spooner/Connolly sign the cheaper deals as they will be guaranteed top-9 roles. I would not be surprised to see Dougie's deal be 2 years at ~$6m or 5+ years at the jackpot, $7.5m+ figure - either one is a win for the Bruins IMHO.
 
In terms of the Bruins' offseason, obviously it's impossible to predict, but I think we'll see a few developments:
 
1) Chris Kelly is dealt to a cap floor team, taking advantage of his $2.5m salary in real money for cap relief. Joonas Kemppainen wins the 4th line center job in camp.
2) A top-4 defender is brought in to take advantage of that additional cap space, likely with some combination of Reilly Smith, picks, and probably Alex Khokhlachev going the other way. I see this guy being in the mold of Matt Bartkowski with the ability to make a breakout pass, someone like Kris Russell prior to his breakout with Calgary. Candidates include Brandon Gormley, Jared Spurgeon, Mattias Ekholm, Connor Murphy (unlikely), Carl Gunnarsson, etc.
3) A significant trade is made on the forward side where either Lucic or Eriksson is dealt in a package to bring back a similarly-priced, high-upside forward.
 
Lastly, I think Savard gets dealt to a cap floor team.

 

[BoSoxFink]

I can't believe some people are willing to walk away if someone offer sheets Dougie. He is a sure thing. You should always take the sure thing over potential draft picks that you have no idea who they will be.

 

[BoSoxFink]

Quick question as I haven't been able to find the answer online. Are teams able to start completing trades right after the last game of the season?

 

[veritas]

I can't believe some people are willing to walk away if someone offer sheets Dougie. He is a sure thing. You should always take the sure thing over potential draft picks that you have no idea who they will be.

 
Think about it this way, would you give up 4 first rounders to pay a Dougie clone 9.1 mil for the next 5 years? The answer should be hell no, and that's why you'd let him walk if someone did something dumb like that. And that's the sort of offer sheet that is terrifying, some small market team with tons of cap space trying to make a splash. Or, Philly pulling $9.1m in cap space out of their ass like they always seem to do.
 
It's going to be fascinating if it gets to that point what sort of offer sheets he'll actually get. I don't really think any of the comps floated around are great examples. Subban never was an RFA and got 8/72 but he was a superior player at that point, three years older, and was in a very unique situation with that arbitration and impending UFA status. Pietrangelo is the closest comp but didn't have the upside Hamilton has, IMO.

 

[McDrew]

As far as I know, the only trade freeze is the christmas one from the 19th-27th of december. 
If you trade after the deadline, players are ineligible for the postseason.  I think that's not a problem for 28 teams right now. 

 

[Eddie Jurak]

 
Think about it this way, would you give up 4 first rounders to pay a Dougie clone 9.1 mil for the next 5 years? The answer should be hell no, and that's why you'd let him walk if someone did something dumb like that. And that's the sort of offer sheet that is terrifying, some small market team with tons of cap space trying to make a splash. Or, Philly pulling $9.1m in cap space out of their ass like they always seem to do.
 
It's going to be fascinating if it gets to that point what sort of offer sheets he'll actually get. I don't really think any of the comps floated around are great examples. Subban never was an RFA and got 8/72 but he was a superior player at that point, three years older, and was in a very unique situation with that arbitration and impending UFA status. Pietrangelo is the closest comp but didn't have the upside Hamilton has, IMO.

That's the challenge. At what point are you paying Hamilton so much that you cannot field a competitive team around him? On the Bruins, that might be a lower number than for some other teams, because of their poor recent record in drafting/development and their many big contracts. Can we sign Hamilton this year AND Krug next year, or does singing Hamilton mean that Krug walks? I'd like to see both kept long term and I'd be willing to offload some higher priced forwards to make it happen. But at some point the price could gets so high it would be better to just take the picks.