2022-23 Bruins Season

biff_hardbody

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Apr 27, 2016
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Kane is a great hockey fit but for reasons mentioned above, might be a questionable locker room fit. If the Bs were adding him as depth (I.e. the trade was for Reilly, Smith, futures/prospects) I could see it improving this team. If it is upgrading Debrusk for Kane, I would be much less enthusiastic because it doesn't add an additional top 6 forward, and Debrusk is playing well and seems like he's a great fit in the room. Any deals to improve this team should be focused on depth and preparing for inevitable injuries, imo.

Is trading for Karlsson a possibility at all?
 

Salem's Lot

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Kane is a great hockey fit but for reasons mentioned above, might be a questionable locker room fit. If the Bs were adding him as depth (I.e. the trade was for Reilly, Smith, futures/prospects) I could see it improving this team. If it is upgrading Debrusk for Kane, I would be much less enthusiastic because it doesn't add an additional top 6 forward, and Debrusk is playing well and seems like he's a great fit in the room. Any deals to improve this team should be focused on depth and preparing for inevitable injuries, imo.

Is trading for Karlsson a possibility at all?
He has 4 more remaining years on his deal at $11.5 million on the cap, so realistically no.
 

cshea

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Let's have some fun.

I tried to dig into what a Patrick Kane trade might look like. I don't think there's a such thing as an over-the-top trade in hockey but this might be close. It would be shades of Iginla to Pittsburgh in 2013 and we know how that worked out for Pittsburgh.

Let's start with Kane. The first hurdle is his full no-move. Given he's a 3-time Cup winner he may not want to chase a 4th, or may not prioritize winning if he does agree or want to be moved. I have no clue what he thinks of Boston. He's from Buffalo and a lot of speculation has been he'd end up there in free agency or the Rangers. At the very least, it willing limit his trade market. The next factor that will limit his market is the $10.5 million cap hit. The maximum Chicago can retain is 50%, so it'd be $5.25 million in that case. In terms of actual cash owed, he's pretty cheap. Chicago paid him a $4 million bonus in July and thus his salary this season is only $2.9 million. Acquiring team would only be responsible for the remainder of that salary. I think the cap hit + no move is going to severly limit the market and also the return to Chicago.

On the Bruins side, the biggest hurdle is the cap. They are currently $1.3 million over the cap. Assuming Chicago retains 50%, that means the Bruins would need to move a minimum of $6.5 million just to fit Kane in. Reilly and Smith seem like obvious candidates to be traded and they combine for a $6.1 million cap hit. Reilly is already in the AHL and Smith can't get on the ice for Boston having only played in 10 of 19 ganes (1 or 2 games missed were injury related). Chicago may find some utility for Reilly. He's got an extra year on his contract, Chicago is thin on D and could see him as a pump and dump candidate at next year's deadline. I'm not sure they'd be all that interested in Smith as a pending UFA unless the deal came together in advance of the deadline and Chicago could flip him elsewhere. I think it would make more sense for the Bruins to move these 2 in other deals though. Chicago would probably view both as having negative value and thus increase the return to Kane. The Bruins may be able to squeeze out some value elsewhere for Reilly and more likely Smith.

As for the actual return to Chicago, I don't think it'd be an awful lot. The best we can use for a comp is the Giroux trade last season. Very similar circumstance. Franchise legend with a big expiring salary on a bad team. That trade was:

To Florida: Claude Giroux 50% retained, German Rubstov, Connor Bunnaman, 2024 5th
To Philly: 2024 conditional 1st, 2023 3rd, Owen Tippett

So a top pick a minimum of 3 drafts a way, a mid round pick a year away and a post-hype prospect in Tippett is all it took to get Giroux at 50% retained and a couple of AHL fillers (Rubstov a poor mans Tippett- former 1st round pick who struggled mightily in the AHL).

I bet a future first would be more than enough for Chicago. 2023 is reportedly a deep draft but if I was Chicago a 2024 or 2025 draft pick from Boston might be more appealing given the window for Boston. I'd rather roll the dice on that then taking a pick that's likely in the high 20's this year. Toss in a mid level prospect and I think that'd wrap it up.
 

cshea

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In other news, Forbort is with the team and practiced with contact. Monty says Forbort is "not close" but I suspect he's back sooner rather than later. For Marchand and McAvoy it was about 7-10 days from returning to practice with contact to playing in a game and those two were coming off much longer rehabs and hadn't played. Forbort will need some time but already has some sort game shape since he's played this season.

~$1.3 million they need to shed to be able to activate him. The clock is ticking on moving Reilly.
 

joe dokes

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In other news, Forbort is with the team and practiced with contact. Monty says Forbort is "not close" but I suspect he's back sooner rather than later. For Marchand and McAvoy it was about 7-10 days from returning to practice with contact to playing in a game and those two were coming off much longer rehabs and hadn't played. Forbort will need some time but already has some sort game shape since he's played this season.

~$1.3 million they need to shed to be able to activate him. The clock is ticking on moving Reilly.
He has a sense of humor, too:
SUNRISE, Fla. — Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort, his broken finger healed well enough, practiced Tuesday for the first time since he was hurt three weeks ago.
Wearing a plastic splint underneath his glove, Forbort took to the ice at FLA Live Arena. During the first drill involving goalies, he launched a slapper at the net and snapped his stick in two.
“This,” Forbort joked, “is what happens when you have a bionic finger.”
Coach, too:
“There’s no updated timeline on him,” said Montgomery, adding that it was a good sign Forbort could stickhandle and make passes. “Still can’t shoot,” he said, before adding a joke. “Couldn’t before, either.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/11/22/sports/derek-forbort-is-able-practice-with-bruins-cant-put-his-finger-return-date/
 

tonyandpals

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I see them on bostonprohop for presale, and says they'll ship on 12/1. Anyone know if they hit the actual pro-shop that date as well? Need to pick up a 73 for an xmas present and of course they don't have the size I need. Going to the 12/3 game and was hoping to pick it up then.
 

cshea

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I think Capmagedon is here for the Bruins. Monty said over the weekend that Forbort would return "by Saturday" and today he is practicing with Clifton which suggests he's ready to go in tomorrow. They could drag it out for one more game but either way they need to get the maneuvering wheels in motion.

Fortunately, it seems like they dodged a bullet with Ullmark as he's back on the ice today. Frederic is also practicing. This will help the math as they don't have to also bring a player or two up from Providence.

One path to cap compliance with Forbort is by waiving Smith to Providence, but since he is injured I don't believe the CBA allows teams to waive injured players. They could LTIR him as well but that knocks him out 10 games and Monty labeled him (and Ullmark, Frederic) as day-to-day which suggests he'd be available well before the 10 games.
 

Salem's Lot

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I’m sure that every team that they talk to wants their first round pick this year in order to take on Reilly or Smith. Thanks Toronto for setting that precedent.
 

PedroSpecialK

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It would be pretty timely to find a team that needs D help and ship Carlo their way - he's really not looking like someone to have committed that term given his head injuries and diminished play since 2019.

Looking at candidates in the West, nearly everyone is at or past the cap, and most of those LTIR cases have non-year enders. Minnesota is the only one that really makes sense, and Guerin has been prone to making some odd moves... wouldn't mind flipping him there for a contract + futures.
 

cshea

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Buffalo and Ottawa have been looking around for D and have the cap space to accomodate Reilly. The problem is that both teams are rumored to be chasing after Chychrun. I think the Bruins could develop some kind of market for Reilly after Chychrun moves but I don't think Chychrun is moving in the next 24 hours.

I'm curious to see if they put Smith on waivers today. He either gets claimed and problem solved or they assign him to Providence and kick the trade down the road a little more. I'm just not sure if it's legal to waive/demote an injured player. I know you can't buyout an injured player and I'm almost positive you can't assign an inured waivers exempt player to the AHL so it would seem to follow that teams can't waive an injured player but I could be wrong.

This is kind of uncharted territory for Sweeney. He's never really made trades oustide of free agency or the deadline. He's also never executed a straight cap dump. They usually get creative and incorporate the cap dumps into larger deals. That feels much harder to do in November than at the deadline when he's done all the others (Beleskey for Nash; Backes for Kase; Moore for Lindholm).
 

j44thor

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Buffalo and Ottawa have been looking around for D and have the cap space to accomodate Reilly. The problem is that both teams are rumored to be chasing after Chychrun. I think the Bruins could develop some kind of market for Reilly after Chychrun moves but I don't think Chychrun is moving in the next 24 hours.

I'm curious to see if they put Smith on waivers today. He either gets claimed and problem solved or they assign him to Providence and kick the trade down the road a little more. I'm just not sure if it's legal to waive/demote an injured player. I know you can't buyout an injured player and I'm almost positive you can't assign an inured waivers exempt player to the AHL so it would seem to follow that teams can't waive an injured player but I could be wrong.

This is kind of uncharted territory for Sweeney. He's never really made trades oustide of free agency or the deadline. He's also never executed a straight cap dump. They usually get creative and incorporate the cap dumps into larger deals. That feels much harder to do in November than at the deadline when he's done all the others (Beleskey for Nash; Backes for Kase; Moore for Lindholm).
Can't they just hold out Forbort tomorrow then have a few more days to sort out the Smith injury since they don't play again until Saturday? Smith is probably healthy enough to waive at that point and you make sure Fortbort is fully back up to speed at the same time with a couple more practices under his belt.
 

joe dokes

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It would be pretty timely to find a team that needs D help and ship Carlo their way - he's really not looking like someone to have committed that term given his head injuries and diminished play since 2019.

Looking at candidates in the West, nearly everyone is at or past the cap, and most of those LTIR cases have non-year enders. Minnesota is the only one that really makes sense, and Guerin has been prone to making some odd moves... wouldn't mind flipping him there for a contract + futures.
Its less of a salary to move, but to my eyes, Zboril has been worse than Carlo.
 

cshea

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Interesting. I'm not sure how the math works. They can clear the full $1 million for Stralman off the cap but I think that still leaves them short in terms of activating Forbort. They have $1.67 million available now, need to get it above $3 million to activate Forbort. Stralman only gets them to $2.67 million.

Also if Stralman gets claimed in then puts them in a tough spot with Reilly. Losting Stralman + Reilly kinda kills the depth they've been trying to protect.
 

BostonFanInCanesLand

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Waiving Stralman ($1 million) and Waiving/Demoting Smith when healthy (Saves $1.125 million if demoted, 3.0 million if claimed) would leave them with 7 D including Forbort and 12 F. Going by Cap Friendly they’d have $762,500 available for the 13th F. Lettieri would fit - I think Lauko is about 2K too expensive. (I’m not sure what cap gymnastics they have available to scrounge up a few K).

If it plays out that way they’d have 13F/7D/2G, and 1 empty spot. Reilly and Smith (and maybe Stralman too) would be unhappy campers in the AHL but available as emergency recalls for injuries. The Bs could bide their time until other teams stop trying to gouge them. Not ideal, but possible.

If they lose Stralman on waivers and trade Reilly they’ll have their 7 plus Ahcan/Carrick/Wissmann/Wolff/Callahan. Some depth, just not as solid as the current 9. But something has to give.
 

cshea

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I *think* the Bruins are still ~$400,000 short of being able to activate Forbort with Stralman off the roster. CapFriendly is a little confusing. Their armchair GM tool says they are compliant with that swap. However, on the Bruins page if you run the math they come up ~$400,000 short. I think the latter is correct and the former is just an overall snap shot and doesn't include things like the daily cap space that was used for Lauko, Kinkaid, Renouf and any other players who spent time on the roster. I could be wrong.

So we'll see what happens. Stralman seemed like the perfect veteran to hang in the pressbox like Kampfer. He hasn't been great but I'm also surprised they are willing to risk losing him. Veteran, cheap expiring RHD, I think it's 50/50 he makes it through waivers. I thought Toronto would pick him up given their injuries and prior reported interest, but they are at 50 contracts and can't. Anyways, if the Bruins do end up losing him, they haven't cleared up the cap dilema, can't call up Rielly to replace him, and if trading Rielly is the answer to the cap dilema then they've shot their depth at the position.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Yep -- coming up with them being $438,285 short on my side. I assume Smith is waived if he is healthy enough to play, if not it gets a bit murkier.

I could see them moving Zboril for someone cheaper on a two-way or minimum deal, but even a straight swap for someone making $750k like Michael Stone only works is the trading team retains a few bucks.

It's a precarious situation for them. I still think the best value move for this team is to use Carlo as part of a package to bring in one more skilled forward, and obviously dump Reilly or Smith if that's an option with anything less than a 2nd rounder attached.
 

Jordu

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Carlo has been playing poorly but if you move him the Bruins RHD are McAvoy, Clifton and … who? Stralman if he clears waivers? Zboril on his off side? Connor Carrick?

Carlo needs to play better, and by playing better I mean make better decisions, but this team is not deep in D men. Let’s not start trading them away.
 

cshea

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SidelineCameras

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As a casual fan who understands 0% of this cap crap and gets 100% of his Bruins news from this forum, I would once again like to thank cshea and others for all of the work they do here.
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory

cshea

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I don't think the Bruins will agree to a mutual termination. They have no incentive to, other than being nice to a veteran. He's better than most 8/9 guys in the league. Additionally, on Stralman's side, he's already signed on the cheap and just went unclaimed through waivers so I'm not sure he'd find employment easily elsewhere.

My guess is the Bruins will tell the Stralman camp that he is first up when they get the cap space, either via an injury or a trade. He either accepts or retires.
 

cshea

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Given the choice, I'd rather lose him than Reilly. But, when all this injury-return started, there didnt seem to be any realistic way that all 9 D would still be in the organization.Yet somehow, here they are.
They aren't totally out of the woods just yet. They are compliant but they don't have enough cap space to call uip a player from Providence if someone gets a minor injury that'll keep them out less than 10 games. They do have Zboril as an extra D plus Smith ostensibly as the extra F at the moment but he's injured. I guess they could waive Smith when he's healthy to give them a little breathing room. Nobody on the current roster can be sent to the minors without waivers.

We'll see what happens with these guys in the AHL. Reilly asked for a trade but has been a good soldier thusfar, appearing in 4 AHL games. Stralman's agent indicated Stralman may not be too enthused by the situation. Who knows how Smith would react if he's next.

One kind of interesting aspect to all this is having these guys around (Smith and Reilly in particular) gives the Bruins some dead salary to use in trades. I noted earlier that Sweeney's cap dumps have all come in trades where the Bruins land their deadline prize. Having those two guys around would help match salary if the Bruins are looking to add a player making a decent salary. Just something to maybe think about.
 

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kenneycb

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Do people take offense with Jack callinhim fat or how he did it? If he’s fat and out of shape that should be fair game given athletes generally need to be in good shape to be good at their jobs.
 

NickEsasky

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Do people take offense with Jack callinhim fat or how he did it? If he’s fat and out of shape that should be fair game given athletes generally need to be in good shape to be good at their jobs.
It’s not like it’s offensive but it makes Jack look like a clown. I’m sure there are plenty of chubby kids watching the broadcast who don’t need to hear that stuff from the home play by play guy. Kudos to Maroon for taking the high road and donating to a charity.
 

lexrageorge

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Edwards carried the comment about Maroon's weight a bit too far in the broadcast, IMO. An apology and donation should suffice; it's hardly a fireable offense.
 

Haunted

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Edwards carried the comment about Maroon's weight a bit too far in the broadcast, IMO. An apology and donation should suffice; it's hardly a fireable offense.
Agreed. "I said something stupid and mean and unnecessary and I apologize and will match Pat's donation (in his name!)."
 

jk333

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It’s not like it’s offensive but it makes Jack look like a clown. I’m sure there are plenty of chubby kids watching the broadcast who don’t need to hear that stuff from the home play by play guy. Kudos to Maroon for taking the high road and donating to a charity.
Exactly my take. Credit to Maroon, although I recall hating him for 2019.
 

locknload

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Part of the reason I hated him was that he's a mountain of a man that krug couldn't move out from in front the net. That was his job, be immovable out front, screen the goalie, tip pucks put home rebounds and he's really really good at it. If he was 180 he wouldn't be as effective. Just make a donation and this is nothing.
 

Jettisoned

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Does Jack Edwards have a health issue? I haven't heard him in a few years and he speaks noticeably slower in that clip than he has in the past.