2019-2020 Bruins

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A trade for Hall would be massive, especially considering NJ would have to retain a lot of salary. The Bruins don't have the high end prospect I think it would take, so it'd have to either be a large package of prospects or someone on the NHL roster.

Probably *at least* Studnicka/Vaak, another good prospect (Beecher/Keyser), and a 1st. If we're talking strictly prospects...

Here's a crazy idea that could make sense for both teams: DeBrusk 1 for 1.

edit: FWIW, my money is on Colorado. They have the cap space and prospects
Considering the whole Kessel draft pick saga having the Bruins ending up with both Hall and Seguin (even if not at the same time) would be something
 

cshea

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A trade for Hall would be massive, especially considering NJ would have to retain a lot of salary. The Bruins don't have the high end prospect I think it would take, so it'd have to either be a large package of prospects or someone on the NHL roster.

Probably *at least* Studnicka/Vaak, another good prospect (Beecher/Keyser), and a 1st. If we're talking strictly prospects...

Here's a crazy idea that could make sense for both teams: DeBrusk 1 for 1.

edit: FWIW, my money is on Colorado. They have the cap space and prospects
I think it’d be cheaper than that. A signed Mark Stone returned Brannstrom and a 2020 2nd. The Bruins don’t have a Brannstrom type prospect, but Brannstrom also isn’t a can’t miss blue chipper. Duchene returned 2 1st (second one was conditional on him re-signing in Columbus) and 2 B/C rated prospects. FWIW, Pronman has Zboril, Shen, Steen, Swayman in the same tier as Abramov and Davidsson who were the two CBJ prospects Ottawa received in the Duchene deal.

Hall is better than Duchene and probably closer to value with Stone, but I don’t think the Bruins would need to sell the farm. I think they could get creative if they chose to go down this route and not include Vaakanainen, Studnicka or Beecher. The question is more or less whether it makes sense to target Hall. MVP caliber player but is he really the right fit given they are deep at LW and thin at RW?
 

RedOctober3829

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I think it’d be cheaper than that. A signed Mark Stone returned Brannstrom and a 2020 2nd. The Bruins don’t have a Brannstrom type prospect, but Brannstrom also isn’t a can’t miss blue chipper. Duchene returned 2 1st (second one was conditional on him re-signing in Columbus) and 2 B/C rated prospects. FWIW, Pronman has Zboril, Shen, Steen, Swayman in the same tier as Abramov and Davidsson who were the two CBJ prospects Ottawa received in the Duchene deal.

Hall is better than Duchene and probably closer to value with Stone, but I don’t think the Bruins would need to sell the farm. I think they could get creative if they chose to go down this route and not include Vaakanainen, Studnicka or Beecher. The question is more or less whether it makes sense to target Hall. MVP caliber player but is he really the right fit given they are deep at LW and thin at RW?
Can any of the current LWs or Hall play on the right side?
 

veritas

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I think it’d be cheaper than that. A signed Mark Stone returned Brannstrom and a 2020 2nd. The Bruins don’t have a Brannstrom type prospect, but Brannstrom also isn’t a can’t miss blue chipper. Duchene returned 2 1st (second one was conditional on him re-signing in Columbus) and 2 B/C rated prospects. FWIW, Pronman has Zboril, Shen, Steen, Swayman in the same tier as Abramov and Davidsson who were the two CBJ prospects Ottawa received in the Duchene deal.

Hall is better than Duchene and probably closer to value with Stone, but I don’t think the Bruins would need to sell the farm. I think they could get creative if they chose to go down this route and not include Vaakanainen, Studnicka or Beecher. The question is more or less whether it makes sense to target Hall. MVP caliber player but is he really the right fit given they are deep at LW and thin at RW?
Yeah maybe my estimate was a bit steep, but I was factoring in the salary NJ would have to retain, and assuming a deal would be happening soon, so a team would be getting closer to a full season of Hall. IIRC, the Bruins did offer one of Vaak/Stud for Stone, and it wasn't enough (or Ottawa was being stupid about trading in their division again)
 

veritas

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Can any of the current LWs or Hall play on the right side?
I'm sure Hall could, but he's a left wing. And none of the many LWs the Bruins have seem to be comfortable on the right. Heinen seems the least affected by it.

I think Tyler Toffoli would be a better fit and cheaper than Hall. Would really be perfect to play with Krejci and DeBrusk, he's a huge shot quality driver and natural right wing.
 

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I'm sure Hall could, but he's a left wing. And none of the many LWs the Bruins have seem to be comfortable on the right. Heinen seems the least affected by it.

I think Tyler Toffoli would be a better fit and cheaper than Hall. Would really be perfect to play with Krejci and DeBrusk, he's a huge shot quality driver and natural right wing.
I like Toffoli. He’s in the last year of his deal at a $4.8 million cap hit so they wouldn’t have to move too much salary to get him in.
 

cshea

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Here’s Fluto’s take, seems the Athletic has all the teams Pierre mentioned do a “what if” type piece.

View: https://twitter.com/flutoshinzawa/status/1201955545437155334?s=21


He thinks Hall would cost Vaakanainen, Lauko and 2020 1st.

I’d be more willing to include Vaakanainen if we knew what the future holds for Krug. If he’s in the cards past this season, then I can see a plausible scenario where trading Vaakanainen made some sense. They’d have Krug, Grzelyck (RFA), Moore under control through next season, plus Chara if he is still up for it. Zboril and Lauzon need new deals but would be cheap depth. Of course under this scenario Krug is retained under a large extension so Hall would become a pure rental and trading Vaakanainen for 25 games plus a playoff run of Hall is too rich for my blood.
 

TheRealness

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Here’s Fluto’s take, seems the Athletic has all the teams Pierre mentioned do a “what if” type piece.

View: https://twitter.com/flutoshinzawa/status/1201955545437155334?s=21


He thinks Hall would cost Vaakanainen, Lauko and 2020 1st.

I’d be more willing to include Vaakanainen if we knew what the future holds for Krug. If he’s in the cards past this season, then I can see a plausible scenario where trading Vaakanainen made some sense. They’d have Krug, Grzelyck (RFA), Moore under control through next season, plus Chara if he is still up for it. Zboril and Lauzon need new deals but would be cheap depth. Of course under this scenario Krug is retained under a large extension so Hall would become a pure rental and trading Vaakanainen for 25 games plus a playoff run of Hall is too rich for my blood.
I would do that trade right fucking now. No way that is what it takes. I suspect they will want Studnicka as well, and I would not trade him. I love that kid.
 

RedOctober3829

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Here’s Fluto’s take, seems the Athletic has all the teams Pierre mentioned do a “what if” type piece.

View: https://twitter.com/flutoshinzawa/status/1201955545437155334?s=21


He thinks Hall would cost Vaakanainen, Lauko and 2020 1st.

I’d be more willing to include Vaakanainen if we knew what the future holds for Krug. If he’s in the cards past this season, then I can see a plausible scenario where trading Vaakanainen made some sense. They’d have Krug, Grzelyck (RFA), Moore under control through next season, plus Chara if he is still up for it. Zboril and Lauzon need new deals but would be cheap depth. Of course under this scenario Krug is retained under a large extension so Hall would become a pure rental and trading Vaakanainen for 25 games plus a playoff run of Hall is too rich for my blood.
Would they consider putting Krug in a deal for Hall? You'd be picking a signed Hall over Krug long-term in any deal you'd be making anyways. From the Devils point of view, they aren't going anywhere so they'd have the ability to flip Krug to the highest bidder at the deadline. Including Krug would keep Vaak out of the deal as well. Long-term, does Vaak's potential approching that of Krug's? Would you rather have Krug or Hall and Vaak?
 

veritas

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Would they consider putting Krug in a deal for Hall? You'd be picking a signed Hall over Krug long-term in any deal you'd be making anyways. From the Devils point of view, they aren't going anywhere so they'd have the ability to flip Krug to the highest bidder at the deadline. Including Krug would keep Vaak out of the deal as well. Long-term, does Vaak's potential approching that of Krug's? Would you rather have Krug or Hall and Vaak?
It'd probably be simpler for the Bruins to make a Krug trade separately and free up his cap space to make things simpler with NJ. That would be very intriguing to me, I don't really see the Bruins doing that though.
 

cshea

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I think there is a 0% chance the Bruins trade Krug. They may bite the bullet and let him walk in free agency but they aren’t trading him.
 

burstnbloom

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I don't think Hall is a wise investment. He's a great player but a bit of a square peg/round hole on this roster and likely an iffy investment long term. You'd be signing him for his age 29-36 years. I like him, but he's not the guy I want to pay $10m a year. They need to be careful where they spend money these next couple of years. Tuukka, Krejci and Bergeron are going to free up a lot of cash over the next few years but they will be a bad team without some successful succession planning and I don't think that includes 2 commas for an oft injured LW going into his 30's, as good as he is.
 

PedroSpecialK

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It's gonna be a shame to lose Halak next year but he's been invaluable in keeping Tuukka fresh and giving the team as good a shot to win as Tuukka does on any given night. He deserves another payday.
 

cshea

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In hindsight, Jaro probably should’ve won a Vezina for the .908 save percentage he put up on that 17/18 Islanders team that threatened to give up 300 goals on the year.
 

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It's gonna be a shame to lose Halak next year but he's been invaluable in keeping Tuukka fresh and giving the team as good a shot to win as Tuukka does on any given night. He deserves another payday.
He might not get it though. He’s 35 in May and there’s such a bias around the league against goalies under 6 feet tall. Anyone looking at him either has a number 1 goalie already, or they have a young 6’ 2”+ guy in their system that they’d rather play. I wouldn’t be shocked if he was back next year
 

PedroSpecialK

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I disagree - IMO he's played himself into a contract similar to the one Ryan Miller signed at age 34 with Anaheim Vancouver, that one was 3 years @ $6m AAV with a modified NTC. And that was with Miller coming off a bad stint with St. Louis. 2 years, $5m is the minimum I see Halak getting

Teams that could use a goaltending upgrade next year:

Detroit (if they can ditch Bernier)
Ottawa
Washington (Holtby is UFA)
Columbus
New Jersey (Blackwood's numbers aren't great, but the team is awful)
Minnesota (if they can ditch Dubnyk)
Chicago
Vancouver
San Jose (Jones is an albatross though)
 
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stepson_and_toe

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The Bruins have turned their season around a bit. In their first 14 games, they only had one in which they didn't score in the 1st period but in their last 14, they have had seven. In their first seven games, periods 1-2-3, they scored a total of 11-5-3 goals while in their last seven games, it has been 4-7-13. They had two OTs in the first 14 and five in the last 14.
 

RedOctober3829

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The Bruins have turned their season around a bit. In their first 14 games, they only had one in which they didn't score in the 1st period but in their last 14, they have had seven. In their first seven games, periods 1-2-3, they scored a total of 11-5-3 goals while in their last seven games, it has been 4-7-13. They had two OTs in the first 14 and five in the last 14.
Are you the one that told us the Bruins weren't very good?
 

RedOctober3829

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Friedman on Taylor Hall today....whoever said Colorado was onto something. Also mentions Dallas, Arizona, and St. Louis are among the pursuers.

“He’s trying,” another GM said of Shero.
The Devils have made it clear they want first-rounders (although they are willing to discuss conditional situations, depending on the acquiring team’s ability to re-sign Hall or playoff results) and/or high-level prospects who are ready to play. They badly need defence, which is why there’s a lot of focus on Colorado as the perfect trade partner. The Avalanche have plenty of defensive prospects and think they can win. Several teams believe Arizona is making a serious effort. Hall is what they need, too. It’s believed Dallas and St. Louis are among other pursuers.
 

Joe D Reid

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Noticed they had been swapping 63/74 mid game the last few games. Wondering if they like that lineup better without 37 around?
Moving up Coyle/Heinen gives them a better two-way first line, which they're certainly used to having when Bergy's around. That second line is capable of some champagne hockey, though.
 

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I disagree - IMO he's played himself into a contract similar to the one Ryan Miller signed at age 34 with Anaheim, that one was 3 years @ $6m AAV with a modified NTC. And that was with Miller coming off a bad stint with St. Louis. 2 years, $5m is the minimum I see Halak getting
You meant Canucks right? I think they signed him for 3/18. Ducks only recently signed him for 2/4 and then again for 1/2.3.
 

stepson_and_toe

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Are you the one that told us the Bruins weren't very good?
Yep. And I'm still not convinced they are. I think they have improved in that some of the younger players and call-ups have begun to fit in but you still have a club that has 42.57% of its goals scored by just two players. This is a club that has only won 2 of the 7 overtime periods it has played and all 4 shootouts it has been in. This is a club that has also failed to score in the 1st period and only once in the 2nd period in its last four games. Rask has had a 1.83 GA in his last six games (wins, which includes one game when he allowed 4 goals) and Halak has had a 1.4 GA in his last five games (wins). So far, the team has boiled down to four players: Pastrnak and Marchand, Rask and Halak. Injuries, a slump, remember how the Blues played the Bruins in the Stanley Cup last season...it wouldn't take a lot to slow this season down.
 

NickEsasky

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So....two of the best players in the league and the second and third best goalies in the league? Yeah they suck.
 

Haunted

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They're two points out of the conference's best record despite playing two fewer games than Washington. They have the best goal differential in the conference - by 10 goals - and we're just shy of 1/3 of the way through the season. This isn't just a good run, this is a good team.
 

joe dokes

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Yep. And I'm still not convinced they are. I think they have improved in that some of the younger players and call-ups have begun to fit in but you still have a club that has 42.57% of its goals scored by just two players. This is a club that has only won 2 of the 7 overtime periods it has played and all 4 shootouts it has been in. This is a club that has also failed to score in the 1st period and only once in the 2nd period in its last four games. Rask has had a 1.83 GA in his last six games (wins, which includes one game when he allowed 4 goals) and Halak has had a 1.4 GA in his last five games (wins). So far, the team has boiled down to four players: Pastrnak and Marchand, Rask and Halak. Injuries, a slump, remember how the Blues played the Bruins in the Stanley Cup last season...it wouldn't take a lot to slow this season down.
I agree that top-heaviness might be a concern, but it's not as though the first 28 games haven't happened.
I dont see how OT and shootout records are a relevant consideration of a team's quality.

Even if they go to the Finals again and the Blues beat them in the same exact way again, that still isn't "not very good."
 

cshea

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Their 5x5 play has been middling to below average so there are some legitimate concerns, though there’s some score affects that take place since they play with the lead a ton.

3x3 and shootout performance shouldn’t be taken into consideration on how good/bad a team is.
 

Marciano490

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Yep. And I'm still not convinced they are. I think they have improved in that some of the younger players and call-ups have begun to fit in but you still have a club that has 42.57% of its goals scored by just two players. This is a club that has only won 2 of the 7 overtime periods it has played and all 4 shootouts it has been in. This is a club that has also failed to score in the 1st period and only once in the 2nd period in its last four games. Rask has had a 1.83 GA in his last six games (wins, which includes one game when he allowed 4 goals) and Halak has had a 1.4 GA in his last five games (wins). So far, the team has boiled down to four players: Pastrnak and Marchand, Rask and Halak. Injuries, a slump, remember how the Blues played the Bruins in the Stanley Cup last season...it wouldn't take a lot to slow this season down.
It’s been awhile since I played hockey or watched regularly. Do goals scored in the first period count for more now? When was that rule changed?
 

Haunted

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So....two of the best players in the league and the second and third best goalies in the league? Yeah they suck.
They have 2 of the top 5 point-getters in the league on the 2nd highest scoring offense. I mean, no shit they're accounting for a higher percentage of team goals.

The slow starts are annoying and problematic. The 5x5 play needs to improve a bit. But to say they aren't a good team is pure nonsense.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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If they are not very good, then every other team in the league is extremely not very good, which actually makes the Bruins very good. You don't compete for some Platonic ideal of being a Very Good Hockey Team.
 

DJnVa

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This is a club that has only won 2 of the 7 overtime periods it has played and all 4 shootouts it has been in.
Neither of these things have much relation to how good a hockey team they actually are. Additionally, neither of these things appear in the postseason.
 

cshea

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Good piece from Fluto on how the expansion draft and Coyle extension impacts a Krug extension.

View: https://twitter.com/theathleticbos/status/1202990857755987968?s=21


The protection rules are the same as with Vegas, either 7-3-1 or 8 skaters and a goalie. Under the 8 skater scenario with a signed Krug, upfront they’ll have to protect Coyle, Marchand and Bergeron, plus Pastrnak is a no-brainer. On defense, they protect Krug, McAvoy, Carlo, Grzelyck. That would leave DeBrusk/Heinen/Bjork unprotected. If they go 7-3-1 they would end up exposing Grzelyck. Either way they’d end up with a significant loss in the expansion draft.
 

NickEsasky

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They have 2 of the top 5 point-getters in the league on the 2nd highest scoring offense. I mean, no shit they're accounting for a higher percentage of team goals.

The slow starts are annoying and problematic. The 5x5 play needs to improve a bit. But to say they aren't a good team is pure nonsense.
I assume you were agreeing with me because I agree with every word you just wrote. The 5-on-5 scoring finally bit them in the Finals last year when the refs decided to let the Blues get away with murder, and it's a concern this year as well. But calling this team anything but good is crazy.
 

TFP

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Good piece from Fluto on how the expansion draft and Coyle extension impacts a Krug extension.

View: https://twitter.com/theathleticbos/status/1202990857755987968?s=21


The protection rules are the same as with Vegas, either 7-3-1 or 8 skaters and a goalie. Under the 8 skater scenario with a signed Krug, upfront they’ll have to protect Coyle, Marchand and Bergeron, plus Pastrnak is a no-brainer. On defense, they protect Krug, McAvoy, Carlo, Grzelyck. That would leave DeBrusk/Heinen/Bjork unprotected. If they go 7-3-1 they would end up exposing Grzelyck. Either way they’d end up with a significant loss in the expansion draft.
This assumes Krug has NMC/NTC protection. They could sign Krug and still expose him. That'd get Krug paid but the B's getting 1 more season out of him (assuming Seattle even takes him). What am I missing in that scenario?

I think they're losing someone significant either way, regardless of whether Krug is signed. In your scenario, Heinen/Bjork are getting exposed either way whether Krug is here or not.

Edit: Nevermind, they could go 7-3-1 I guess. But if they believe Krug should be here long term as a cornerstone defenseman, they'd be willing to lose Grz over him. I'd prefer not to lose Grz but I don't think he factors into the decision to sign Krug or not.
 

Haunted

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I assume you were agreeing with me because I agree with every word you just wrote. The 5-on-5 scoring finally bit them in the Finals last year when the refs decided to let the Blues get away with murder, and it's a concern this year as well. But calling this team anything but good is crazy.
Absolutely agreeing with you. Sorry if I was less than clear.
 

cshea

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This assumes Krug has NMC/NTC protection. They could sign Krug and still expose him. That'd get Krug paid but the B's getting 1 more season out of him (assuming Seattle even takes him). What am I missing in that scenario?

I think they're losing someone significant either way, regardless of whether Krug is signed. In your scenario, Heinen/Bjork are getting exposed either way whether Krug is here or not.

Edit: Nevermind, they could go 7-3-1 I guess. But if they believe Krug should be here long term as a cornerstone defenseman, they'd be willing to lose Grz over him. I'd prefer not to lose Grz but I don't think he factors into the decision to sign Krug or not.
They could also trade one of the forwards that gets left exposed to a non-Seattle and get real value back.
 

TFP

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Yeah - basically Fluto is arguing that they'd rather lose Krug for nothing after this season AND lose another player just to keep a 27 year old 3rd pairing defenseman approaching UFA. Who isn't even guaranteed to get taken (they could take Clifton for example). This isn't even factoring in the possibility that they could expose Krug as well. "They woudn't re-sign him just to expose him, so clearly they'd rather lose him for nothing this year than lose him for nothing next year".

Just an incredibly dumb article based on shitty first premise assumptions. They may/may not re-sign Krug but losing Grz in the draft isn't a consideration to me.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Even if the article missed the point, for me it underscores the flexibility Sweeney's maneuvering has given them. If the cost of an expansion draft is losing one of Heinen / Bjork or forking over a draft pick to have them take an UDFA signing in Clifton and the core stays together otherwise, that's a huge win.

Shit, even having the ability to retain Krug + Coyle without losing anyone is impressive
 

Haunted

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You need to expect to lose at least 1-2 players you wish you could hold on to, don't you? I really like Heinen, Bjork, Clifton and Gryz but let's be honest - there's little chance we get to keep them all. It's ok.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Seattle only gets to pick one player from each non-VGK team - but yeah. Felt like it ducks losing Colin Miller but they found a solid replacement for him (at least in his role w the B’s) in Clifton without much net harm.
 

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The cascading effect that Bergy being back has on the lineup is just massive. But nothing is more massive than not having to watch Lindholm on a regular basis for at least one night. I don't know that I've ever seen a player so completely devoid of all offensive skill.
 

cshea

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Kampfer cleared waivers and was assigned to Providence.

They are getting a bit healthier. Miller and a Senyshyn remain on LTIR, so Cap Friendly has them at ~$1.8 million in LTIR space at the moment. I believe Senyshyn has started to skate. I haven’t heard a thing on Miller since they shut him down a week or two ago. Seems ominous but helps them out cap wise. Kuhlman remains on regular IR, the last update on him was that he wasn't close to a return.