Is anybody else listening to Felger and Mazz? They are reporting Krejci was extended for 7 years for $43m. It's from some Czech newspaper.
Not so fast on Carl leaving just yet. If he can show the level of play he had at Center during the end of the year at the Wing position, it could really open things up for the Bruins. They could then give Spooner the pivot with Yeti and Kelly flanking him, but Carl would have to show he (1) is ok with moving to the wing, and (2) that he an be as effective. It will be fascinating to watch how they handle that third line this year, and that level of competition might prove fruitful when the regular season starts.Ed Hillel said:So, bye bye Carl next year, right? I think I would have rather paid him less and let Spooner take Krejci's spot next year, but I can't be overly upset. It's about market rate, especially when the cap rises.
TheRealness said:Not so fast on Carl leaving just yet. If he can show the level of play he had at Center during the end of the year at the Wing position, it could really open things up for the Bruins. They could then give Spooner the pivot with Yeti and Kelly flanking him, but Carl would have to show he (1) is ok with moving to the wing, and (2) that he an be as effective. It will be fascinating to watch how they handle that third line this year, and that level of competition might prove fruitful when the regular season starts.
I'm ok with the deal if it's true. $7m per year is market rate, and with Toews getting $10m you have to think the Bruins got him at a decent rate. I think it's solid all around, and as easy as it is to fall in love with Carl or Spooner, the backbone of this team has always been depth at Center and that was always due to having Bergeron and Krejci as their top two. It's smart to keep that core intact.
It is a NMC for 4 years, do you plan to trade him in the next four years? Who would you replace him with?erfus said:I am nuts according to Puck Daddy's tweet, but I hate it. Not so much the length or even the AAV but the NMC. I think the Bs are deep at center, have glaring needs at other positions, and this reduces their flexibility going forward. Good player (I would argue his skill set is not as scarce as some of his salary comparables), bad contract. Better than bad player, bad contract, but this isn't what I would've done.
PedroSpecialK said:6/$43m would be fine if there are minimal NTC/NMC conditions.
And if there's a full NMC, I'd still be glad to have him in the fold at a sub-$7.5m AAV. I love Söderberg's game, but there's still somewhat of an unknown there in terms of performance against top d-pairings.
Krejci has shown he can put up great numbers
- Julien's system and postseason contribution taken into consideration. Heck, if they're going to try and fit Spooner in, why not try out a top 9 of:
Söderberg - Krejci - Eriksson
Lucic - Bergeron - Smith
Fraser - Spooner - Marchand
Silverdude2167 said:It is a NMC for 4 years, do you plan to trade him in the next four years? Who would you replace him with?
His defensive game is underrated because of how great Bergeron and outside of last year he has been a great playoff performer. I don't think you could replace his skill set for less than this deal.
Toe Nash said:Krejci's probably already past his peak and this is a long deal. He'll have the 15th-highest cap hit among forwards when the deal kicks in. Fine if he stays close to his performance level but it's pretty risky.
If I were in charge, I wouldn't have done it, but I'd have done a lot of things differently so whatever, can't say it's unexpected. Lucic will get a lot of money in a long-term deal next year too. Just hope they have enough space left to keep Hamilton through his prime, which is possible if they don't waste money on replaceable or old guys (Kelly / Seidenberg) and the cap keeps going up.
krejci is 28 years old. Since when is 28 past your prime? Usually your prime is considered to be around 27 or 28 to 32 or 33.erfus said:
BigMike is correct, it may not be such a huge deal but I don't like the restrictive nature of that NMC or being subject to the whims of the player. To answer your question, I fundamentally don't like the talent mix in the forwards at the moment and would've looked to make a "hockey trade" over the summer. Easier typed than accomplished, but I'm disappointed they haven't added some dynamic aspects (speed, snipe) to the wing mix. I also think that center is the strongest part of their prospect pipeline and would've been more risk tolerant at that position than most fans that I'm hearing from. At this point, I have to wonder what they're going to do with Spooner and Koko who don't seem to profile well at wing based on their size and playing time in Providence.
I like Krejci, just not as much as this contract and not where the team is in the big picture.
Studies are mixed but they have pretty much all shown that forwards peak somewhere between 25 and 27 and start to drop relatively sharply around 30. It doesn't mean that Krejci is going to suddenly collapse, but his best days are likely behind him.BoSoxFink said:krejci is 28 years old. Since when is 28 past your prime? Usually your prime is considered to be around 27 or 28 to 32 or 33.
The studies include +/- as well and show the same thing. They are also PPG, not goals, so they would include assists. Any player can buck the trend but this is what we have.TheShynessClinic said:Peak SCORING performance.
My (purely pulled from my ass) estimation is in line with BigMike. Krejci gets most of his points by setting up other players and isn't as depending on him scoring the goals himself. As a result his decline (if any) will probably be less dramatic than someone who is more of a goal scorer.
Lucic I think will age horribly. Marchand probably too. Players like Bergeron, Krejci, etc less so.
TheShynessClinic said:Lucic I think will age horribly. Marchand probably too. Players like Bergeron, Krejci, etc less so.
cshea has brought this up before, but it's hard to compare PPG averages across the league when you are comparing Bruins forwards to other teams. The Bruins historically under Julien have spread the TOI around more liberally. A metric like Points per Minute or Points per Shift might be a better gauge of Bruins forwards than anything else. We've seen over and over again examples of player points being depressed under this coaching staff due to a number of variables. There almost has to be a factor calculated in when comparing the points of Bruins players to other teams in the league.Toe Nash said:The studies include +/- as well and show the same thing. They are also PPG, not goals, so they would include assists. Any player can buck the trend but this is what we have.
Brad Richards is a scary comp. He was more productive than Krejci when he signed his deal. I think true star players whose best strength is passing age well (like Oates or M Savard) because that skill doesn't really decline, but I am not sure Krejci is quite that level. Including playoffs, Krejci is a career 0.762 points per game, while Savard was 0.87 for his career. I feel like Savard was a better offensive player though.
I think Krejci will be close to this level of performance for a while, and as I said he doesn't seem a likely candidate to collapse. But I don't see him getting any better either.
The Napkin said:
At the risk of getting off topic too far I agree completely, esp with Lucic. I'm not sure I'd be all that upset if he walks in 2016 because someone is going to give him big money.
OK, fair point.FL4WL3SS said:cshea has brought this up before, but it's hard to compare PPG averages across the league when you are comparing Bruins forwards to other teams. The Bruins historically under Julien have spread the TOI around more liberally. A metric like Points per Minute or Points per Shift might be a better gauge of Bruins forwards than anything else. We've seen over and over again examples of player points being depressed under this coaching staff due to a number of variables. There almost has to be a factor calculated in when comparing the points of Bruins players to other teams in the league.
EDIT: Just looking at TOI/G stats on NHL.com, you can see 4 of the top 5 TOI/G forwards are centers. You have to go all the way to the 52nd ranked player to find the first Bruin (Krejci) with the next 2 Bruins at 89 (Iginla) and 96 (Bergeron). There is a huge disparity in TOI #'s when you talk about the Bruins vs. the rest of the league. Only 3 guys in the top 100 TOI/G.