Offseason 20-21

[harmfuljays]

Well a lot of swinging but a whole lot of missing.....Bruins were in on Hall and Ekman-Larson...and then out...they passed on Krug with both sides feigning interest but seeming to sour on each other a long time ago.

The draft was fairly pedestrian.....

https://www.stanleycupofchowder.com/202 ... ree-agency" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

They did quietly sign Craig Smith who should help the vapid 3rd and 4th lines.

Chara still isn't signed....with the subtraction of Chara and Krug...you are left with a D led by McAvoy and Carlo.....and then off a cliff(ton). Which led them to resign Kevan Miller to a 1 year deal.

Luckily Krejci and Rask come off the books this year....14.2 Million dollars....so the Bruins are playing nice with Rask (after the bubble bailout) so he doesn't mail it in on the last year.

Jake Debrusk, and Grezyleckckckckckk are RFAs. Grzelcyk is a keeper at this point.

Patrice is 35 years old now and he's still a 30 goal scorer. Only 2 more years of his humble awesomeness left.

Definitely a crossroads in Beantown.

[harmfuljays]

Jeeesh......

https://www.nhl.com/news/bruins-david-p ... -319449742" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

5 months? February at the earliest? Might as well forget about it for next year.......probably a good thing Don and Cam aren't spending a lot of money.....

I think the window is officially closed.

[E.L.]

Wow. That's huge. Can Bergeron and Krejci hold down the fort till then?

[harmfuljays]

Wow. That's huge. Can Bergeron and Krejci hold down the fort till then?

35 and 34 respectively.......no way and that's no offense ( ) to either guy. With secondary scoring already an issue there is no way you replace guys like Marchand and Pastrnak. I knew the descent over the backside was coming...but hell....its like the morning after taco bell. Too bad....Habs are on their way up finally. Eh whatever...its been a good ride.....hopefully Don isn't too much of a buffoon during the rebuild.

[Fogghorn]

Seems to me the ideal time to start a rebuild is when a team has just turned the corner on cup contention and on the downhill slide. Still capable of making the playoffs and winning a round or two but not the cup. They should at that point trade off all their still highly value assets before they depreciate too much and make the rebuild as quick as possible. This would seem to be what the Bruins should be doing. Except they have 10 million in cap space according to CapFriendly. Is it possible that come trade deadline they are able to use that cap space to pick up some good deals and put themselves back into contention for one more shot at a cup? If I was GM I'd probably play this year out and see what the landscape looks like later. Perhaps next year is the time to dismantle and rebuild?

[E.L.]

Seems to me the ideal time to start a rebuild is when a team has just turned the corner on cup contention and on the downhill slide. Still capable of making the playoffs and winning a round or two but not the cup. They should at that point trade off all their still highly value assets before they depreciate too much and make the rebuild as quick as possible. This would seem to be what the Bruins should be doing. Except they have 10 million in cap space according to CapFriendly. Is it possible that come trade deadline they are able to use that cap space to pick up some good deals and put themselves back into contention for one more shot at a cup? If I was GM I'd probably play this year out and see what the landscape looks like later. Perhaps next year is the time to dismantle and rebuild?

There's still Hoffman and Dadonov on the market, if they want some goals right now.

[Pokecheque]

What's the scouting report on Lauzon? NHL Network had him on the top pairing with McAvoy. Is he that good?

The Smith signing was universally praised by the pundits, but now it's looking downright necessary with all those injuries.

At this point ya may as well just re-sign Chara and give him what by all accounts appears to be a swan song. I don't think it hurts the team any and with Krug gone it might be needed.

[harmfuljays]

NHL is hitting the pipe. Lauzon hasn't even had a full season in the NHL yet....he's no Makar!

I would assume Chara comes back and Gryzleck is signed through Arbitration or what not. Nobody internally is a replacement for Torey and UFA signings have also sailed there. That should at least make the D viable for another season.

I don't have any idea why they wouldn't keep Debrusk around as Marchand and Pastrnak out for the first month or 2 they are going to need all hands on deck and then some.

I think Don and Cam know that the end is coming and they're hedging their bets that this team can still be competitive for now as Fogg said. They have money but I think a lot of UFAs know that its teetering there and lets face it the bubble attitude wasn't a good look for them. So it isn't like they didn't try in Free Agency (the bubble is open for debate)....they just didn't get anywhere with it. I think their assets have their best years behind them at this point so this is going to be Red Wings tough when it comes.

Perhaps we'll get a Habs/B's re-ignition this year as they pass each other.

[E.L.]

Grzelcyk signs for 4 years, 3.867M AAV.

He'll be needed more now so he could exceed the value of that deal if he plays relatively well.

[harmfuljays]

Well this team has gone from a perennial contender to a don't know if they even get to the playoffs this year.

Brief comment on Chara. I could see why (if you were the Avalanche) but not bringing him back in a reduced role when your bottom 6 looks like Lauzon and Clifton......and just letting a long time Captain walk? Seems questionable at best. Hell they even could have told him.....look cough up your C because Bergy needs it.

A past his prime Krejci, and an aging Bergeron/Rask combo are going to have to play 5-10 years younger to keep this team at the expected level. I am certainly not sold on Jake Debrusk either so we'll see where that goes.

Good news is that Pastrnak (hip) is ahead of recovery schedule and Marchand (hernia) should be ready for the start....because this year they are going to earn their money.

Good times are more than likely over so its time to adjust expectations. Thank God we don't get our balls punted by the Habs repeatedly this year.

[Fogghorn]

Login in and 5 Harmy posts. Back with a built up bang.

This is not going to be a quick rebuild. Its really time for them to ship off all useful pieces for picks and prospects to make the painful turnaround as quick as possible.

[E.L.]

You guys don't think they've got one more shot in them? Losing Krug might do them in, but I still think Bergeron, Krejci, Marchand, Pastrnak, Raskalak can get it done. I like their secondary scoring in Coyle, Debrusk, Smith, Kase too.

[harmfuljays]

The Massmutual East is a tough sell and I think they are going to find it hard just to get in out of this division. You've got 3 recent cup contenders in this division, 3 up and comers and 2 that probably aren't going to be very good. I can't sit here and say that the Bruins are better than any of the other 5 teams.....but Pitt may also be on the cusp. Still that means Boston has to outdo WSH, BUF, PHI, and NYI........guess it all depends on how well BUF improves and how far PIT falls.