The trade winds are blowing, free agency is less than a month away and the NHL draft stands just a few weeks away, and this year there’s a little extra spice thrown in with an expansion draft going down during the NHL Awards show.
With that in mind, it’s an opportune time for another edition of the Hagg Bag mailbag, where the questions and theories floated by you, the fan, play a starring role and I do my best to answer any questions that come my way. As always these are real tweets sent to my Twitter account using the #HaggBag hashtag, real questions emailed to my account at jhaggerty@comcastsportsnet.com and messages sent to my CSN Facebook page. Without further ado, it’s on to the mailbag:
Hey Haggs are the @NHLBruins going to make some moves? Or are they going to stay young? They have a good core! Just asking
--Gene Walbert (@GeneWalbert)
JH: Hey Gene...You are more than within your rights to ask! I don’t see the two things as mutually exclusive, so they can do both. I certainly think the youth movement is here to stay after Brandon Carlo, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Charlie McAvoy, among others, were introduced last season. They'll also have another wave - Jake DeBrusk, Zach Senyshyn and Anders Bjork - ready to help and contribute this season.
None of those players are going to get moved and they figure into Boston’s future in a big way. That’s a good thing as it will be a mixture of grizzled Cup veterans like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand coupled with the next generation of Bruins that will ultimately get the B’s where they want to go. But this team also badly needs a top-six left wing that can put the puck in the net and they need a left-side defenseman that can play top-four minutes and allow Torey Krug to settle back into a bottom-pairing role that probably suits him best.
Perhaps the Bruins eventually settle for an in-house solution at left wing and go through DeBrusk or Bjork, or give a healthy Frank Vatrano another shot, before outsourcing that position in the regular season. At some point, David Krejci should be able to make some of these young players better and put them in positions to succeed. That’s what you expect from the highest-paid forward on your team, right?
Boston Bruins
I fully expect the Bruins to make a move for a defenseman this summer, however. Names like Jonas Brodin, Sami Vatanen, Tyson Barrie and Matthew Dumba are expected to get moved this summer. There are even some minor rumblings that a top-notch player like Oliver Ekman-Larsson could get moved from Arizona.
The Bruins and Don Sweeney need to be ready to make a move if the right player becomes available. That means being flexible about what kind of assets (first-round picks, NHL assets such as Ryan Spooner or even Vatrano, and some prospects) they’re willing to give up. I also think the B’s are actively looking for trades to unload some forwards (Spooner/Jimmy Hayes) and perhaps a defenseman such as Adam McQuaid, as well, as they look to unload some salary and roster surpluses. The only caution here is that Sweeney has been very mixed in his NHL moves since taking over the GM job and I don’t think any Bruins fan should be hoping for a smorgasbord of trades this summer that involve the Black and Gold. Sweeney is improving in that department but his strong suit is still most definitely draft and development as the results are beginning to show in Boston.
Let me say how much of a pleasure it is to have [PK Subban] out of Montreal, making openly cheering for the guy socially acceptable in New England
--Corey (@cheaward)
JH: I agree. It’s much easier to enjoy PK getting in Sidney Crosby’s face and concocting the whole Listerine saga when he’s no longer involved with Les Habitants. On top of that, he’s continuing to be involved in a big way with the children’s hospital in Montreal and brings added, needed personality to the big stage of the Stanley Cup Final. I think Subban going to Nashville was the best thing for everybody involved, outside of those poor slobs up in Montreal that is. How aggravated must they be watching the Final from the outside with their beloved PK involved and all they got was a lousy first-round exit from the playoffs.
Dear Joe,
Happy offseason! For the first time in a while, I can actually say I am incredibly thrilled with where the Bruins are now with guys like McAvoy and Carlo in the picture. It's exciting. The Bruins are finally flushed with youth + up-and-coming prospects. So my question to you is what exactly do you see them doing this offseason? My hope is the get a defensive partner for Charlie McAvoy, and there's a guy named Karl Alzner who fits that bill perfectly with his size, skating and no-nonsense style. He'll be looking to get paid, and the Bruins have money. Let's say 5 million per for 5 years. Then, I also see them signing a veteran winger, dare I say Justin Williams or Patrick Sharp? Yes, I know we have to re-sign Pastrnak, but the cap is looking to be at around $77 million. Here's how I see the lineup for next year:
BMarchand. PBergeron. JWilliams/PSharp.
JDeBrusk. DKrejci. DPastrnak.
FVatrano. DBackes. NAcciari.
MBeleskey. RNash. Ryan White/Ryan Reaves.
KAlzner. CMcAvoy.
ZChara. BCarlo.
TKrug. AMcQuaid/KMiller
The Bruins need a character player for the 4th line similar to Matt Martin. The impact he has had on that young Toronto team is incredible, they know they don't have to worry because of his nasty disposition. So a guy like Ryan White, Ryan Reaves or Tanner Glass will go a very long way for the Bruins. I expect my Boston Bruins to have more nasty. And Neely should as well. Having a player like this gives them an identity to build on.
But all in all, that is a very good squad. I would expect them to make a serious run to tell you the god honest truth. Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks - Tommy.
JH: Interesting, Tommy. I think these would be great moves if you’re building a Bruins team while playing a full season in a video game, or if you’re playing fantasy hockey. On paper, the Bruins would be better with these free agents, but they don’t have the money to land two big time free agents and re-sign David Pastrnak as well. They just don’t. Alzner will get more money and term than I think you’ve got him down for and I don’t think you want to get locked into a super-long deal with a veteran when you’ve got some left-side D-men coming in the next couple of years. You might even re-sign Zdeno Chara for another year or two, which would mitigate some of the dire need for a big-name left shot-D-man.
A Ryan Reaves-type on the fourth line is interesting and something I could get behind for the Black and Gold. I’d really like for them to get a fourth line/energy player and Reeves isn't going to break your bank either. The Bruins could use that kind of swaggering tough guy presence in their everyday lineup, even if they do have some very tough customers already in Adam McQuaid, David Backes, Kevan Miller and others.
I think trade is the route that the Bruins should be going to improve their roster. They had to overpay for Backes and Matt Beleskey to get them as unrestricted free agents and I don’t want to see them do that again with another player when they already have plenty of things going for them. That’s what free agency is at its heart: A license to overpay for players that you’ll be looking to move on from in just a few years.
The best free-agent signings aren’t the big-ticket ones, but the afterthoughts like the two-year deal Riley Nash signed on July 1 or the one-year deal Dominic Moore got later on in the summer that seemed unnecessary at the time. Instead, Moore became a fixture on the fourth line and a very useful player at a bargain-basement cost. Those are the kinds of free agents that the Bruins should spend their time seeking and signing, just as they gave up next-to-nothing for a productive trade-deadline acquisition in Drew Stafford as well.
Joe I am a diehard Bruins Fan!! Joe how good do you think the Bruins are going to be next season?
--Colin Thompson (@bbruins1011)
JH: Well, I think they’ll generally be in the same spot at the end of the season. They should be a playoff team again and I expect they’ll be a wild-card team or one of the lower seeds in the Atlantic Division. It’s tough to forecast at this point until we see what the Canadiens, Senators, Maple Leafs, Panthers and Lightning do this offseason and whether the Sabres can finally get it together. Still, it’s fair to assume that most of those teams are going to get better with the Leafs poised to really make a jump and the Lightning expected to bounce-back from last year’s injury-riddled mess.
So, the Bruins need to improve if they hope for even the status quo and I don’t think anybody would be satisfied with just that. The hope is that McAvoy, Carlo and perhaps another young player or two, Bjork or DeBrusk perhaps, will develop to where the Bruins can push for a deeper run into the postseason. That being said, if the B’s lose three of their top-four defensemen at the start of next season’s playoff run. then I’m not sure I like their chances of advancing then either.
As it turned out, the Bruins had a good showing against a pretty good team in Ottawa and should have “diehard Bruins fans” jacked and pumped about next season. I liked what I saw once Bruce Cassidy took over and you should too.
Hey Joe
With the expansion draft coming up, the real question that's come to mind is who do they keep and who do they say goodbye to? (Obviously, you have your players with no movement clauses). But with the NHL getting younger and faster, that's why I think the Bruins should follow that trend and continue to build on that with all of the bright young prospects that the Bruins have been stockpiling. So here's my list of Bruins they should/have to protect:
Forwards:
1. Bergeron
2. Marchand
3. Krejci
4. Backes
5. Pastrnak
6. Spooner
7. Schaller
Defense:
1. Chara
2. Krug
3. C.Miller
Goalie:
1. Rask
The last forward spot really could be a toss-up considering Nash and Schaller had some bright spots this year, but I went with Schaller cause had a great physical presence and crashed the net really well.
But I want to know your opinion. I trust your insight and think that you can provide reasoning to why or why not my predicted selections were good for the team.
Thank You!
-Christian
JH: Hey Christian. My list will be close to yours, but I think they will protect Matt Beleskey because he could still have trade value rather than simply losing him for nothing in the expansion draft. I wouldn’t worry about Tim Schaller getting plucked in the expansion draft, so I think you’ll be able to keep him without using the spot. If it’s between Schaller and Nash, I’m fairly certain the Bruins would protect Nash. I also think they’ll protect Kevan Miller because he’s a good third-pairing defenseman with Krug that can play up in emergencies, provides needed toughness and has become a quiet, strong leader in the Bruins dressing room.
In Colin Miller’s case, I get why you’d want to protect him and that would be the toughest choice for me. But Miller has shown only marginal improvement in decision-making and hockey instincts the past couple of seasons and may just always be a talent tease with a bazooka slap shot and great skating speed that doesn't necessarily translate into consistent production. Besides, with Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy ahead of him, it sure doesn’t look like Miller is going to get a chance to develop as a top-four, right-shot defenseman anytime over the next decade.
Ideally, you’d like to keep him or get value for Miller in return if lost in the expansion draft, but it would hurt your NHL team at a more demonstrable level if you were to lose Kevan Miller from your roster. I think that’s the way you have to view this right now.
Here is my expansion protection list:
Forwards: Bergeron (no-move clause), Krejci (NMC), Backes (NMC), Marchand, Pastrnak, Spooner and Beleskey.
Defensemen: Chara (NMC), Krug and Kevan Miller.
Goalie: Tuukka Rask.
Thanks to everybody for the questions this week, we’ll do this again after the draft in a couple of weeks!