Boston Bruins 2013-2014: Caron's Position Assured

OK, so the Bruins traded Seguin for Eriksson and signed Iginla as a free agent. The top 6 forward positions are locked. The more-than-effective forth line is intact. Soderberg was brought over to play and Kelly is a nice 5th centre to have around in case of injury (he could centre any of the four lines on a temporary basis). The defence returns 4 veterans and has 3 young players to add into that mix... to be determined...who is the 7th D. Starting goaltending is a lock and the back-up will be a two man race between Svedberg and Johnson.

In desperation for something to write about most Bruins writers want to feebly analyse who will be the third line winger to play with Soderberg and Kelly. So I will do the same. The candidates have been:

Anthony Camara...my personal favourite having seen him play in the OHL but he needs a least a year in the AHL

Ryan Spooner...a centreman who would best be left to develop in the AHL and be the first call-up in case of a centre injury

Jared Knight...who missed most of last year with injury and needs that year of AHL experience but having seen him play in the OHL he will be a good player

(...someday Camara-Spooner-Knight will be a great line for the Bruins)

Smith or Fraser...acquired from Dallas in the Seguin trade...both could have potential but if they could not crack the Dallas line-up and deliver...are they ready to play in Boston...best for them to start the year in Providence

Daniel Paille...may have earned a shot to play on the 3rd line based on his excellent playoff experience but that only changes the discussion to a slight shift of focus to who will play on the 4th line wing...the candidates are the same

Torey Krug...is my out-of-the-box-thinking candidate I wrote about in a previous article but whether the Bruins would try to convert him to a forward is not likely...but I like the idea.

So that leaves a number of very inexperienced Providence candidates or tried-them-already candidates.

Which brings us to Jordan Caron. Caron seems to be the front runner in most peoples view based on his previous experience with the big club. In 2010-11 Caron played 23 games, had 3 goals, 7 points and was a plus 3...in 2011-12 he played 48 games with 7 goals, 15 points and was a plus 0...in 2012-13 he played only 17 games scoring 1 goal, had 3 points and was a plus 1. Caron signed a one-way deal in the off season for less money than he made the previous year. Caron may be assured of a position with the club this year but as the 13th forward. He could fill-in on the 3rd or 4th lines on a temporary basis but nothing from his past contributions makes him a lock to even make the team.

So the 3rd line wing position remain a void for now. So the good news is we have something to talk about. We can only hope for someone to have a break-out year and win the position in training camp...or Chiarelli may have some more work to do on the trade front. Also don't be surprised if a veteran unsigned winger gets a try-out in camp.

Boston Bruins 2013-2014: Open Letter To Iginla and Eriksson

Welcome to Boston. There are a couple of things you should know...Bruins fans have expectations and will let you Know if you don't meet them. So as a heads up, if you want to be successful...

Hit Someone...aggressive fore-checking and throwing your body around will make you instantly accepted

Fight Someone...you don't have to win the fight just be willing to stand-up for yourself...and if you fight in the defence of a teammate you are a true Bruin

Go To The Net...we don't care how fast you can skate around the perimeter...crash the net

Score...score, score...now as you know this is the main reason you have been brought here...and if you score on the power play you get the keys to the city!

Play Defensively...You need to have a positive Plus/Minus or we will trade you to the Maple Leafs ...and nobody wants that

Third Line Winger...do you know anyone that could play wing on the third line...please give them a call... we have a terrible time filling that position...unless one of you would like to double-shift

Play Hurt...if you break your leg, finish your shift. Or if you crack your ribs and puncture your lung make sure you are back from the hospital in time for the next game


Now that is what it takes to be a Bruin. So you know what we expect...no misunderstandings...oh, one other thing...


WIN...we want the Cup!

Boston Bruins 2013-2014: Who is the 7th D ?

The Bruins identity has always been built around a strong defence. This identity is about to have a youthful overhaul. Gone is an ageing Ference, partly because of his age, but also because of the lowering salary cap. But any fan could have seen this coming. Chiarelli likes to re-up his core players before they reach their UFA date. Not re-signing Ference early was the writing on the wall for Ference. Is there a message currently being sent regarding Chiarelli's intentions regarding Seidenberg, on the last year of his contract?

The Bruins currently have four veterans returning...Chara, Seidenberg, Boychuk and McQuaid...each ensured of  a rear guard position. That leaves three youthful candidates...Hamilton, Bartkowski and Krug...for the remaining three spots. That was simple. Not quite. Do you really want a young defenseman still learning his trade to be sitting in the press box as a healthy scratch for more than half the games next year. In 2013 the 7th D was used in 28 games of the 48 game schedule. In 2011-2012 the 7th D played 37 games in the full 82 game schedule. Now I did write an article in 2012 suggesting Hamilton and Krug split the 6th and 7th D position for the coming season but I think both have moved past that point.

One solution may be to use one of the youngsters or maybe a veteran D in a trade to solidify the much discussed 3rd line wing position. But this will probably not happen until after training camp when clubs assess their needs going into the season. After all Bartkowski was a part of the ill-fated Iginla non-trade. But Bartkowski is a "Seidenberg" type D and with Seidenberg an UFA after this year the team may best be served in the long run letting Bartkowski develop with the big club as an eventual replacement for Seidenberg who will turn 33 next off season. Bartkowski paired well with Boychuk in the playoffs this past season and only got better with playing time, gaining Julien's confidence.

The answer may become very clear throughout training camp. Was Krug just a flash-in-the-pan? Will his undersize trump his skating ability in the grind of a regular season. Krug's greatest contribution has been his puck moving mobility on the power play. This is a dimension the Bruins have been sorely missing and just in itself may cement Krug's position with the big club. He pairs very well with McQuaid. Any opposing player taking a run at Krug to try to intimidate him will quickly be challenged by his defence partner. This will give Krug the time and space he requires for his game to be effective. As a third D pairing, Krug and McQuaid works well. However, since this is only words on paper let's indulge in some out-of-the-box thinking. Krug, has demonstrated his excellent skating, an ability to put the puck in the net, and a strong defensive ethic. That sounds like the ideal candidate for a third line winger. I could see Krug playing the wing with Soderberg and Kelly. At 22 he is young enough to make the adjustment. He would still be available to play the point on the power play. And if during a game a defenseman was lost due to injury or penalty, Krug could fall back to play defence. It is much easier to juggle 11 forwards than to have to play with 5 D. I like the idea. Hey Claude...

Not withstanding the aforementioned position change for Krug, that seems to leave Hamilton as the 7th D, spending the majority of his time in the press box as he did during the playoffs when Krug and Bartkowski earned the playing time from Julien. Hamilton did play 42 regular season games last year (out of 48) and as a 19-year-old rookie played well enough. Hamilton is seen as the defenseman with the most upside and the future franchise defenseman. A year in the press box will not do him any good. So the dilemma. Hamilton had to play with Boston last year or return to his junior club. Hamilton may benefit from a year with Providence on the top D pairing. Thus he would get maximum playing time and be the first call-up in case of injury.

So who is the 7th D? Don't be surprised if you see a couple unsigned veterans invited to camp for a try-out, such as Wade Redden. Or perhaps a veteran AHL D, such as Kevan Miller (25 years old) or Mike Moore (28 years old) from Providence (both with credible AHL careers), given the chance to show his worth as a possible trade piece with an occasional start. But don't doubt that if there is a long term injury Hamilton will be quickly returned to the big club. 

Boston Bruins: Xtreme Make-Over Edition – the Defense

It’s that time of year again: the Stanley Cup finals. It has been 1 year since the Bruins won a Cup. Time for change!

 Most of these offseason analyses look at who is a UFA, RFA, or available to trade. So let’s do that and more. Thanks to CapGeek.com for our data. We will break this analysis into three: the goalies; the defense; and, the offense. Last time we decided to sign RFA Rask as our number one and extend Khudobin as our backup. That commits $4 million per year for goalies and leaves Thomas available to trade. Remember this is the Xtreme Make-Over edition. Now: the Defense.

 Good-bye Corvo; good-bye Zanon; and, good-bye Mottau. Nothing worth keeping unless Mottau wants to sign a minor league deal at his current $800,000 for a year as injury back-up.

 The core of the defense has played solid and only Ference at $2.25 million has less than 2 years on his deal. Norris candidate Chara still has 5 years at his $6.9 million salary. His shutdown partner Seidenberg still has 2 years at $3.25 million. Boychuk just got an extension last year so has 3 years left at $3.4 million per.  McQuaid still has 3 years at $1.6 million per.  I’m not advocating any change to this core.

 The only question to resolve is the 6^th defensive position although there really is very little issue. Answer: Hamilton.

 That was easy.  Having been named Ontario Hockey League (OHL) defensemen of the year Hamilton will gain nothing by returning to the junior league. And he can’t be sent to Providence, where prospects go to learn how to lose, so the 6 foot 5 inch offensive-minded rookie will have to learn on-the-job. But I have a plan. To ease Hamilton into the Bruins line-up and an 82 game schedule split duties with Krug as the number 7 defenseman. Both are offensive minded. The Bruins like Krug, giving him a chance to play in a couple of games at the end of last season, where he didn’t look particularly out of place. Splitting games between Krug and Hamilton gives each 41 games, closer to their college and junior game totals, and allows each to have some time to watch the game at this level while practicing consistently with the team.  

 That would commit $20.7 million to 7 defensemen. Keeps the strong core. Infuses some needed youth and offense-minded rookies.

 So in summary Thomas is available to trade and Hamilton / Krug fill the 6^th / 7^th defensive positions. Next we look at the offense.

Boston Bruins: Xtreme Make-Over Edition – the Goalies

It’s that time of year again: the Stanley Cup finals. It has been 1 year since the Bruins won a Cup. Time for change!

 Most of these offseason analyses look at who is a UFA, RFA, or available to trade. So let’s do that and more. Thanks to CapGeek.com for our data. We will break this analysis into three: the goalies; the defense; and, the offense. Remember this is the Xtreme Make-Over edition. First: the Goalies.

 Most talk around the goalie situation revolves around whether Thomas or Rask should be traded. Now, publicly, Bruins’ management insists they want to keep the current tandem. Can’t be done!

 And trading Rask to just stupid. He has great NHL numbers and is ready to be a number one. He is your future and is signable as a RFA. Now I like Khudobin as a back-up to Rask but not as a back-up to Thomas. Thomas would need more rest and Khudobin, although he has good NHL numbers, still needs more experience to take on that workload. Meanwhile a Rask / Khudobin tandem with Rask working the vast majority of games works for me.

 However Rask, a RFA, needs to be signed to a long-term deal, maybe 5 years, at $3 million per year.  Khudobin needs to be extended beyond his current $900, 000 for 1 year; perhaps an addition 2 years at $1 million per. Khudobin’s current deal for the upcoming season is one-way, meaning he will be available to 29 other teams if the Bruins don’t keep him with the big club. Now did Chiarelli make a big mistake here or does he have a plan? A plan to trade Thomas.

 Having a great goalie is key to winning in the NHL playoffs; proven last year with Thomas’ performance and again this year with Quick and Brodeur about to face off. Now here are my other reasons to trade Thomas. Thomas, having the greatest value in trade, will bring the most return. I am in no way diminishing Thomas’ ability in my argument to trade him. Exactly the opposite actually. A traded Thomas may just go out and win a Vezina to prove a point. This is what makes him so valuable to trade even if he only has 1 year left on his contract. Thomas has 1 year at a $3 million salary but a $5 million cap hit.

 The most convincing reason for trading Thomas is in answering the following question: Does Thomas (and his agent) see his future as a back-up making $1 or $2 million over 3 years following his current deal or do they see him as a starter demanding a $5 million per year deal for an additional 3 or 4 years? I think the latter. This precludes being able to resign Rask this year and Thomas next year without tying up too much money in this current tandem. A Rask / Thomas tandem at $8 million per or a Rask / Khudobin tandem for $4 million?

 Now is the time to trade Thomas, maximize the return and use the $4 million in cap room to upgrade elsewhere. What can the Bruins’ get for Thomas? Let’s look at the defense and offense first. Maybe we can make a package deal. Next time we look at the defense.

NHL Realignment: Reading between the ”Ligns”

NHL realignment will be good for Canadian hockey fans. Just read between the lines or should that be “ligns”. The realignment being discussed this week at the NHL meetings in California would shuffle the teams into 4 conferences roughly based on geographical / time-zones.

Conference 1.      Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, Colorado and Phoenix

Conference 2.      Winnipeg, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, Columbus, Minnesota and Dallas

Conference 3.      Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Florida

Conference 4.      Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey, Washington and Carolina

The good news for Canadian hockey fans is that the two conferences in the eastern regions would have 7 teams each, compared to the central / west conferences with 8 teams each. Logic would dictate that if there were to be a relocation of a financially troubled franchise or what Mr. Bettman, always looking ahead, has as a longer range plan: expansion.  Mr. Bettman has always wanted to be the biggest, most successful North American professional league. That is his job.

The NHL is already the most international of the North American professional leagues. The NBA has 30 teams, but only one in Canada. The NFL has 32 teams, none in Canada. MLB has 30 teams, only one in Canada. Of the 30 NHL teams, 7 are Canadian.  If the NHL were to expand the best two locations would be Quebec City and a second team in southern Ontario. That would be 32 NHL teams, 9 in Canada.

Quebec would join Montreal in its confernce. The second southern Ontario team would join the other conference (not with the Toronto franchise and stealing their rivalries) to lessen the objection of the Maple Leafs.  Reading between the lines, this proposed realignment acknowledges that the East and Canada, specifically, is the logical point of expansion for the NHL or, at least, a relocation because of current team viability issues. No other location (U.S.) in the east is a viable location for an NHL franchise. Atlanta to Winnipeg has demonstrated Canada’s lust for the game.

Now, whether the realignment happens or not, Mr. Bettman has shown his longer term thinking by his proposal. Just read between the “ligns”.

Boston Bruins: That was Not a Stanley Cup Hangover!

The 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins started their 2011-1012 season with 3 wins and 7 losses in the month of October. Many have termed this as the inevitable Stanley Cup hangover. Actually this was more like a Stanley Cup Concussion. This was one of the worst starts following a cup win in league history.

In reviewing October’s games I look at it this way. The first game of the season a 2-1 loss to a pretty good Philadelphia Flyers team was excusable with all the banner hype and celebrations. Their second loss, a 1-0 score, against a young Colorado squad that got off to a quick start, again excusable. The 4-2 loss to the powerful San Jose Sharks team can be understood. Sprinkled throughout October, the 3 wins were against divisional rival Toronto Maple Leafs (6-2), last year’s conference finalist Tampa Bay Lightning (4-1) and a shootout win against western conference co-leader Chicago (3-2). That’s 3 losses and 3 wins. A .500 record could be considered a hangover for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The other four losses in October are what define this as a concussion rather than a hangover. Those 4 losses were against two teams. Boston lost a home and away series to the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina is currently second last in the conference and without those two wins early against the Bruins would be dead last. And worst yet, in a pair of games against Montreal the Bruins came away pointless. That ended the month on the lowest of lows. The “what if” scenario could be: if Boston had split this two series, had a .500 record, won only 2 more games they would currently have 4 more points in their first 18 games. A record of 13 wins and 5 losses would give them 26 points, good enough for first in the North East division, first overall in the Eastern Conference and one point out of 1st overall in the NHL with 2 games in hand as of games played through November 20^th.  Oh, what if, what if.

But back to reality. The Bruins have won 8 straight games in November against Ottawa, Toronto, the Islanders twice, Edmonton, Buffalo, New Jersey, and Columbus. They have out scored their opponents 42-14.  As much as all Bruins fans would like to believe the streak will go on forever let’s stay in reality. The Bruin’s next two games are against bitter divisional rivals. If the Bruins were to split these next two games; if the Bruins were to win just one of the two who would you rather beat:

Montreal on Monday who has already beaten the Bruins twice this year, are coming off a victory over the New York Rangers who themselves were on a 7 game winning streak, with Carey Price recording 2 shutouts in a row, and one point behind the Bruins in the standings,  or

 Buffalo on Wednesday, a team the Bruins have beaten once but is still ahead of the Bruins, leading the division, still sniping in the media following the Lucic / Miller incident and the team many project to unseat the Bruins as division winners this year.

If we can only win one...