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Boston Bruins Blogger •
Hey, remember me? Life has been quite busy lately, so I decided to take a little time off and recharge my blogging batteries. Multiple job interviews, family commitments and literally hundreds of poker tournaments have consumed my time over the past week or so, but I'm primed and ready to dive back into some hockey talk. So here goes.......
Delirious Trade Ideas
I've spent a lot of time reading over armchair GM's trade proposals throughout the vast number of hockey forums in recent times. Everyone has a theory as to how the Bruins can stay under the cap, and has formulated the perfect scenario in which the Bruins can ship out the right combo of studs and stopgaps without damaging the team's chance at winning the cup in 2010.
The crux of the matter is, while sometimes these trade proposals are plausible, some of them are downright delirious. Blockbuster trades rarely happen in the NHL these days. Maybe you can whisk Jeff Carter away from the Flyers for Byron Bitz, Stephane Yelle and a 3rd rd. pick on NHL '09 (or, if you're Pecafan, you've probably already tried this out on NHL '10), but....that's not reality! Phil Kessel, Joe Colborne and two 1sts for Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty is simply never happening! Video game land does not account for things like.....
1) These players were picked to be a part of this team for a reason (skill-set, etc.).
2) These players have contracts that fall under this little thing called a salary cap.
3) These players are potentially leaders of their teams (like Brown, the Kings' captain).
4) These players are, likely, the face of the franchise (say hello to a marketing nightmare).
So next time you plot out a trade proposal involving a combination of a dozen players and picks, just ask yourself if there's even a sliver of logic behind it before clicking submit. Please.
Business Ethics 101
A lot of these trade proposers, who aren't keen on shipping out Phil Kessel, seem to find Michael Ryder to be the next in line to pack his bags. Some have even contemplated swapping Blake Wheeler. Have they any clue how badly such a move would tarnish Peter Chiarelli's reputation?!? Just imagine if one of those scenarios played out, and you were a free agent considering where to play. Would you go to Boston, where they lock up players to lucrative multi-year deals, only to trade them away after a single season (and productive ones at that)?
No. You'd avoid the hub of hockey like the plague if that's how they conducted business. Players aren't just looking for financial security. They have families to consider. They appreciate a sense of loyalty from the organization. Trading away someone who had a successful season after their first year of a three-year deal would scare away free agents considering Boston as their destination. If the B's traded away Ryder, veterans would likely scoff at any offer to play for the Bruins. If Boston traded away Wheeler, youngsters looking to make their mark in the NHL would be extremely leery of signing with the B's.
Sacrificing Goals For Size
It's simply a theory that has never sat well with me. Peter Chiarelli has mentioned on multiple occasions this offseason that we may see the Bruins sacrifice goal scoring for size. I understand the foundation of such a plan. Bigger, stronger players will lead to more victories in one-on-one battles, a more physical team that's generally tougher to play against, and a team better along the boards that's able to out-muscle opponents in all three zones. Makes sense. But.....isn't the ultimate goal to, well, score goals? What's so bad about having, oh I don't know, a balanced roster? You know, one filled with the perfect combo of grit, physical prowess, finesse, and elite skill?
The Bruins don't have to be anything other than successful to make me happy, from a fan's perspective. Winning is paramount. Sure, I'd hate to see them devolve into a Wild-esque, trap-fest snoozathon (not a real word) style of play, but I don't need them to be the "lunch pail gang" or the "Big Bad Bruins" to sleep soundly at night. If the Bruins trade away Kessel, an elite, speedy goal scorer, who at 21 still has a ton of room to evolve into god knows what, they are being incredibly foolish and overly short-sighted.
Do you REALLY give a damn if Phil Kessel isn't your prototypical Bruin? Do you clench your fist and curse his existence because he doesn't thump the opposition like Milan Lucic, or because he doesn't have any 5-minute majors on his resume? Kessel has god-given, unteachable talent that comes along once in a generation.
Trading such a player away because he may not fit into a certain mold, and fails to meet an archaic definition of "what it takes to be a Bruin" is asinine.
That's all for today. As previously promised, I'll be back soon with some draft info, courtesy of Darryl Houston Smith from RotoWire.
Before I go, a belated congrats to the Bruins' Tim Thomas, Manny Fernandez, Zdeno Chara and Claude Julien for all of their success at the NHL Awards Ceremony. Truly amazing stuff.
And some questions for you all:
What's your take on my various rants this afternoon?
Should the Bruins consider trading Kessel? Will they? For what?
How about Patrice Bergeron? Does he not deserve another year to prove he can rediscover his game?
Which current Bruin is the most expendable?
How many bonus points do I get for name-dropping Pecafan?
Let me know.
JC
Shameless Twitter Self-Promotion:
Delirious Trade Ideas
I've spent a lot of time reading over armchair GM's trade proposals throughout the vast number of hockey forums in recent times. Everyone has a theory as to how the Bruins can stay under the cap, and has formulated the perfect scenario in which the Bruins can ship out the right combo of studs and stopgaps without damaging the team's chance at winning the cup in 2010.
The crux of the matter is, while sometimes these trade proposals are plausible, some of them are downright delirious. Blockbuster trades rarely happen in the NHL these days. Maybe you can whisk Jeff Carter away from the Flyers for Byron Bitz, Stephane Yelle and a 3rd rd. pick on NHL '09 (or, if you're Pecafan, you've probably already tried this out on NHL '10), but....that's not reality! Phil Kessel, Joe Colborne and two 1sts for Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty is simply never happening! Video game land does not account for things like.....
1) These players were picked to be a part of this team for a reason (skill-set, etc.).
2) These players have contracts that fall under this little thing called a salary cap.
3) These players are potentially leaders of their teams (like Brown, the Kings' captain).
4) These players are, likely, the face of the franchise (say hello to a marketing nightmare).
So next time you plot out a trade proposal involving a combination of a dozen players and picks, just ask yourself if there's even a sliver of logic behind it before clicking submit. Please.
Business Ethics 101
A lot of these trade proposers, who aren't keen on shipping out Phil Kessel, seem to find Michael Ryder to be the next in line to pack his bags. Some have even contemplated swapping Blake Wheeler. Have they any clue how badly such a move would tarnish Peter Chiarelli's reputation?!? Just imagine if one of those scenarios played out, and you were a free agent considering where to play. Would you go to Boston, where they lock up players to lucrative multi-year deals, only to trade them away after a single season (and productive ones at that)?
No. You'd avoid the hub of hockey like the plague if that's how they conducted business. Players aren't just looking for financial security. They have families to consider. They appreciate a sense of loyalty from the organization. Trading away someone who had a successful season after their first year of a three-year deal would scare away free agents considering Boston as their destination. If the B's traded away Ryder, veterans would likely scoff at any offer to play for the Bruins. If Boston traded away Wheeler, youngsters looking to make their mark in the NHL would be extremely leery of signing with the B's.
Sacrificing Goals For Size
It's simply a theory that has never sat well with me. Peter Chiarelli has mentioned on multiple occasions this offseason that we may see the Bruins sacrifice goal scoring for size. I understand the foundation of such a plan. Bigger, stronger players will lead to more victories in one-on-one battles, a more physical team that's generally tougher to play against, and a team better along the boards that's able to out-muscle opponents in all three zones. Makes sense. But.....isn't the ultimate goal to, well, score goals? What's so bad about having, oh I don't know, a balanced roster? You know, one filled with the perfect combo of grit, physical prowess, finesse, and elite skill?
The Bruins don't have to be anything other than successful to make me happy, from a fan's perspective. Winning is paramount. Sure, I'd hate to see them devolve into a Wild-esque, trap-fest snoozathon (not a real word) style of play, but I don't need them to be the "lunch pail gang" or the "Big Bad Bruins" to sleep soundly at night. If the Bruins trade away Kessel, an elite, speedy goal scorer, who at 21 still has a ton of room to evolve into god knows what, they are being incredibly foolish and overly short-sighted.
Do you REALLY give a damn if Phil Kessel isn't your prototypical Bruin? Do you clench your fist and curse his existence because he doesn't thump the opposition like Milan Lucic, or because he doesn't have any 5-minute majors on his resume? Kessel has god-given, unteachable talent that comes along once in a generation.
Trading such a player away because he may not fit into a certain mold, and fails to meet an archaic definition of "what it takes to be a Bruin" is asinine.
That's all for today. As previously promised, I'll be back soon with some draft info, courtesy of Darryl Houston Smith from RotoWire.
Before I go, a belated congrats to the Bruins' Tim Thomas, Manny Fernandez, Zdeno Chara and Claude Julien for all of their success at the NHL Awards Ceremony. Truly amazing stuff.
And some questions for you all:
What's your take on my various rants this afternoon?
Should the Bruins consider trading Kessel? Will they? For what?
How about Patrice Bergeron? Does he not deserve another year to prove he can rediscover his game?
Which current Bruin is the most expendable?
How many bonus points do I get for name-dropping Pecafan?
Let me know.
JC
Shameless Twitter Self-Promotion:
Join the Discussion:
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