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Sizing Up the Atlantic Competition: Boston Bruins

July 14, 2015, 11:46 PM ET [240 Comments]
Michael Stuart
Ottawa Senators Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Looking at next season with a sole focus on the Tampa Bay Lightning isn’t such a smart idea. NHL wins and losses add up not only because of a team’s composition, but also because of its competition. It’s easier to do well in a lightweight division than it is to do in a heavyweight division, for example. For that reason, Bolts fans should take note of what the other teams around the Atlantic Division have done this summer.

Like any great feat of engineering, this blog series started from the bottom up. I’ve already covered the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Florida Panthers, so today’s blog will be on the Boston Bruins. Unlike the Panthers, who have been very quiet so far this summer, the Bruins have made a lot of noise. Let’s take a look at some of their key moves:

Trading Dougie Hamilton --- D
This was a brutal deal for the Bruins. There is no other way to describe it.

They traded a 22-year-old, potential franchise defenseman to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a mid-first-round pick and two second-round picks. A restricted free agent at the time, Hamilton went on to sign a very reasonable and affordable deal with the Flames. A Bruins defense core that is already relying heavily on some older guys is now without its best young asset from last year. And Don Sweeney didn’t get nearly enough in return.

The only thing that saves this move from being an ‘F’ on the report card is the apparent fact that Hamilton was unwilling to sign long-term in Boston. Every indication is that at least part of him wanted out, so trading him made some (not a lot, though) sense. It’s the return that makes this move a real blunder for Boston. If you’re going to trade a young, franchise defenseman, at least get fair value for him. Sweeney failed to do that.

Trading Milan Lucic --- A+
I think a lot of people were quick to call the Lucic deal bad, simply because of Sweeney’s apparent incompetence on the Hamilton trade. But, after the dust settled, most people seemed to realize that the Lucic-to-Los Angeles move was an incredibly smart one.

With only one year left on his contract, Lucic was dealt to the Kings in exchange for a first round pick, goaltender Martin Jones, and Colin Miller. Jones was later flipped to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2016 first round pick, so the deal wound up being Lucic to the Kings for a 2015 1st, 2016 1st, and a very promising D prospect. That’s a huge haul for a guy who legitimately looks like a declining asset --- a declining asset who will cost big bucks on his next contract!

In my opinion, the Lucic deal just defines smart asset management. The Bruins weren’t going to be able to afford Lucic’s demands, so they dealt him and maximized value. Sometimes tough decisions like that have to be made, and in this case I think Sweeney got it right.

The Bruins got more for Lucic, a pending UFA, than they did for Hamilton. That makes sense, eh?

The First Round Picks --- C
With the 13th, 14th, and 15th overall picks in the draft, the Bruins had a real opportunity to restock the shelves. They selected Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zachary Senyshyn. Those selections were almost universally panned. With so much talent left on the board, the Bruins went off the board. Maybe that strategy will pay off for them, but it’s hard to suggest that Boston took the ‘best player available’ with any of its picks in the first round.

I can’t call this move a failure, only because it’s virtually impossible to know what 18-year-old players will look like in a few years. History might paint the Bruins’ 2015 first round as the franchise’s greatest of all time. Who knows, right? I’ve given it a ‘C’ because I want to convey that the picks weren’t inspiring, even if there’s some chance (there always is) that they work out well in the long-term.

Signing Matt Beleskey --- A
When news leaked that Beleskey was heading to Boston, there was a sense of eager anticipation in the air. People really wanted to see what sort of ridiculous terms Sweeney had dished out to the 27-year-old forward. Why? Because the fact that Beleskey scored 22 goals for the Anaheim Ducks in 2014-15 made him an attractive pick to be grossly overpaid. And Sweeney had already established himself as a guy who wasn't afraid to make weird (read: questionable) moves.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, Sweeney locked him up with a very nice contract. The five-year, $19MM pact keeps Beleskey on the books with a cap hit of only $3.8MM. As a versatile forward who can fit in almost anywhere in Boston’s lineup, Beleskey is well worth that sort of price. HockeyBuzz’s Ty Anderson wrote a great piece on the signing.

The Verdict:
It’s been a bit of a mixed bag in Boston so far this summer. There’s been some good, and there’s been some bad. It’s clear that the Bruins are undergoing some sort of transition, but it’s hard to believe that they’ll make a huge jump up the standings next year. The roster, another year older and without Dougie Hamilton, just doesn’t look like a great fit in the increasingly competitive Atlantic Division. We’ll see where they end up.
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Thanks to Artyukhin76 for the blog idea. This series will continue until every team has been covered.

As always, thanks for reading.

Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.
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