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After their second straight failure to qualify for the postseason on the last day of the regular season, it’s obvious to everyone in town that the Boston Bruins have several needs or areas to address. And for the first time in a long time, the Bruins have ample money to address those areas, and when I say ‘address’ I, of course, mean that they have the cap space to fix more than one area of need, via free agency.
The long and short of it, the B’s need to find a high-end right winger, an experienced and capable top-four defenseman, and some veteran help and/or jolt of life on their bottom six. So, where to look?
Let’s start with the most pressing issue, and that of course is the defense.
Following the buyout of 34-year-old
Dennis Seidenberg after seven seasons with the Bruins and re-signing of
Torey Krug to a four-year deal worth $21 million, the Bruins’ left side of their defensive group seems relatively set with big money deals for Krug at $5.25 million per year and one more year of
Zdeno Chara at $6.9 million (Chara’s cap-hit drops to an affordable $4 million in 2017-18) and qualified restricted free agent
Joe Morrow likely to round out the grouping on the third pairing. It’s on the right side where the Black and Gold need help, as
Adam McQuaid and
Kevan Miller, along with qualified restricted free agent
Colin Miller, are the organization’s only three right-handed defensemen with any NHL experience expected back.
On that front,
Jason Demers seems like the big get for the Bruins (and everybody else).
Demers is probably the lone skilled right-handed d-man on this market (though
Justin Schultz had a definite rebirth of sorts in Pittsburgh) and his payday will reflect that. With Demers, you’re talking about anywhere from $5.5 to maybe even $6.5 million per season. That’s a big price to pay if you’re the Bruins, even if Demers would come to town as a do-it-all presence that thrived in one of the best systems in hockey when it comes to the utilization of a defenseman in Dallas (and in a great division).
Beyond Demers and (to a far lesser extent, Schultz), there are guys like
Luke Schenn and
Roman Polak, but those are talents the Bruins already have an excess of in McQuaid and Miller. So, in a way, it does feel like Demers-or-bust if it’s a righty the Bruins seek, and bust is probably the more likely of the two, at least based on the prices and what the Bruins should be willing to pay.
But in the event that the Bruins throw handedness to the wind and decide to load up their left side with higher priced cap hits and hope for something to work, there’s still a way for the Bruins to nab a solid veteran defenseman to help bolster the depth of their group, whether that’s through an affordable return of
John-Michael Liles, who had six assists in 17 post-deadline games with the Bruins, or veterans such as
Christian Ehrhoff or Vancouver d-man
Dan Hamhuis.
B’s general manager
Don Sweeney noted that contract talks with Liles have been ‘very, very positive’, which shows that that door has not been closed by either side just yet. And the Bruins
did pass on Ehrhoff once already within the past half year, when Ehrhoff was on waivers, so maybe that’s an interest of the pass given the way Ehrhoff has fallen out of frame in recent seasons. The Bruins did have an interest in Hamhuis last deadline, but Hamhuis did not have an interest in leaving the West or going to a middling contender like the Bruins, and while he’s seemingly changed his stance on the former, the latter remains a legitimate question when gauging his interest in Boston.
At the same time, reclamation projects like
James Wisniewski or
Patrick Wiercioch should garner some interest, and might have its benefits to the Bruins if they actually give it a go, something they did-but-in-reality-did-not-do with two games of
Matt Irwin last season.
But no matter the blue-liner inked by Sweeney and Co., the truth is that they are unlikely to fix their defensive issues overnight or through one signing in a thin market, so patience will remain the name of the game on that front. But at the same time, does this front office have such a luxury after consecutive did-not-qualifies, the first such run since 2005 to 2007? Probably not.
Up front, and with
Loui Eriksson dubbed doubtful to return to the Bruins, Sweeney’s mission is to find a top-six, skilled winger to plug on his right side, likely next to
Patrice Bergeron and
Brad Marchand on Boston’s first line. It’s a must for the Bruins, actually, who have just two right wingers on their NHL roster in
Jimmy Hayes and
David Pastrnak, and three if you want to include
Seth Griffith and his 34 games of NHL experience on the list.
The name that jumps out to most is
Kyle Okposo.
A goner in New York, Okposo could command $7 million per year on the open market -- especially if and when fellow unrestricted free agent
Milan Lucic leaves the market at a similar figure -- after a successful 22-goal, 64-point campaign and 2-6-8 line in 11 playoff games for the Islanders in 2015-16.
Is Okposo a player you comfortably give $7 million a year for seven years over six years of Eriksson at $5.5 or $6? Doesn’t really matter, ‘cause if he’s on your radar, you’ll probably have to do it. In a head-to-head, age favors Okposo, who is 28 compared to the soon-to-be 31-year-old Eriksson. But Eriksson has the track record of success in Boston, while coming to the Hub would be a totally new situation -- and one away from superstar, playmaking center
John Tavares -- for Okposo.
It’s worth noting that Okposo’s production over the last three years is nevertheless impressive (Okposo has averaged nearly a point-per-game since the start of the 2013-14 season, at .88 points per contest), and he’s proven himself able to play with more than just Tavares, as Okposo actually spent more of his 2015-16 campaign on a line with center
Frans Nielsen than he did with Tavares. It’s also worth noting, as alluded to, that the man will get
paaaaid, so this may become a not-so-simple matter of where the Bruins want to invest the majority of their cap space right now, which may price them out of the Okposo sweeps, especially with Brad Marchand due for a deal next summer.
And if you didn’t want to do anywhere $5.25 to $6 for six years of Eriksson, even after a 30-goal season, ‘cause of that looming Marchand extension and major cash-in (anywhere from $6-7 million per season), why would you want to further complicate that with even more money and years for Okposo?
So if not Okposo, a complementary piece like
Kris Versteeg could finally be a fit for the Bruins.
The 30-year-old Versteeg has bounced around a bit (to say the least) over his career, but was a solid fit for the Kings after the deadline, with four goals on 20 shots in 14 regular-season games with L.A., and one goal and one assist in five postseason games in the Kings’ first-round series loss to the San Jose Sharks. Versteeg’s familiarity with the Eastern Conference (he’s played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes since 2010) could provide a definite boost to a Bruins group that might not want to break the bank with long-term commitment while some of their younger players play the ever-frustrating role of ‘tweener’ between the AHL and NHL this year.
The market is teeming with guys like Versteeg, too. The versatile
P.A. Parenteau put up a solid 20-goal, 41-point year for the Maple Leafs last season.
Lee Stempniak, who totaled 19 goals and 51 points this season, including three goals and 10 points in 19 games with the Bruins, between the B’s and New Jersey Devils, would like to return to Boston if the price is right. But Stempniak will command more than a pro tryout and mild $850,000 salary he made this past season.
Boston could also dip into the reclamation project business, too, and take a flier on a talent like
Thomas Vanek or
Radim Vrbata. The 35-year-old Vrbata is not the same player that the Bruins had an interest in back in 2014, of course, but after a 13-goal, 27-point campaign for the Vancouver Canucks this past season, the price could be manageable for a Boston group that may think they could find a properly sheltered role for the five-time 20-goal scorer. And for the fun of it, Vrbata’s numbers are eerily similar to the ones that landed
Michael Ryder in Boston from Montreal back in 2008, although Ryder was significantly younger than Vrbata. (That project worked out for Boston.)
But it’s Vanek that’s a really intriguing option for the Black and Gold, if you ask me.
With Eriksson’s expected departure comes an opening for a net-front presence, especially on a Boston power play that was straight-up dynamo for a good chunk of last season, and if a player like David Backes or Troy Brouwer is out of Boston’s price range (they likely would be and that’s not the worst thing to happen to the Bruins), Vanek could be the guy.
Vanek’s two-year stint with the Minnesota Wild was marred with disappointment, yes, but he did remain a power-play factor, with 11 of his 39 goals from 2014 to 2016 in Minny coming via the power play. 14 of his 41 total points a year ago came on the man advantage, too. And it’s impossible to forget the way that Vanek torched the Bruins throughout his stints with the Sabres, Islanders, and Canadiens, with 31 goals and 64 points in 59 career games against the Black and Gold. It’s totally unlikely that Vanek will produce with the regularity that Eriksson did this past season, but he’s similar in size and age, along with the ability to play either the left or right side, and the right linemates could bring more out of Vanek’s game.
See: Any Boston center.
Then you get to the bottom of the B’s forward group and it’s really a huge wild card.
The Bruins did not qualify two of their bottom-six forwards from a year ago,
Brett Connolly and
Landon Ferraro, and guys like
Joonas Kemppainen and
Max Talbot have departed for the KHL while
Zac Rinaldo remains locked away like Hannibal Lecter.
Tyler Randell is a free agent. In other words, it’s hard to picture just who will be in the Bruins’ bottom six right now with the exception of
Noel Acciari,
Frank Vatrano, and
Ryan Spooner. Hayes, you’d think, will be bumped down to the third line when the Bruins find another right winger.
So, in theory, you have two -- maybe three -- open spots to fill if you include the 13th forward.
So, what do the Bruins need down there?
Well, for one, I think
Claude Julien needs a veteran if he’s going to give any of these players more than eight minutes a night. This is where you look at a potential return for
Chris Kelly, who missed all but 11 of Boston’s 82 games last year with a horrific broken femur, if the price is right. Kelly will need to take a massive cut from his $3 million per year deal last signed with Boston, and it’s hard to imagine any team, even the Bruins, betting on No. 23 for more than one season.
Still, if the price is right, Kelly is the perfect guy to sign as a dependable fourth-line presence.
Elsewhere, guys like Matt Martin and Dale Weise will attract interest from teams, including the Bruins. But if the Bruins should have learned anything from the fall of the Peter Chiarelli era, it’s that they should not overpay for bottom-six talents, and the expected deals for a Martin or Weise would be just that. It’s not that they’re on the decline, but with notoriety as character guys come overpayments, and contracts that are borderline impossible to justify with play. In essence, guys like Martin and Weise are players you’d like
before they hit this point, which is why the Bruins should stay away.
The Bruins put an emphasis in faceoffs, though, and with Acciari and Spooner on the bottom six, there’s absolutely no doubt that the Bruins will want to bring in someone capable of winning that crucial own-zone draw, unless the plan is to bury Bergeron with more taxing, unnecessary minutes. That’s where a guy like
Dominic Moore, New York’s faceoff ace for the last three years, could be in play for the Black and Gold. The 35-year-old Moore’s overall numbers have taken a dip over the last two seasons, yes, but Moore remained effective at the dot this past season, with a 55.3 faceoff percentage, including an over 60% success rate in the neutral zone and 52% success rate in the defensive zone.
Over the last three years, Moore ranks 15th in the NHL in faceoff percentage among players with at least 2,500 battles at the dot, and while you don’t want to put too much stock into faceoff wins, it’s clear that the Bruins desperately need another guy they can trust to win a draw other than Bergeron.
In this market, you go from high-end to quality depth pieces but depth pieces nevertheless really quickly, and that’s something the Bruins have to be somewhat cognizant of when the money begins flying, doubly so if they strike out on their first few targets. The harsh reality is that you’re unlikely to hit your home run defensively, and there’s a good chance you’re forced to get a little bit older up front.
That’s not a horrible thing, though, so long as the money goes to the right places.
Something the Black and Gold have struggled with in the past.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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