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Four points from first place, and with wins in five of their last seven games, the importance of
Loui Eriksson has been on display for the Boston Bruins. Moved throughout the lineup over that stretch, from first to third, left to right, and back again the 30-year-old has remained as productive as ever. His latest strike, an overtime goal to lift the Bruins over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night, was good for Eriksson’s fourth goal in as many games (and his fifth in the last six games). It was good for his 20th goal of the year, too, which gives him back-to-back 20-goal seasons in the Hub.
Yet, even with the Bruins seemingly (read as: the point totals look deceiving) in it in the Eastern Conference playoff picture (although, as I’ve said again and again, it’s hard to put your faith in anybody ‘cept the Washington Capitals), Eriksson’s name has churned in the rumor mill again and again.
Everybody expects B’s general manager
Don Sweeney to package the pending free agent to a Western Conference club for the top-four defenseman -- or today or tomorrow -- the club needs to propel them back to true contending status. The Anaheim Ducks, loaded with defensive prospects, have been linked to Eriksson, same with the Minnesota Wild (though their freefall might change that). And in a market short on game-changing talents -- Winnipeg captain
Andrew Ladd may be the only true comparable for teams in search of a versatile top-six winger -- I’m sure there’s a ton of other clubs with interest in the Swede. But with so many teams reportedly unwilling to trade first-round picks for rentals, expecting Eriksson’s return to be a top-four defender
plus a first-rounder seems insane.
Plus, the more you watch Eriksson in Black and Gold, the more you realize the Bruins need him.
On a team painfully thin on the right side, Eriksson’s versatility and production on the right wing has time and time again been a revelation for the club. Four of Eriksson’s 20 goals this year have served as game-winners, and without his net-front presence, the B’s power play -- even in the midst of its worst cold spell of the season (they’re just one for their last 32) -- is nowhere near as potent as it’s been.
I’ve admittedly flipped and flopped on this topic multiple times. But that’s come with the realization that Eriksson’s not fetching you the return you want and that the Bruins remain in a ‘win now’ mindset. It’s the only possible way to explain both
Colin Miller’s demotion down to Providence and
Kevan Miller’s presence in the Boston defensive mix. Same for
Frank Vatrano’s send down and continued effort to squeeze what you can out of the painfully inconsistent Jimmy Hayes. Head coach
Claude Julien is coaching to win in the moment, not develop down the line. No matter what he’s said (many of Julien’s postgame press conferences have noted the youth of the team he’s coaching and the ‘different’ group he has this season), Julien’s win today mindset is obvious. There’s nothing wrong with that, either, as that’s the coach he’s been since Day 1 and it’d be really weird to keep a coach of his caliber in town if you didn’t want him to, y’know, win games for you.
But it’s clear that the Black and Gold need No. 21 in town if their goal is to indeed win now. Or soon.
The problem of course has been the insistence that Eriksson needs a long-term deal -- think $30 million over five years or anywhere between $32-36 million over six seasons -- to stay in Boston. That’s an easy no for a B’s front office that has to pay
Torey Krug this summer along with
Brad Marchand,
David Pastrnak, and
Ryan Spooner the summer after that.
And Sweeney, who did a marvelous job working the Bruins out of cap-hell this past summer due in large part to the Milan Lucic trade and subsequent Hayes trade with the Florida Panthers, is not eager to return the club to its penny-pinching ways of bonus-laden contracts and cheap reclamation projects.
But there’s a middle ground to be found, you’d think. If the Bruins go heavier on the salary -- think, and this is mere spitballing here, anywhere from $6 to $6.5 million per season -- they may be able to save on years (three to four versus five to six). Just maybe. It’s a lot of money, sure, but there’s no in-house replacement on its way to Boston, and there’s no trade or free agent answer to an Eriksson departure from a Boston offense woefully short on three-zone, gamebreaking talents.
Not even a top-four defenseman.
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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