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On Friday, I woke up to an email from the HockeyBuzz bosses asking me to write a blog. Can you believe the nerve? It’s the middle of August, and they want me to do my job. Disgraceful. Anyways, as I come through the summer of NHL nothingness, and debate telling everyone to go to hell because I’ve quit and decided to do something that doesn’t have a two-month blackhole in its calendar, here are some random Bruins, NHL, and whatever--I-wanna-say thoughts.
- The Bruins and restricted free agent winger
David Pastrnak are still without a deal. Are you getting concerned? Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has talked about the ‘holding pattern’ that the club is in, and how there’s been little progress since their last offer. That alone sounds concerning, I’m aware. But a deal is going to be struck at some point, especially when the season draws closer and the 21-year-old Pastrnak basically says that he wants to play. This is a player that loves Boston, loves being a Bruin, and has no intentions of playing elsewhere. (Hi, Phil Kessel and Dougie Hamilton.)
With Pastrnak, I wonder about three things, either from his point of view or that of the Bruins.
* Bonus money. Players are basically trying to lockout-proof these contracts, which has led to heavy bonus money. I’m sure that Pastrnak would like to see some of that come his way.
* Is there an internal cap the Bruins are battling against? I have this feeling -- and I have no idea if it’s true, so don’t quote on me -- that the Bruins would prefer to not pay anybody as much as they pay
Patrice Bergeron ($6.875 million per season). That’s an issue if Pastrnak comes in wanting, oh let’s just say for the sake of discussion, seven years at $7 million per. The Bruins, for the record, already pay a player more than they pay Bergeron. But as the Bruins are quick to say, "That was the other guy!"
* Does a bridge deal make more sense for the Black and Gold, so that they can attack No. 88 with a long-term deal when buyouts (Dennis Seidenberg and Jimmy Hayes) and regrettable contracts begin to fade out of the picture? I, for the record, think this is a
bad idea.
It’s also important to note that the Bruins have all the money needed to sign Pastrnak at some point this summer/fall, and that basically every other general manager is waiting for the other to make a move (Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl is an RFA and Jack Eichel may be on the verge of a comparable mega extension with the Sabres), so it’s not just the Bruins and Pastrnak that are in a holding pattern.
In other words, don’t worry. Yet.
- Bruins forward
Ryan Spooner is one of three things this season: Your third line center, a middle-line winger, or trade bait. My preference: in the middle of that third line with a speedy winger to his left and David Backes on his right. Last year was a straight-up disaster for Spooner, we can’t deny that. But we also can’t deny the fact that he spent almost the entire season on the wing. Give him another crack at the spot he excelled at two seasons ago and see what happens. (Also: Stop thinking that Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson is just going to magically be an NHL-ready center.)
- With the number of prospects they’re expecting to compete for NHL spots come training camp, Bruins would be wise to bring in somebody on a professional tryout. I say that because it’s simply not fair to expect Anders Bjork, Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, and Zach Senyshyn to grab NHL roster spots. It’s
really hard to do that. Is there why the Bruins continue to leave Drew Stafford twisting in the wind and not necessarily out of their plans? What about players like Shane Doan, Brian Gionta, Jarome Iginla, or Jaromir Jagr? Are they worth investigating and seeing if there’s a fit?
It wouldn’t hurt to try, and we know Sweeney is no stranger to doing this, as he invited and signed Jonas Gustavsson out of camp in 2015 and invited Christian Ehrhoff to camp last season. The Bruins wanted to sign Ehrhoff, too, but were denied when he was not promised a spot in the starting lineup.
- Popsicles and fruit bars are better than ice cream. Deal with it.
- Despite his inconsistencies in recent seasons, Matt Duchene would look pretty damn good in a Bruins uniform, but I don’t think they have the stomach for the cost. And I also think Colorado’s Joe Sakic needs to come back to reality on that asking price for Duchene if he’s going to end up anywhere. This has been some straight-up horrific asset management from the Avalanche, who are still a disaster, in regards to both Duchene
and Gabriel Landeskog, which I suppose is par for the course there.
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
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