The Bruins are a better team than they were this time last week.
But now that the NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone, and the Bruins casually walked down the stairs into the trade deadline pool instead of wowing the crowd with a cannonball worthy of a 10, the Bruins remain in the middle of the Stanley Cup contender pact.
Sure, Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson are nice additions, but neither address the Bruins biggest need: an impactful top-six forward.
Mark Stone, Kevin Hayes, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and others would have done that, but at what cost?
“We’ve been exploring things for a while at different levels,… general manager Don Sweeney said Monday at Warrior Ice Arena. “So, we were in on a bunch of things to explore what we would have liked to improve our club for now and moving forward without necessarily handcuffing ourselves and continuing to keep a long-term vision in place but we’re also trying to win.…
The Bruins have been winning a lot lately, and should continue to do so. But how much winning will there be once the playoffs roll around, the lights become brighter and the competition more difficult?
“We’ve got work to do, but I’m excited for our guys and where they’re at and knock on wood that they’re going to stay healthy,… said Sweeney. “I think they feel appreciative that we continue to add to the group and not necessarily take away. We lost a good, young player, by all accounts.…
As amazing as adding Mark Stone would have been, and as much as the Bruins may have been “in… on Stone, they really never had a chance.
The Bruins were never going to beat what Vegas offered. Heck, they may not have even beat what other teams had offered. And even if they wanted to overpay for Stone, it would have been hard for them to give Stone anything close to the eight-year, $76 million extension Vegas inked Stone to.
Sweeney wouldn’t comment on any conversations he had with Stone or the Senators, but did acknowledge that it was a good deal for Stone.
“I can’t deconstruct other teams’ deals and what necessarily happened in that case. If I understood the reference… I don’t know if I’m comfortable commenting in terms of what conversations I may or may not have had along the way. You know, it’s a good deal for him, I can tell you that much,… added Sweeney.
Adding any of the above mentioned players with Stone out of the picture would have patched up the Bruins top-six need, and moved them closer to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference.
I understand Sweeney’s desire to hold onto picks and prospects, but the Bruins clock is ticking and sometimes you got to roll the dice and see how things play out. I am sure it’s nice for the guys in the locker room to see that Sweeney and company have confidence in them, but I am sure that a Bruins core that is only getting older wouldn’t mind some top-six help.
As expected, the biggest thing for Sweeney was not moving the Bruins first round pick. After doing so last season to acquire Nash, avoiding going back-to-back drafts without a first-round pick was important for Sweeney.
“Really important. I just think that we had different conversations on different levels with different teams as to what players represent going forward, but I do believe that we would put ourselves and this organization in a tough position,… said Sweeney.
It’s believed that Sweeney had a lot of interest in Minnesota’s Eric Staal and Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist, but things didn’t work out in the end.
Staal—who reportedly used his no trade clause to turn away any contending teams offers—signed a two-year extension with the Wild shortly after Monday’s trade deadline had passed.
The Bruins were believed to be the team in the east closest to trading for Nyquist, but instead the Red Wings sent him to San Jose for a second round and conditional third round pick. In any trade, Nyquist would have to waive his no-trade clause, so it’s unknown if he was not willing to do that for Boston, or if the Bruins offer was not as sweet as the Sharks.
With prices for impact players high, and others deciding to stay put, or deciding Boston is not the right fit, the Bruins settled for Johansson.
I don’t mind Johansson at all, but the issue for me is that—like Coyle— he doesn’t fit the top-six role the Bruins need.
“I think for us Marcus represents a lot of versatility and production in a top-nine role,… said Sweeney. “It’s something that we felt coming down the stretch that we still could use that, and the coaching staff, and the meetings and all the things we’ve talked about as a group.…
Some previous bad blood between Brad Marchand and Johansson last season that came after a Marchand elbow to Johansson’s head sidelined him for three months doesn’t seem like much of an issue anymore.
In a call with Johansson, Sweeney said the veteran forward addressed it. “I think his quick line was, “I’d much rather be playing with Marchand than against.…
Exactly where Johansson will slide into the lineup remains to be seen. But Johansson comes in as a guy who can play the center position and either wing.
“He can play in different roles. He’s a three-position player, as well, primarily playing more on the left side, but he has played a lot of center – he was drafted as center. So, if he [head coach Bruce Cassidy] felt more comfortable moving Charlie once Pasta [David Pastrnak] comes back and moving Charlie to wing for production,… added Sweeney.
If Pastrnak was healthy and in the lineup tonight against San Jose, I wouldn’t mind Cassidy rolling out something like this:
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Danton Heinen Jake DeBrusk-David Krejci-David Pastrnak Marcus Johansson-Charlie Coyle-David Backes Sean Kuraly-Noel Acciari-Chris Wagner
Speaking of Pastrnak, Sweeney provided a bit of an update on the injured forward and the news wasn’t all that great, despite Pastrnak returning to the ice Monday, prior to practice.
“The only update today is that he’ll be in a cast for two more weeks, and then after that he started skating today,… Sweeney said. “After that, he’ll be fitted for a splint, and then it’s a matter of comfort. You know, when he’s able to be the most comfortable. He won’t have any restrictions at that point in time.…
Hearing that Pastrnak will be in a cast for two more weeks, followed by a splint is a bit alarming for a player who has the hands Pastrnak does, but it’s also a relief that once his comfort level is back to where it needs to be, there won’t be any restrictions.
A good sign indeed, the Bruins have been just fine without Pastrnak with wins in five of the six games without their leading goal scorer.
In Pastrnak’s absence, the Bruins have been led by the resurgence of DeBrusk, and Heinen fitting in perfectly with Marchand and Bergeron.
Coming off a road trip that saw the Bruins earn nine of a possible 10 points, and with the revamped Sharks in town on Tuesday and the east leading Lightning on Thursday, the Bruins will face two tough post-deadline tests.
“When we came off the trip, we knew it was a really tough trip, and the guys did really well, and now we have a really tough homestand. It doesn’t make it any easier playing San Jose at home tomorrow [Tuesday] and facing Tampa at the other side of it. Fifteen games in 30 days, it’s going to be a grind,… added Sweeney.