The Boston Bruins are in Edmonton ahead of their Wednesday night tilt with the improved Oilers.
Many rumors are swirling around the Bruins in advance of the March NHL trade deadline.
The Bruins are only two points ahead of the Florida Panthers in the wild care race right now. The Bruins have lost five oft their past six games and it appears that changes have to be made to their roster in order to secure a playoff berth.
The Bruins need scoring and D. So, what are they allegedly looking to trade away Eriksson and Seidenberg?
Per Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos, the Bruins are trying to trade veteran forward Louii Eriksson and aggressive D-man Dennis Seidenberg in order to create some needed salary cap space. The NHL trade deadline is March 2.
“They need to alleviate some of that cap space. They want to add a center, or at least an impact forward that can lessen some of the physical pressure on a guy like Lucic,… said Kypreos. “But they need to subtract money first, and the feeling is that Dennis Seidenberg’s name is now out there. He still has three years left on his deal at roughly $12 million. If they could pull that back they do have restricted free agents on the back end like Torey Krug that they need to re-sign.
“So Seidenberg and even Loui Eriksson’s name is now out there. Loui Eriksson has never been a good fit, and he’s never been that typical Boston Bruins type of player that they were hoping for. Maybe trading Loui Eriksson can make them forget about Seguin, who was once there and was one of the hottest players in the NHL before he got hurt.…
According to Joe Haggerty, CSN Boston, Eriksson has been at the center of a few trade rumors this season. Most notable a trade for St. Louis forward TJ Oshie which never materialized before Christmas. Eriksson has one year remaining on his contract at $4.25 million. Seidenberg has three years remaining at $4 million per season.
Are the Bruins preparing to male a trade for Arizona's Keith Yandle and Antoinne Vermette?
Tim Murray of the Buffalo Sabres can help Chiarelli to achieve his cwp clearing goals. The 30th place Sabres have salary cap space and are willing to make trades for bad contracts like Eriksson and Seidenberg. Murray could take one or both contracts and Malcolm Subban now in exchange for Chris Stewart. Murray could then trade or hold on to Eriksson or Seidenberg.
Murray has flexibility. Chiarelli might want to pow wow with Murray. Perhaps he already has. Murray spent time in Boston last week scouting The Beanpot tourney.
More to come.
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The Florida Panthers now trail the Boston Bruins by just 2 points for a wild card spot. The Panthers pasted the Maple Leaf 3-1 while the Bruins were idle. The Panthers now have 62 points in the standings and have been playing winning hockey. The Panthers are 5-4-2 in their last 11 games. The Bruins are 4-4-2 in their last 10 games.
Tuesday was a practice day for the Boston Bruins. The team sent stay-at-home defenseman Kevan Miller back to Beantown to have his injured shoulder examined by team orthopedic doctors. It’s never a good sign when an NHL team buys a commercial plane ticket and sends one of its players home to have an injury looked at.
"He’s gone back home to be evaluated," Claude Julien told the Bruins website. "That’s the update. He flew back today, so we haven’t heard anything else from that."
Miller left Monday night's game against the Flames during the second period, and did not return.
Miller first injured his shoulder in a fight with Buffalo Sabres bad boy Nic Deslauriers on October 18.
Julien and the Bruins can ill afford to lose another defenseman.
The Boston D is already compromised with the decline in foot speed of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg. Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug have been solid this season while Adam McQuaid and Matt Bartkowski have been inconsistent. Miller’s physicality and steady play will be missed.
Peter Chiarelli will have to find himself a defenseman to replace Miller before the March 2 NHL trade deadline.
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Malcolm Subban may or may not be making his much anticipated NHL debut against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. On Tuesday, Subban joined Tuukka Rask and Nic Svedberg on the ice while the Bruins practiced.
All signs point towards Subban making the start against the Oilers. Rask is 1-5 in February and has allowed 15 goals against. The Big Finn has posted less than stellar .852 and .833 save percentages in back to back losses to Calgary and Vancouver, respectively. Julien will not commit to his starter.
"I haven’t sat down and talked to Peter about how we’re going to move forward here," said Julien of the decision to be made. "I think it’s important that we make a decision here as a group, in that situation, because of where we are — whether we have our best goaltender, and the guy we’ve been riding, or whether we go with Malcolm here.…
"So I’m not going to give you an answer here because I haven’t discussed it with him, and I think it needs to be a group decision."
The waiting is the hardest part.
Subban spent ten days practicing with the Bruins earlier this month. He wasn’t given the opportunity to make his NHL debut. He wants his chance to once and for all show Julien and GM Peter Chiarelli that he can manage his way through an NHL game. "It's pretty cool, but just trying to treat it like any other day - obviously try and keep a level head and just stay focused right now," Subban said after practice. "And be ready for my opportunity."
If given the chance to start against the Oilers, Subban will be evaluated by not only Boston brass, but scouts from several NHL teams. Subban is a highly sought after prospect and there are a few teams, like the Buffalo Sabres, who views the former Belleville Bulls star as an NHL franchise goalie. The Bruins drafted Subban in the first round of the 2012 (24th overall).
There have been passionate debates lately as to whether or not Chiarelli would trade Subban. Why would he trade away the eventual successor to Tuukka Rask? There are 30 million reasons why Chiarelli needs to trade Subban sooner than later. Rask has four years remaining on his current contract and will count as a $7.5 million cap hit per season. Rask is not going anywhere. He’s the incumbent number one goalie in Boston and will not be abdicating his throne to Subban or any other goalie for that matter. Subban is 21 years old and isn’t going to sit and wait for the next four seasons for his chance to be the number one goalie in Boston. Chiarelli would be wise to trade Subban now and not at the NHL draft in June. The Florida Panthers are breathing right down the neck of the Bruins right now for an Eastern wild card playoff berth. If the Bruins continue to lose games and leave vital points on the table, they can kiss their playoffs hopes goodbye.
Tim Murray traded his number one goalie Jhonas Enroth to Dallas last week. He intends to ride pending UFA Michal Neuvirth for the majority of the remaining 25 games of the season. Will Neuvirth be re-signed by Murray or will he be testing the free agent market in July?
Murray has exceptional players that he can trade to Chiarelli today. Veterans like Chris Stewart and Tyson Strachan can help the Bruins to find their winning ways again. Murray also has a a second round draft choice to offer. He can also add a goalie prospect to a deal for Subban. There are some who would say that Subban is not ready to play in the NHL. That’s fine. Tim Murray isn’t looking for the kid to be a number one back tender this season. He would looking for next season and beyond.
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