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Despite adding two pieces in Matt Beleskey (a five-year deal worth $19 million) and Jimmy Hayes (via a trade with the Florida Panthers) on July 1st, general manager Don Sweeney’s 2015-16 Boston Bruins remain an undeniably unfinished product.
Up front, the B’s forward group seems solidified, although the Bruins still need to hammer out new deals for both Hayes and Brett Connolly (both restricted free agents). But if/when they’re signed, the Bruins look to have a complete four-line set and then some. But on their blue line, the Bruins’ defense lacks another top-four impact blue-liner, specifically on their right side. As of right now, Adam McQuaid is in the club’s top-four defense corp, and I’m sure that that’s something head coach Claude Julien is going to exactly comfortable with given his struggles in that role last season.
And with $8.9 million in cap space before re-signing Connolly and Hayes, it would appear that there’s definitely room for the Black and Gold to add another piece to solidify the point.
“We’ll continue to identify potential people that will help our club. If there’s a player that represents an improvement then we’re going to look at it, whether that’s through free agency or acquisition,… Sweeney said on Wednesday night. “I’m not going to tell you I’m going to stop looking but I’m not in a hurry to do anything other than evaluate if that’s the best decision for our team.
“Hopefully we’ve done a lot of that in the last little while, but a bunch of things have been thrown at us in numbers and they’ve probably come a little too quickly for my liking. I’ve tried to handle them accordingly as a group,… continued Sweeney. “I think our group has responded well, but it’s been quite a bit and I think it’s time to certainly take a step back and evaluate and do things on your own terms. Again, doing things that you want to do for the absolute right reasons, not that you maybe have to do.…
On the open market, the obvious candidates for an upgrade there are free agent defensemen Christian Ehrhoff, Cody Franson, and maybe even Johnny Oduya.
Of the three, reports seem to indicate that Ehrhoff would be the most willing to take a shorter term deal for a chance at winning a Stanley Cup, while Franson and Oduya could be looking for the long term security of a big money deal. That would of course make Ehrhoff, though a left-handed shot, the go-to guy for a Boston organization that feels their pipeline is loaded with capable defenders down the line.
However, it might be tougher to sell guys on the idea that Boston -- now without two major talents in Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic -- is closer to a Cup than some other suitors that could come their way. But still, Ehrhoff makes sense. He wouldn’t come at an insane cost after last year’s hot-and-cold, injury-riddled stint in Pittsburgh that yielded three goals and 14 points and a plus-8 rating in 49 games played. What would make Ehrhoff an attractive get for the Bruins would be his ability to play both sides (he played the right side quite a bit with Kris Letang or Paul Martin last year with the Penguins). There’s also familiarity with Boston’s Dennis Seidenberg, a fellow German, for the 32-year-old.
Signing Ehrhoff to a one-year deal would bring a steadying presence to a B’s top-four that could definitely use it, and would be entirely more cost effective than Oduya, who reportedly wants a three or four year contract, or Franson, who could be out of the Bruins’ range in both years and money desired.
But lost in that could be Sweeney’s desire to commit to the youth movement on the back end.
“Well I think it is lost a little bit but we have five of six defensemen returning. Kevan Miller is part of that group of returning and we missed Kevan last year when he went down with that shoulder injury. He played for an extended period of time with a sling on and it was admirable of him and that is the type of character and warrior mentality that he obviously brings to the table,… Sweeney said. “I think we have a blend of younger players to go compliment that group to push for the competitiveness that it takes to stay in the National Hockey League at the natural course of development. I have talked about having some patience for players to develop and then not being impatient in terms of their integration. And I think we are at that point. The players always identify when they are ready to play in the NHL.…
Along with Miller, the Bruins also expect big strides from Zach Trotman, a 6-foot-3 defender that recorded one goal and five points in 27 games for the big B’s last season. Trotman’s games, although a bit sporadic due to the massive injuries the Boston point went through all year long, were efficient and got increasingly better as the year went. That obviously came back to Julien’s coaching and utilization.
That remains a key for Sweeney going into this upcoming season, too.
“Our coaches have to be willing to put them in roles where they are going to be successful. They need to be encouraged when they go over the boards that they can go out and bring what they bring to the table and when they come back, they aren't going to be ridiculed for making a mistake based on a lot times on inexperience,… Sweeney noted. “They need to be encouraged to see the things they do well as opposed to the things they can't do. Because we all go through that, there is not a perfect player. You are always going to make mistakes, just don't make repetitive ones. As a defenseman there is probably a little steeper learning curve when it is involved in that. You look at the progression of Zach (Trotman) and Joe (Morrow) and Colin (Miller) and they are going to fit amongst our group.…
The Bruins wanna see more out of their young talents, and that’s a fact. Trotman enters this season with 29 games played. Morrow has played in 15. Kevan Miller has skated in 88, and Colin Miller is still in search of his NHL debut after tallying 69 points in 135 contests in the American Hockey League.
Letting this inexperienced foursome battle for a spot in the top four is not the worst idea for the Bruins, and could give Sweeney a bit of time to assess what they have, save some cash, and address their needs at the trade deadline. But if it all goes to hell and it’s an underwhelming showing from all four across the board, that could put the B’s out of range to even be buyers at the deadline.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com