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Whether that’s tomorrow or in the summertime, the Boston Bruins are going to need to find a way to shed some salary off their already extremely tight salary cap situation. But with the team teetering on the cusp of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, that day could come sooner than later, and has started with the club reportedly toying with the idea of moving one of forward Loui Eriksson or minute-eating defenseman Dennis Seidenberg (or both) before the Mar. 2 Trade Deadline, per Sportsnet.
Eriksson, in just his second year with the Black and Gold, heads into tonight’s action third among Boston skaters in goals (12) and points (31), and has just one more season at $4.25 million left on his current deal.
The 29-year-old winger has struggled at times throughout his Bruins tenure -- you can probably blame two concussions for that -- but has undoubtedly rebounded in 2014-15. In fact, Eriksson has probably been the Bruins’ best winger this season, at least in terms of his consistency. And though he’s spent most of his season on Boston’s third line, Eriksson, an extremely underrated two-way talent, has shown the potential to be a solid fit on Boston’s second line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
Like most of the Boston roster, Eriksson does have a no-trade clause, and while there are teams out there that believe that they could convince Eriksson to waive, it still comes back to his willingness to leave.
And even so, I wouldn’t really move Eriksson unless you’re acquiring something of equal value. When healthy and given the minutes, Eriksson is an effective, reliable top-six presence (and he should/would be a full-time fixture on the Bergeron line if third-line center Carl Soderberg didn’t seem so dependent on No. 21).
He’ll never get a fair shake in Boston given the fact that he was the centerpiece return of the Tyler Seguin trade, for better or worse, but this is not a player that you simply write off as a salary dump. He’s better than that, and I think the Bruins have better money-slashing options than ditching Eriksson, a player with .68 points per game throughout his National Hockey League career, after 116 games.
With Seidenberg, things get pretty interesting, you’d think.
In just the first year of a four-year extension that comes with a $4 million cap-hit, the 33-year-0ld Seidenberg has struggled to regain his workhorse form from years prior, generating a huge question mark on Boston’s second defensive pairing. Seidenberg has three goals and nine points in 56 games this season, along with 102 blocked shots and 133 hits, so the numbers aren’t necessarily the issue. But the German defenseman has looked anything but the steady presence the Bruins have come to expect from him, and has often been left chasing the puck to no avail in 2014-15.
Players of Seidenberg’s ilk tend to break down with time, too, so maybe this would be a time for the Bruins to see if they could ditch that contract and pick up a viable asset in the process. In terms of that asset, given the barren trade market in terms of top-four defensemen, Seidenberg is a player that could likely fetch Boston a first round pick, considerably high ranked prospect, or both from a potential playoff club. On a strong defensive club, Seidenberg is a great No. 3 or No. 4 defenseman. On a thinner defensive club, he could be a serviceable No. 2. That, without saying, has obvious value for clubs.
But again, like Eriksson and most of this roster, Seidenberg has a full no-trade clause, and talked heavily about the stability that his four-year deal gave both he and his family before the ink even dried back in October 2013.
Oh, and by the way, there’s a game tonight.
In the middle game of their five-game road swing, the Bruins make their way to Rexall Place for a matchup with the West-worst Edmonton Oilers. Though they have wins in four of their last eight on home ice, the Oilers have won just nine of 27 games at home this season, have lost 10 straight to the Bruins, and in fact, have not beaten the B’s since Oct. 17, 2000. (To put that gap into perspective, that loss was Hall of Fame coach Pat Burns’ second to last game as Boston’s coach before Mike Keenan took over.)
The Oilers will go against a straight-up frustrated Bruins team at this point, too. Boston’s start to the trip was marred by an awful defensive game in Vancouver in a 5-2 loss to the Canucks, and things didn’t get much better in their 3-0 collapse against the Calgary Flames on Monday night. Monday’s loss made it four in a row for the Bruins, their longest losing streak since Mar. 2012, and had President Cam Neely admit that he’s ‘landed on disappointment’ with this club. And if you think that those losses were ‘rock bottom’, a loss in Edmonton would probably find the entire Boston roster on waivers tomorrow morning.
In essence, expect a desperate, desperate surge from the Bruins to begin this one.
But as their crumbling in Calgary taught the Hub, that won’t really matter if they can’t finish the job.
Boston coach Claude Julien would not confirm a starting goaltender, but what we do know is that it’s going to be either Tuukka Rask or the 21-year-old call-up, Malcolm Subban.
Rask’s frustration is clear, especially after a two-game, two-loss start to the trip (and his line including eight goals on 51 shots against), but the honest truth is that the 27-year-old can only do so much from his crease. He’s done his best to lead by example, has made timely save after timely save, and could command another start to get his team back on track. If Rask gets the nod, he heads to the ice with strong figures against the Oil in his career, winning four-of-four, with a 1.75 goals against average, and .924 save percentage.
But if the Bruins give the nod to Subban, it will be the first NHL start for the former first-round pick (25th overall in 2012), and the middle of the three drafted Subban brothers. The 6-foot-2 Subban is a ridiculously athletic netminder with a great deal of raw potential, and takes to the ice with a 10-10-3 record and .920 save percentage for the Providence Bruins down in the American Hockey League this season. Subban arrived to the NHL with wins in three of his last four AHL starts, stopping 107-of-114 (.939 save percentage).
The Oilers give the nod to their No. 1, Ben Scrivens. Set to make his first appearance since Feb. 9, when he stopped 13-of-14 in a win over New Jersey, Scrivens returns to the ice after missing the last four games with a hamstring injury, and has wins in two wins and an .896 save percentage in his last three appearances. The 28-year-old netminder took the loss in Edmonton’s last contest against the Bruins after surrendering four goals on 31 shots against back on Nov. 6, and comes into play with zero wins, 4.52 goals against average, and .855 save percentage in four career games against the Bruins.
- Boston’s Dougie Hamilton has two goals and four points in two career games against Edmonton.
- Patrice Bergeron has five goals and six points in eight games since the All-Star break.
- Bruins’ Milan Lucic has just two goals in his last 12 games played.
- Jordan Eberle has three goals and 10 points in his last nine games played.
- Edmonton defenseman Jeff Petry has assists in four of his last five games.
Other news and notes
There’s no update on Boston defenseman Kevan Miller, according to head coach Claude Julien.
Miller appeared to injure his upper-body in a collision in front of the Boston bench late in the second period. Miler, who’s been playing with a shoulder ailment for most of the season, is expected to miss the rest of the trip. Adam McQuaid, a healthy scratch on Monday night, will jump back into the lineup.
Jordan Caron and goaltender Niklas Svedberg will be the healthy scratches.
Oiler forwards Taylor Hall (leg), Tyler Pitlick (abdomen), and defenseman Nikita Nikitin (shoulder) are all out, while forwards Rob Klinkhammer, Luke Gazdic, and goaltender Viktor Fasth are all listed with day-to-day ailments for Todd Nelson’s squad.
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