Keeping a Stanley Cup winning team intact in the salary cap era is near impossible. Look at the Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, and LA Kings for evidence. As the cap continues to increase so too do the salary demands of the players who helped deliver the Stanley Cup to their respective organizations.
Earlier this week, Chiarelli signed his leading scorer and #1 center David Krejci to a 6-year, $43.5 million contract extension, that will not kick in until the 2015-16 season. Krejci will earn $5.25 million this season.
Chiarelli has to subtract a vet or two to become cap compliant in the days and weeks to come. If that means subtracting a respected veteran soldier or two who helped deliver the Cup to Boston a few years ago, then so be it.
The show must go on.
Youth must be served in Boston where Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is currently in the process of trying to subtract a veteran salary, or two, so that he can accomplish two goals:
1). To create needed salary cap space to sign two heavily relied upon youngsters in D-man Torey Krug and forward Reilly Smith. In his first full NHL season, Krug scored 14 goals and added 26 assists last season in 79 games played. He will be counted on to add more production this season.
In 82 games played during his breakout NHL season, Smith potted 20 goals and added 31 helpers last season and branded himself as a difference maker in his first season in Boston. Expectations are high for both youngsters moving forward.
Krug and Smith are only 23 years of age, however, each played extremely well for the Bruins in the playoffs. It was the vets who lagged and sagged in the seven game series loss to the Montreal Canadiens. Not the kids.
2). To get achieve the $69 million salary cap ceiling.
It won't come without its share of pain and suffering for Chiarelli as he will be saying goodbye to one or two of his following veteran leaders:
Grinder Chris Kelly, bruisers Adam McQuaid or Johnny Boychuk, or pest extraordinaire Brad Marchand.
Chiarelli bid adieu to B's policeman Shawn Thronton earlier this summer. Others will follow Thornton out of town. Its hard to say right now which player(s) that Chiarelli is trying to trade, however, he will be making a move in the next week to ten days so that he can insure that Krug and Smith will be on the ice when training camp opens on September 18.
Personally, I can't see Chiarelli trading Boychuk. He's to valuable to the aging back end in Beantown. With Chara sneaking up on 39 years of age and Seidenberg recovering from a major knee injury, Boychuk represents stability for Claude Julien's D corps and protection for Tuukka Rask. Boychuk will earn $3.36 million this season. The guy hits, fights, sticks up for teammates, blocks shots and makes a nice first pass. Trading Boychuk would create a huge void on the Boston blue line and in their room.
Perhaps the easiest rout would be trade another D like Adam McQuaid. Bottom six grinder Chris Kelly is also a candidate to leave Boston to free up cap space to re-sign Krug and Smith.
If Chiarelli cannot craft a deal to send Kelly and his $3 million salary packing, he may have to seriously consider trading Marchand, who will earn $4.5 million for the next three seasons.
Marchand didn't exactly play the role of team leader for his Bruins in the Mongreal series. He spent his fair share of time in the sin bin for selfish play.
The paradigm is shifting in Beantown. Out with the vets and in with the kids.
Breaking up is hard to do.
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Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is currently $810,000 over the salary cap, however, that hasn’t prevented the GM from inviting three NHL veterans to training camp. Chiarelli is curious as to whether or not Ville Leino, Simon Gagne, Steve Eminger can help his club. There’s only one way to find out.
Leino, once the darling of UFA day in 2011, is now a training camp invitee.
How the "mighty" have fallen. Personally, I never liked Leino in Buffalo. The Sabres failed to land Brad Richards on UFA day 2011 so they instead lavished Leino with a fat, multi-year contract. Bad idea.
I grew weary of him after listening to him bitch and moan about not wanting to play center after his coaches moved him out of his comfort zone at the wing to try to kick start his game. I despised his soft board play and his weak back passes to the opponent's stick that cause more than one odd man breakaway against Ryan Miller.
Lindy Ruff, Ron Rolston and Ted Nolan all tried to squeeze the talent and leadership out of him. It never materialized for the Sabres. How can three NHL coaches be wrong?
If Leino took issue with Ruff and Nolan, he's certainly not going to see eye to eye with hard assed Claude Julien.
If Chiarelli is looking for Leino to play the sandy, pugilistic role that the recently departed Shawn Thornton played for the Bruins, he’s got another thing coming, Leino is the hockey antithesis to Thornton.
I face palmed myself repeatedly when I heard the news that Leino has been invited to the Bruins’ camp. We are talking about the same soft, opinionated, oft-injured Leino who was recently bought out of the remaining three years of the six-year, $27 million contract he signed with Buffalo that the Sabres 46 points. Then Sabres GM Darcy Regier inked Leino to the ginormous free agency contract after he performed well for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010-11. Leino scored only 46 points in his three seasons in Buffalo. He was so bad for the Sabres last season that he was held scoreless in 58 games played. Hell, John Scott outscored the Fallen Finn 1-0 in 2013-14.
If Claude Julien can fix Leino’s game (and attitude) and he’s signed to the Bruins’ roster, he’ll only be due a one year contract for the low dollars, similar to the$1 million, one-off contract that fellow bought-out Sabre Christian Ehrhoff signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this summer.
My take:
Leino will go quietly into that good night. He won't be able to cut the mustard in the high standards setting of Boston.
There's always the Finnish Elite League, Ville.
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Sabres center Mikhail Grigorenko has been doing serious work this summer. The former 12th overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft has totally re-engineered his physique. He’s packed on 10-13 pounds of solid muscle and will be reporting the Sabres training camp at 6’3 and 220 lbs.
Check out Grigo’s jacket guns, chest and shoulders. He’s clearly taken the advice of Sabres management to heart and has maximized his strength and conditions. Perhaps he’s feeling the pressure of having to compete for his center position with 2nd overall pick (2013) Samson Reinhart and Zemgus Girgensons ( 14th pick overall, 2012).
Get a load of what Grigo’s physique from the summer of 2012 when he first arrived in Buffalo.
I respect Grigo's commitment to his summer work. He's obviously listening to his coaches and GM. Talent isn't keeping him out of the NHL right now. Its his physicality and confidence. Tim Murray wants his players to be tough to play against. The new and improved Grigorenko is on his way to that end.
If Grigo wants to impress Ted Nolan and Tim Murray, he's going to have to bring it on in every drill and on every shift in the exhibitions games that he's activated to play in. He won't have the opportunity to turn heads at next week's Traverse City Prospects Tourney as he's no longer eligible to play in the tourney.
Peer pressure. Gotta love it.
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