When a trade that would’ve sent Vancouver’s Ryan Kesler to the Pittsburgh Penguins fell off the table, so did a subsequent deal that would’ve brought the Canucks’ Alex Edler to Boston.
At least according to a report from the Boston Globe
According to a team source, the Bruins’ trade fizzled because an expected transaction between Vancouver and Pittsburgh failed to take place.The Penguins had been pursuing Ryan Kesler. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Penguins were offering Brandon Sutter, first- and third-round picks, and a defensive prospect.
Once the Canucks moved Kesler to Pittsburgh, they would have proceeded with their trade with the Bruins. The Bruins’ target could not be confirmed. But it’s likely they were targeting smooth-moving left-shot defenseman Alex Edler.
This is seemingly backed up by what general manager Peter Chiarelli said on Wednesday after the deadline at his post-deadline press conference, and what B’s president Cam Neely said during his weekly interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s midday program, Felger and Mazz.
Their basic message: They were close to acquiring an NHL talent with term left on his contract.
This, in theory, seemed to make a lot of sense when you revisit the Bruins’ silence during what turned out to be an absolutely insane 24-hour stretch of wheelin’ and dealin’ around the league. The B’s didn’t nab Stephane Robidas from Dallas on the cheap, and they stayed completely out of the Andrew MacDonald sweepstakes. Given their price, that’s obviously unlike Chiarelli.
Were they holding out for the 27-year-old defensemen? You’d have to think so.
“There was a few good deals that we were in, and yeah, a little disappointed those deals … Sometimes those deals come around in the summer and in the fall, so you lay some groundwork,… Chiarelli said when asked about the B’s deadline deals that never were. “That’s what happens too, at these, at trade deadline, is that you lay some groundwork for some deals later on, too. And we felt we did that, too. But I thought we were in a couple deals where it would’ve been good for the acquisitions.…
But at the end of the day, the Bruins walked away without Edler, instead nabbing Andrej Meszaros from the Philadelphia Flyers for a conditional third round draft pick and with Philly picking up half of Meszaros’ $4 million salary in 2013-14.
Obviously, Edler would’ve been the preferred choice. In 46 games for the Canucks this year, Edler’s been a bit of a struggle in the offensive end, scoring five goals and adding 11 assists. That’s an obvious dip from Edler’s previously established norm with the Canucks -- he had a career-high 49 points in 2011-12 -- but Edler’s still a guy capable of playing top-four minutes in a system like the Bruins’. Especially when you take into account the fact that Edler’s a lefty shooting defender averaging almost 23 minutes a game, can quarterback a power-play, and can even kill penalties as well.
Again though, he’s not here, and won’t be coming here to help the 2013-14 Bruins out. But could this be a deal revisited in the summertime, as Chiarelli alluded to on Wednesday?
It could depend on a whole lot for the Black-and-Gold, really. Dougie Hamilton has one more year left on his entry-level contract, and Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski are free agents at the end of the season. All three are expected to receive modest raises, and while the cap is going up, you’re talking about a Boston club that could be absolutely devastated by bonus cushion penalties in 2014-15 (Krug and Jarome Iginla are certainly hitting them). That’s certainly a tough sell when you look at Edler’s contact, with the Swedish defenseman coming with a $5 million cap-hit from now until the end of the 2018-19 season. That’s a lot of cake.
But it’s not an impossible sell, either. If the Canucks are serious about committing to John Tortorella’s style and system, a guy like Adam McQuaid could be a player that appeals to Tortorella. And if Kesler’s moved in the summertime, a prospect like Ryan Spooner becomes that much more interesting to a Canucks squad that’d need some skill down the middle.
While this is all pure speculation on my behalf, Chiarelli’s comments seem to indicate that the groundwork for a potential Edler to Boston deal has been laid out.