Krejci Breaks The TD Bank (miller)

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Krejci Breaks The TD Bank

By GARTH'S CORNER

Sep 3, 2014 • 8:48 pm

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The Boston Bruins had a yard sale of a D corps in the 2014 playoffs. The loss of Dennis Seidenberg to injury for the season put the onus of defensive responsibility squarely on the 38 year old shoulders of Zdeno Chara. Adam McQuaid was injured as well. The Bruins were exploited by the Canadiens in the second round of the playoffs and they lost in seven games. The B's walked away from veteran Andrej Meszaros, who signed with Buffalo earlier this summer. Veteran Johnny Boychuk is getting up there in years and the B's seemingly are moving toward fortifying their D deficiencies with youngsters Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski, Kevan Miller, and David Warsofsky.

September is here and the Bruins have yet to re-sign RFAs Torey Krug and Reilly Smith.

The team has only $810,000 in available salary cap space to work with.

I smell a trade brewing. Brad Marchand just may be the od man out in The Hub.

****

Well, if the reports originating out of Boston are true, then Bruins center David Krejci is now the highest paid player on the Bruins' roster. In terms of AAV, that is.

Krejci, 28, will be paid #1 center money now.

The Krejci contract extension leaves the Bruins with salary cap concerns moving forward. Suddenly, the B's are feeling the same cap space pinch as the LA Kings and Chicago Blackhawks. Keeping Cup winning squads intact is getting to be a difficult process for NHL GMs to have to do. Cup winning players want to be paid commensurate with their body of work that they have created. For example, defensive talwarts Dan Paille, Gregory Campbell and Carl Soderberg will be UFA in July 2015. Whats more, Dougie Hamilton, Jordan Caron, and Justin Florek will be RFA. As of September 3 2014, Peter Chiarelli has only $14 million in available cap space for 2015-16. Not a huge concern today, however, he has to decide whether its time to pass on Paille, Campbell, or Soderberg, or, all of the above. It should be noted that the Bruins would not have won their recent Stanley Cup without the amazing fourth line of Paille-Campbell-Thornton. Chiarelli bid adieu to Thornton this summer. Are Paille and/or Campbell next to leave Boston?

Had Krejci hit the open market as a UFA next summer, he'd have attracted several suitors who would have no doubt gotten into a bidding war for his services. The guy is a versatile two way center who plays in all key situations. He's won a Stanley Cup and performs well on the big stage in the playoffs. His biggest critics would argue that Krejci sunk like a sunset in the 2014 post season. He didn't score a goal and only added four assists for the Bruins who lost in seven games to PK Subban and the Montreal Canadiens.

Just after the dinner hour on Wednesday night, news began to circulate that Krejci has agreed to a 6 year, $43.5 million contract extension that will kick in for the 2015-16 season. Krejci will earn $5.25 million this season.

The Bruins are betting on Krejci to hit his prime and to continue his upward trajectory. Hence, they are buying six years of his prime playing career.

In 8 seasons in Boston, Krejci has scored 110 goals and added 268 assists.

His truest value to the Bruins has been in the playoffs, where he has scored 29 goals and chipped in 48 assists in 93 career postseason games.

No wonder the Bruins allowed veteran leader Jarome Iginla to skate to Denver in July. Krejci's new jumbo-sized deal will be eating up a lot of Boston's cap space for the next six seasons.

*** *** Lookie here. Its Ryan Miller Version 3.0.

Check his slick new Canucks themed lid.

On it, Miller pays tribute to his nephew Matt, who passed away when Miller played in Buffalo. He also has included his wife Noureen and their dog "Puck" on the back of the mask. The Millers are celebrating their third wedding anniversary. Seems like yesterday that Ryan and Noureen were married.

Very cool.

***

It will be a home coming of sorts for Mike Grier when he visits Buffalo later this month. Sabres fans will no doubt be urging Grier to sell top prospect Jack Eichel to stay and play in The Queen City.

Grier served two tours of duty in Buffalo. He was a beloved, respected leader and role model to then Sabres core youngsters Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Paul Gaustad, and Brian Campbell.

Sabres fans have a lot of time for Grier because of his strong work ethic and the depth of his character. Grier was a perfect role model as a player because he acted and played like a coach on the ice. Grier and Teppo Numminen were very much alike.

 The event, which will feature 42 of the top American-born prospects eligible for the 2015 National Hockey League Entry Draft, will be staged at First Niagara Center, home of the Buffalo Sabres.

Grier played in the NHL from 1996-2011, suiting up for the Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, San Jose Sharks and, on two occasions, the Buffalo Sabres. He posted 162 goals and 383 points over 1,060 career games. Internationally, Grier represented Team USA at the 1995 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship and won a bronze medal with the U.S. at the 2004 IIHF Men’s World Championship. Since retiring, Grier has become a youth hockey coach. This past July he served as an on-ice instructor at USA Hockey’s Boys’ Select 17 Player Development Camp.

Olczyk skated for six teams over 16 NHL seasons.

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