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Tuesday 10: Faulk, Laine, more |
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Ty Anderson
 Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • RSS
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Hockey is almost here.
It’s just a week away, actually, with camps in full swing or winding down depending on your franchise’s standing. The league remains full of intrigue, though, as this training camp has almost felt like a mini-trade deadline with all the signings and rumors that have swirled of late.
Here are 10 thoughts on the week and what's ahead in the NHL...
The Tampa Bay Lightning have made it clear: They’re not going away
Given the hard cap imposed on NHL teams, and despite more than a few team-friendly deals, it felt like the Tampa Bay Lightning were seemingly primed to be the new Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings. And without a Stanley Cup to show for their efforts, too. (I honestly wondered if that played a factor in Steve Yzerman’s decision to leave Tampa for Detroit, too.)
But with center Brayden Point officially back in the fold for less than $7 million per year for the next three years, the Bolts have made it known that they’re not going away anytime soon.
With Point re-signed, the Lightning now have their top three forwards (Point, Nikita Kucherov, and Steven Stamkos) signed at a combined $24.75 million for the next three seasons. Add in their top two defensemen (Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh) and the Bolts are paying just over $39 million for their optimal five-man lineup. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy’s $9.5 million per year extension doesn’t kick in until next year, too, giving Tampa Bay at least one more chance to buy (and buy big) at the trade deadline if they find themselves in need of an in-season upgrade to an already-loaded roster.
The Bolts have also maintained the ability to take low-risk, high-reward gambles on veterans -- Kevin Shattenkirk and 2019 Stanley Cup champion Patrick Maroon were their plays this summer -- that could downright excel in competition-adjusted roles at this point in their careers.
This is good news for pretty much everybody ‘cept head coach Jon Cooper, who almost has to be on the chopping block should the Bolts come up short in the postseason yet again.
Trading Justin Faulk felt like a move five years in the making
Justin Faulk has been traded to the Hurricanes, and so ends what felt like a half-decade of rumors linking Faulk to Anywhere-But-Carolina. It’s a move that the Hurricanes can finally afford, too, as Don Waddell has built a ridiculously deep blue line in Raleigh. A secondary storyline out of this: Are the ‘Canes ready to make Dougie Hamilton, who has just two years at $5.75 million per year left on his current contract, their highest-paid defender in 2021 or does he just become the new Faulk?
The Blues are doing their best to keep their improbable Stanley Cup window open
Many people think it’s sour grapes (and hey, maybe a little bit of it really is sour grapes), but I don’t think the Blues are going to be a legitimate threat to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blues fail to qualify for the postseason in 2020. And yes, yes, I’ve read your hate mail a billion times, but it still doesn’t change my opinion that the Blues were perhaps the least talented team I’ve seen win a Stanley Cup. I just don’t see it, and yes, it absolutely makes the fact that the Bruins gagged away a Game 7 in their own building that much worse.
But getting (and extending) now former Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk is the kind of move the Blues should make if they’re intent on giving themselves a chance at repeating, as he is an obvious upgrade of Joel Edmundson, and doesn’t take drastically strip anything else from their core.
I’m still picking them to finish in ninth in the Western Conference. I will go to the grave with this one.
Where do the Ducks turn now?
I was almost certain that Faulk was going to be an Anaheim Duck. It just made too much sense for them, really. But with Faulk now in St. Louis, it’s worth wondering where the Ducks will turn in their search for defensive help. Is Rasmus Ristolainen their next play, and are they willing to pay the price to make it happen? It’s easy to say that the Ducks should be all-in on a tank-job, but the Pacific Division is always the league’s wild card, and I’d say that the Ducks are too committed -- both in age of their top players and financially -- to do anything except try to be competitive in 2019-20.
The Jets should absolutely listen to offers for Patrik Laine
I hate to say it, but I think the Jets’ Stanley Cup window is finally closed.
The team lost Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba from their defense, the Kevin Hayes rental didn’t end with a long-term deal to keep the Dorchester, Mass. native in Winnipeg, and Dustin Byfuglien isn’t sure if he’s going to play. This is why the Jets should absolutely listen on offers for Patrik Laine if the sides remain miles apart on talks to keep the Finnish sniper in town.
Winnipeg has never been -- and probably never will be -- a free agent hub. This is why replacing those losses with homegrown and drafted talent remains the organization’s best bet at pushing themselves back to the thick of the Central Division. If a team is willing to fork over more than a handful, healthy haul of draft picks via trade or offer sheet in exchange for Laine, you’d be crazy not to consider it.
If you wanna tank, go all in and tank. No half measures.
Brad Marchand notes the difference between camp then and camp now
One of the things I love about the preseason: The veteran players who tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the preseason. Brad Marchand chose to be one of those players following Monday’s preseason head-to-head with the Flyers, and admitted that the preseason is a lot different these days than it was 10 years ago. The biggest difference, Marchand said, was the respect the players have for one another on the ice. Or, as Marchand phrased it, the lack of people trying to take your head off out there. It’s led to a more subdued game -- and borderline play-fighting post-whistle scrums in every game -- but if it keeps everyone upright and out of danger, they’ll take it.
The Bruins could be about to lose another prospect for nothing
If there’s one area of Boston’s front office that needs some work, it’s knowing when to sell on a prospect who isn’t hitting his ceiling in town. After losing forward Seth Griffith to waivers in 2016, and then losing goaltender Malcolm Subban to waivers in 2017, the Bruins could be poised to lose winger Peter Cehlarik to waivers by the time this year’s training camp ends.
Cehlarik has yet to prove himself as a full-time NHLer -- the 24-year-old had four goals and six points in 20 NHL games last year and has five goals and 10 points in 37 NHL games over the last three seasons -- but he has the size and offensive touch to make him a worthwhile add for any team in need of some additional depth scoring for free and on the cheap.
Of course, the B’s could keep Cehlarik around, but his limited usage usage and lack of involvement with the team’s NHLers throughout camp is hardly inspiring when it comes to that possibility.
I absolutely hated this Jeremy Roenick take
Ex-NHLer and current NHL on NBC talking head Jeremy Roenick really wasn’t a fan of Thomas Chabot getting paid by the Senators on a long-term, high-priced payday.
On the surface, I get what Roenick is saying. He feels like players are going right from entry-level deals to massive paydays. They most definitely are. But to say they’re not deserving of these paydays ignores the league’s multi-year trend towards getting younger and more skilled. Teams shouldn’t be in the business of not paying their most talented pieces because they aren’t grizzled enough. Roenick’s take also ignores the fact that this league is phasing out players in their early-30s at a rate unlike anything previously seen. Think about all the serviceable players that remain without work, or are being asked to come to camp on PTOs and for pennies, simply because they’re over 30.
Get your bag while you can.
Taylor Hall would be crazy to leave Devils
Word is that Taylor Hall, who has the possibility of hitting the open market as an unrestricted free agent next summer, recently met with Devils general manager Ray Shero to talk about a possible extension. And while there’s no doubt that Hall will have options (and then some) should he hit the open market, staying with what the Devils are building would probably be Hall’s best course of action.
Since the Devils acquired Hall from the Oilers, the Devils have added two No. 1 overall picks (Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes), as well as defenseman P.K. Subban. The Devils also have flexibility to their name, with over $32 million in projected cap space in 2020.
But most of all, it’s easy to see that the Devils are taking steps forward.
If Hall left as a free agent, there’s no guarantee that he’d be waltzing into a better situation, especially if a team has to win a ridiculously expensive bidding war to get him to sign there.
Hard not to be happy for Islanders’ fans
The Islanders and their fans deserve more than to be a thorn in the side of an arena that couldn’t care less about them. That’s sorta felt like their life since the move to Brooklyn, and why I’m thrilled to see that the Islanders are finally making progress and breaking ground on a new, real home for their team. Going to Nassau Coliseum was always one of my favorite trips when covering road games (I’m a sucker for history and barns that look like above-ground pools), and Barclays just never had that.
Ty Anderson is a writer, columnist, and weird personality for 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, where he covers all things Boston sports. He has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, and has also been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. In addition to writing, Ty can occasionally be heard on the air at 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston, and seen and/or heard on the NHL Network every now and then. He will not give you his email, so yell at him on Twitter (@_TyAnderson).
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