In his end-of-season press conference, Bruins’ president Cam Neely said the team’s brass had to be “brutally honest” in determining just where the aging club was.
Where that hard look takes them remains to be seen, but as the NHL heads into the weekend before it’s biggest offseason week – first the draft on Tuesday and Wednesday, then the opening of free agency on Friday — the B’s look like a team willing to make to make some pretty significant moves.
At the top of the list is their reported pursuit of Arizona Coyotes’ defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Both TSN and Sportsnet in Canada have reported that Ekman-Larsson has waived his no-trade clause for two teams – the Bruins and Vancouver Canucks. Ekman-Larsson is a very good player, though not the elite player his price tag would suggest. He’d be a pretty logical replacement for Torey Krug, who at the moment appears to be headed to the free agent market. The long-time power-play producer was reportedly offered a six-year contract worth $6.5 million, which did not get the deal done.
Ekman-Larsson, while not quite the dynamo on the power-play like Krug, is a legitimate top-four defenseman, and quite possibly a first pairing left shot D-man to play with Charlie McAvoy. While he’s not a bruiser by any means, his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame would provide some more help in the defensive zone that Krug couldn’t, and their loss to the Lightning in the playoffs showed that the B’s could use a little more size. Ekman-Larsson is four years removed from his best season (21-34-55 totals) and did not have a good 2019-20 (30 points). But still well inside his prime years at 29, Ekman-Larsson could be a player that would benefit from a change of scenery.
But part of the reason why Ekman-Larsson is available is what would make this acquisition from the cash- and cap-strapped Coyotes so tricky. His contract is onerous. He’s got seven more years at $8.25 million per season. You can debate who you’d rather have – Ekman-Larsson or Krug – but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thinks he’s that much better than Krug. It’s difficult to envision this deal happening without the Coyotes taking back some of the money, perhaps $2 million or even $1.75 million to get the average annual value down to what they reportedly offered Krug.
Then there’s the issue of what’s in it for the Coyotes, beyond salary-shedding. Neither the Bruins nor Canucks have a first round pick in next week’s draft, so that’s a push. The B’s lost theirs in the Ondrej Kase deal. The first in 2021 could be offered, but going two years without a first round pick may not be wise when, in these financially uncertain times, young (cheap) talent could be more important than ever.
Brandon Carlo’s name has been bandied about in recent weeks. But that would then elevate either Connor Clifton or Jeremy Lauzon (on his off side) into the top four and, after all is said and done, does that make your team any better? Doubtful.
Jake DeBrusk’s name is also out there. Speculation has been that the RFA will be looking for something in the neighborhood of $5 million, a steep price for a player without arbitration rights, or one who hasn’t fully established who he is. Will he always be the streaky scorer he is today, or could he blossom into a 40-goal scorer?
“I think the best is yet to come with him,” said one Eastern Conference talent evaluator earlier this week.
But if he’s not amenable to a bridge deal, DeBrusk could be a main chip in a deal. If he is, the B’s would the have to be in the market for a top-6 scoring winger, if they aren’t already (Taylor Hall anyone?)
If the Coyotes want to keep the salary down, the B’s do have 2017 first rounder Urho Vaakanainen. The lefthanded D-man’s development has been slower than hoped for, but it’s too early to call him a bust. He could still grow to become a top-4 defenseman. There is also Anders Bjork, a still intriguing player who is even more so with a three-year extension at $1.6 million per season. Could those two, plus a mid-round pick (and the stipulation that Arizona absorbs part of the contract) get the deal done?
Then there’s everyone’ favorite lightning rod, Tuukka Rask. A league source indicated earlier in the week that GM Don Sweeney was getting lots of calls on Rask, who has one year left on his deal. TSN reported Sweeney has initiated calls. Whatever the case, Sweeney will no doubt have something to think about.
But dealing Rask and maintaining the same level of netminding will be a tough trick, even with number of goalies on the trade and free agent markets. On top of his own Vezina finalist-caliber game, Rask works well with 1B Jaroslav Halak, who signed a one-year extension. That should not be discounted. On top of that, while Rask’s contract calls for him providing a list of 15 teams for who he’d agree for a trade, there’s no guarantee that he wouldn’t simply retire before moving his family to another city.
The prudent play could very well be to sit tight with Rask, perhaps even trying to sign him for one more season to give Daniel Vladar, Jeremy Swayman or Kyle Keyser time to emerge as a viable NHL netminder.
Whatever happens, it should be an interesting week and a half. This is the season of rumors, many of which turn out to scurrilous. But there seems to be a lot more smoke this year.
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October 03, 2020 at 05:18AM
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Bruins could be active on trade front - Boston Herald
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