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Big Bad Bruins NO MORE!


ICEWATER77

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The thing with the Boychuk deal is that it was a cap move. It's fine to talk about 'replacing' him, but BO tried to do what any team has to do, i.e., replace him from within by working young guys into the roster. That's the only way forward in a cap system. Unlike Chicago, which dismantled big chunks of the core from its first Cup team for cap reasons, then was able to ride out the transition period, the Ruins have simply melted down - and probably over-reacted to boot.

I find it mordantly absurd that that idiot Lucic attacked Chiarelli for trading Boychuk. Lucic's egregious $6 million cap hit is a major reason that they HAD to trade Boychuk. And he has the gall to criticize management! WHAT. A. PUKE.

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The problem with that is it lets Chiarelli off the hook for the team he built to ensure that guys like Iginla and Boychuk were no longer affordable. In 12/13 they gave Lucic a big three year extension (which he deserved at the time), gave Seguin $5.75M because he was supposed to be their future superstar and gave Brad Marchand $4.5M per year on a long term deal. They re-jig their defence so that guys like Boychuk and Hamilton can eventually be paid.


More importantly, at this point they had Rich Peverley making $3.25M, Chris Kelly $3M, Greg Campbell $1.6M, Dan Paille $1.3M and were paying Shawn Thornton $1.1M to be a mascot. When they trade Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley, do they do a deal that gets them a young superstar back? Some cap relief? Nope, they add Loui Eriksson's $4.25M (meaning they save $1.5M on Seguin) and add prospects that will be in RFA status almost immediately like Reilly Smith. They only save from shuffling Peverley but still have Chris Kelly sitting there making $500K less than David Desharnais. They also give Dennis Seidenberg an extension when Boychuk, Krug and Hamilton would also be needing extensions soon.


In comes this season. They give Krejci a big $7.25M extension despite having a Carl Soderberg making $1M and looking like a guy who could totally elevate to the top six. They give Reilly Smith $3.5M for two years and Torey Krug $3.4M. They do absolutely nothing in juggling their bottom six... oh wait they let Thornton walk. They still had Kelly, Campbell and Paille clogging up almost $6M. So what do they do? Do they trade Brad Marchand before his value falls? Do they move Chris Kelly early in a salary dump like the Habs did to Rene Bourque? Do they give away Greg Campbell? Nope. They goto their defence, which has an aging, slowing down Zdeno Chara and a low offence Dennis Seidenberg and trade away Johnny Boychuk before he can walk. And do nothing to replace him.


So now the next GM of the Boston Bruins has Milan Lucic with a year left, Marchand with two years left, Eriksson with little value and one year left and Chris Kelly with one year left. Paille and Campbell are finally gone. Chara and Seidenberg have three more years before both probably retire. McQuaid is a UFA, Bartkowski is a UFA, Soderberg is a UFA and both Brett Connolly and Dougie Hamilton are RFAs needing new contracts. That's a ton of money on the table either leaving or staying. Chiarelli's problem was very poor cap management and trading players who should have stayed. He had Seguin locked down. Why trade him and keep Krejci, and pay Krejci more than what Seguin makes? It's crazy. Not to mention clogging your bottom six with overpaid plugs.


I don't blame Lucic for criticizing management, but that doesn't change the fact he had a poor year.

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The problem with that is it lets Chiarelli off the hook for the team he built to ensure that guys like Iginla and Boychuk were no longer affordable. In 12/13 they gave Lucic a big three year extension (which he deserved at the time), gave Seguin $5.75M because he was supposed to be their future superstar and gave Brad Marchand $4.5M per year on a long term deal. They re-jig their defence so that guys like Boychuk and Hamilton can eventually be paid.
More importantly, at this point they had Rich Peverley making $3.25M, Chris Kelly $3M, Greg Campbell $1.6M, Dan Paille $1.3M and were paying Shawn Thornton $1.1M to be a mascot. When they trade Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley, do they do a deal that gets them a young superstar back? Some cap relief? Nope, they add Loui Eriksson's $4.25M (meaning they save $1.5M on Seguin) and add prospects that will be in RFA status almost immediately like Reilly Smith. They only save from shuffling Peverley but still have Chris Kelly sitting there making $500K less than David Desharnais. They also give Dennis Seidenberg an extension when Boychuk, Krug and Hamilton would also be needing extensions soon.
In comes this season. They give Krejci a big $7.25M extension despite having a Carl Soderberg making $1M and looking like a guy who could totally elevate to the top six. They give Reilly Smith $3.5M for two years and Torey Krug $3.4M. They do absolutely nothing in juggling their bottom six... oh wait they let Thornton walk. They still had Kelly, Campbell and Paille clogging up almost $6M. So what do they do? Do they trade Brad Marchand before his value falls? Do they move Chris Kelly early in a salary dump like the Habs did to Rene Bourque? Do they give away Greg Campbell? Nope. They goto their defence, which has an aging, slowing down Zdeno Chara and a low offence Dennis Seidenberg and trade away Johnny Boychuk before he can walk. And do nothing to replace him.
So now the next GM of the Boston Bruins has Milan Lucic with a year left, Marchand with two years left, Eriksson with little value and one year left and Chris Kelly with one year left. Paille and Campbell are finally gone. Chara and Seidenberg have three more years before both probably retire. McQuaid is a UFA, Bartkowski is a UFA, Soderberg is a UFA and both Brett Connolly and Dougie Hamilton are RFAs needing new contracts. That's a ton of money on the table either leaving or staying. Chiarelli's problem was very poor cap management and trading players who should have stayed. He had Seguin locked down. Why trade him and keep Krejci, and pay Krejci more than what Seguin makes? It's crazy. Not to mention clogging your bottom six with overpaid plugs.
I don't blame Lucic for criticizing management, but that doesn't change the fact he had a poor year.

Great analysis. Chiarelli has been mentioned as a possible Nonis replacement in TO...with that cap-management track record, let's hope so :nuts:

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Yeah, great post Machine, I smiled then laughed all the way through it, oh what pleasure it brings to have it spelled out like that!

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Great analysis. Chiarelli has been mentioned as a possible Nonis replacement in TO...with that cap-management track record, let's hope so :nuts:

He managed the team to a Stanley Cup :thumbs_up:

Then he lost/let go too many good players and character players. :thumbs_down:

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Yeah, it's definitely one thing to build a team; another to make creative adjustments to its success. These are almost two phases to a general managerial career, and if you succeed at the first, there are many shoals facing you in the second.

I saw Mike Gillis build a team in Vancouver that went to the 7th game of the Finals. That team had clarity of vision about the kind of hockey it was to play and the kind of players it needed. But then he started slipping. Failed to make adjustments. Made the wrong adjustments. Lost the plot. Got fired. Ditto Chiarelli, in a way - although he didn't 'lose the plot' to the degree that Gillis did.

I think GMs become too loyal to the players that won them a Cup, and therein lies the trouble.

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I think GMs become too loyal to the players that won them a Cup, and therein lies the trouble.

See Dean Lombardi and Mike Richards for another example of that. Not using the compliance buyout on Richards after LA won the Cup last year is going to be extremely costly for them.

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Bob Jughead McKenzie said available GM canditates he has talked to wont touch Leaf GM position with ten foot pole (way too dysfunctional situation obviously).

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Bob Jughead McKenzie said available GM canditates he has talked to wont touch Leaf GM position with ten foot pole (way too dysfunctional situation obviously).

Right now Boston and Toronto could go after Jeff Gorton or Julien BriseBois, both I feel are in that Jim Nill position of the next guys worthy of a shot at GMing a team. I wouldn't like either on either.

See Dean Lombardi and Mike Richards for another example of that. Not using the compliance buyout on Richards after LA won the Cup last year is going to be extremely costly for them.

Yeah, Lombardi was very loyal to Richards. Still doesn't want to buy him out. Still thinks he can turn it around. People said he was very emotional about sending him to Manchester.

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