That special time of year for all NHL fans. That zealous feeling. Something sweet in the air. Mysterious - one word to describe the day.
That is the Trade Deadline, folks. Sometimes too much clatter and little results. Other times, there is an equal amount of clatter and results (trades). What do fans look for? Sure, every fanbase wants their team to acquire a player - some sort of impact player. Any player, really. OK, maybe not just
any player, but someone. This feeling, this
need lies within every hockey fan. You cannot hide it and you should not feel guilty to speak about it. This rumor, that rumor. Did you hear (insert team) is interested in (insert player)? That Piece of shit (insert a player from your favorite team) better be traded - overpriced assface! You know how it goes, right? The
Trade Deadline.
That being said, let's move on to what I intended to write about - the Boston Bruins. What did they need? Well, there were two things they needed: 1) (high priority) scoring, 2) puck-moving defenseman. Boston is dead last in scoring - these offensive players cannot buy a freaking goal. Seriously, quite pathetic. The offensive players on the Bruins team
should be scoring. There
shouldn't be any struggle for scoring. Really, there should not be. However, the fact is Boston lack scoring. Marco Sturm leads the team with 19 goals in 55 games, second is Michael Ryder with 15 in 61 games. Marc Savard doesn't have a winger that can put the puck in the net. In fact, Savard has played with Dan Paille, Miroslav Satan, Michael Ryder, Blake Wheeler, Marco Sturm and Byron Bitz on the right wing. Nothing, nothing worked. Trade Deadline came and went. Boston did not get a scorer. Quite surprising considering how awful the Bruins offense has been this year. Should the fans be upset? Damn right they should be. I am definitely angry (though I cannot say I am surprised considering Peter Chiarelli's record on Trade Deadline day). Before I write about that let's look at what the Bruins
did do.
Derek Morris was dealt to Phoenix. Yup, I was very shocked at that. I cannot say I was surprised about where he is going (quite ironic though), but I was surprised that he was dealt. His number were fine in Boston:
58 GP 3G 22A 25PTS -2 26PIM and 12 PPP. Responsible in his own end and one of the very few defenseman who actually played well so far. The other good defenseman so far is Mark Stuart (only 40 games) and Johnny Boychuk (only 31 games). Not good when you have Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman. Morris signed with the Boston Bruins this off-season: 1 year at 3.3 million. I thought that was a fair deal, and like I said he played pretty well with the Bruins. It was confirmed by Peter Chiarelli that the trade sending Derek Morris to Phoenix for a 4th round pick was made for the purpose to dump salary. Ok, fine. Boston were very tight against the salary cap and at that time I thought "maybe they will make a stronger push for Danny Hamhuis." However, what bothered me the most was the little return Boston got for Derek Morris. Now, that 4th round pick will turn into a 3rd round pick if Phoenix re-signs Morris. That is good, but considering Islanders got a 2nd round pick for Andy Sutton and Carolina got a 3rd round pick for Andrew Alberts, Derek Morris should have
easily gotten a 2nd round pick.
Easily. Terrible.
The Derek Morris deal means that Boston were going to make another trade - they needed to fill the empty spot in defense. Who did they get? Dennis Seidenberg and a prospect D for Byron Bitz, a prospect and a 2nd round pick (Tampa Bay's). Seidenberg is a good solid defenseman, but he is also an unrestricted free agent who gets a 1.25 million dollar bonus on June 30. Yes, you read that right. Boston could very well lose him. If they do, then they have just given away a 2nd round pick for 20 games of Seidenberg. Not good. Is Seidenberg an upgrade over Morris? I cannot say it is. Sure, Seidenberg is cheaper but he doesn't have Morris' passing and vision. If the Bruins wanted Seidenberg that bad (and Peter Chiarelli said he did) why didn't they sign him instead of Derek Morris? They would have easily saved money. Eh, it's called Bruins.
The Seidenberg deal was made at noon. Now, I'm thinking that the Bruins are not done - hell they should not be - and would acquire a scorer. Who would be gone from the Bruins roster? Well, top of the list would be Michael Ryder and his 4 million dollars. I have stuck behind him since the day he was signed, not many Bruins fans did. Ryder was great last year, but so was every other Bruin. He had 27 goals in the regular season and he manhandled the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. This year?
15G 10A 25PTS. Not the numbers you're sniper should have by the 61st game of the season. Oh, and did I mention he gets paid 4 million dollars? Ouch. I have stuck by him and continued to stick by Michael Ryder. But if someone has to be dealt to improve this offense, it's Michael Ryder. That's what happens when you have a GM that gives out an ample amount of bad contracts (I will get to that shortly). Scoring is an issue. Did the Bruins fix it? Did they acquire a scorer? The answer is no. Plain and simple, and it says a lot. Peter Chiarelli said in his press conference today at 4:30pm that the price for the forwards he was interested in were too high. But how high? Raffi Torres went to Buffalo for a 2nd round pick and defenseman Paetch. And you are telling me the Bruins couldn't give Columbus a similar offer? That is bullshit. By the way, there is a high possibility that Raffi Torres was one of the 8 players Chiarelli was interested. I say 8 because Chiarelli stated so during the press conference, but he did not say who. The rumored players he was interested were: Keith Tkachuck, Erik Cole, Ray Whitney and Raffi Torres. Oh yeah, we need more older players (Tkachuck and Ray Whitney). Come on. Erik Cole would have been nice.
Chiarelli failed to get a scorer. Tomorrow nights Boston Bruins will be the
same as those of last night. Pathetic. The Bruins rarely score more than 2 goals. Hell, it seems like it's a miracle for them to score 3 freaking goals. It's really sad. But, you see, the Bruins would have never been in this situation had Peter Chiarelli not given bad contracts. Here is what I am talking about:
Milan Lucic: 3 years 12 million dollars (4 million dollar cap hit). Great potential, but not worth that much right not. Could have easily been signed in the 2-3 million dollar range.
David Krejci: almost identical contract as Milan Lucic. Sure, Krejci will be an awesome center, but after having one good year that is a huge raise.
Tim Thomas: 4 years 20 million (5 million dollar cap hit) with No Movement Clause. Terrible, just terrible. 5 million dollars for this aging goalie. Really? Tim Thomas could have easily agreed to 3-3.5 million dollars. Over-payed.
Matt Hunwick: 2 years 3.5 million (1.75 cap hit). Too much for a defenseman that played his first full year in the NHL. Oh, how awful he has been this year.
Marco Sturm: 2 years left (including this year) 7 million (3.5 million dollar cap hit) with No Trade Clause. Not worth the NTC. Nope.
How much will Peter Chiarelli pay Blake Wheeler, who is set to be a restricted free agent this year? 5 million? Ya, why not. Oh, and don't forget the tradition No Trade Clause attached to the contract. Sign on the dotted line, alright?
