Taylor Hall trade reaction; What's next for Bruins?
The NHL offseason is officially kicking into high gear, with the draft beginning Wednesday night and free agency starting on Saturday.
The Bruins have already made one big move, trading Taylor Hall to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday in what was essentially a $6 million salary dump.
More moves are coming. The Bruins currently have 14 players signed to NHL contracts, including just six forwards and one goalie, and they have just under $11 million in cap space to fill out the remaining eight or nine roster spots.
Here are five of the biggest questions facing Boston:
Are Bergeron and Krejci done?
Cam Neely’s comments on Tuesday weren’t exactly encouraging. The Bruins president said the team has to “plan like they’re not coming back until we hear otherwise.” That’s a different tone than what we heard from him and Don Sweeney at this time last year, when they were at least hinting that they felt optimistic Bergeron would return.
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Sweeney said Bergeron and Krejci’s decisions won’t affect how the Bruins approach this summer, but it’s hard to believe that’s true. Those are critical pieces of the puzzle. Planning “like they’re not coming back” is necessarily different than how they would be planning if they knew one or both were returning.
If the Bruins truly are planning as if Bergeron and Krejci won’t be back, then you have to wonder if adding a top-two center becomes their priority, which brings us to…
Will the Bruins add a center?
Pavel Zacha looks ready to take on one of the top-two center roles if Bergeron and Krejci retire. Charlie Coyle can bump up to the top six in a pinch, but remains best-suited to his usual third-line center spot. It’s unlikely any center prospect is ready to play that high in the lineup; Georgii Merkulov might be the closest, but starting him lower in the lineup would be ideal. Johnny Beecher and Marc McLaughlin project more as bottom-six fits.
So, what do the Bruins do? There’s not much on the free-agent market, with 32-year-old Ryan O’Reilly the top option there. That makes a trade the more likely path if Sweeney wants to acquire a top-two center.
Pierre-Luc Dubois is already off the board, heading from Winnipeg to Los Angeles in a blockbuster sign-and-trade.
Elliotte Friedman said recently that he believes the Bruins have some interest in Dubois’ Winnipeg teammate, Mark Scheifele. He doesn’t play the kind of defense we’re used to seeing from Boston centers, but his offense (eight straight seasons of 60-plus points, career-high 42 goals last year) is certainly appealing.
Another option could be Elias Lindholm in Calgary. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported last week that it’s believed Lindholm is leaning towards not signing an extension with the Flames. Given that he’s entering the final year of his contract, that would make now the time to trade him so they don’t risk losing him for nothing. Lindholm plays more of a two-way game than Scheifele and had an excellent season two years ago when he had elite wingers in Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau.
Of course, even if Sweeney wants to trade for a center, there’s the matter of giving up enough to get one. If there’s not a deal that makes sense, it’s possible Sweeney could role with what he has and either pray that Bergeron decides to return or re-evaluate the situation during the season.
Who else is moving out?
Taylor Hall was a start, but the Bruins probably still have to move another contract or two. The logjam at left defense remains an obvious place to look, with Matt Grzelcyk (one year, $3.69 million), Derek Forbort (one year, $3 million) and Mike Reilly (one year, $3 million) all candidates to go.
Given that Grzelcyk is the most obvious choice to pair with either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo in the top four, it’s unlikely he would be a straight salary dump like Hall was. If the Bruins could get something of real value in the form of a draft pick or a prospect, though, they could absolutely pull the trigger.
Otherwise, the most likely move here could be a Reilly buyout. The NHL’s buyout window closes at 5 p.m. on Friday, so that move would have to come soon. The Bruins would save $2.67 million against the cap this season by buying out Reilly, but they would also get hit with a $1.33 million cap hit for next season.
Linus Ullmark remains a trade candidate as well, although that may not be as pressing now that Hall’s money is off the books. Still, if the Bruins can get a significant haul for Ullmark, they would have to consider selling at the Vezina Trophy winner’s peak. Jeremy Swayman is due a raise and should be ready to take on the No. 1 role, with either youngster Brandon Bussi or a cheap veteran behind him.
Will the Bruins get back into the first or second round?
The Bruins currently do not pick until the third round of the draft. They have a third-round pick, a fourth, a sixth, and two sevenths. Next year, they don’t have a first-, second- or third-round pick.
They would like to recoup a couple draft picks and/or prospects at some point, whether it’s to help replenish a shallow prospect pool or to give them more ammunition to go out and acquire a No. 1 center.
A blockbuster Ullmark trade could help with that. Maybe Grzelcyk could fetch a second- or third-round pick. The clock on this year’s draft is ticking, though, with the first round taking place Wednesday night and the second round beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Who’s getting re-signed?
Nick Foligno is gone, traded to Chicago along with Hall. Sweeney admitted on Tuesday that it’s “unlikely” he’ll be able to re-sign Dmitry Orlov, who will hit the open market on Saturday as probably the top defenseman available.
The assumption was that the money freed up by the Hall trade would go towards re-signing Tyler Bertuzzi. There certainly seems to be interest there, but Bertuzzi could also hit the open market as one of the top forwards available and possibly get more than Boston can offer. The Bruins could also decide that money would be better spent on a center.
Garnet Hathaway and Tomas Nosek are probably only back if they’re willing to take hometown discounts. Otherwise, the Bruins simply can’t afford to pour much money into fourth-liners. Same goes for Connor Clifton on defense. The Bruins would like him back, but he earned a raise and they’ll likely need to go cheaper on their third pairing.
On the restricted free agent front, the expectation is that the Bruins will find a way to sign all three of Jeremy Swayman, Trent Frederic and Jakub Lauko, but a trade involving either Swayman or Frederic can’t be completely ruled out.