Bruins 2018-19 Season

NHL owners want to split that $650 million in expansion fees.  That's all the thought put into it.  They already can't support what they have now.

There aren't 32 cities that can support NHL teams was the point.  They could have moved a team pretending to draw 12,000 fans a game where in actuality, only about 6000 of those fans paid for the tickets and only 6500 showed up.  Living in Carolina Hurricanes territory, I know that they come nowhere close to the 12,728 average attendance they say they draw.  They have buy one get one free nights.  They have 'donate a can of food, get a ticket for $5' nights.  They also give away tons of tickets.  They have free tickets for veterans nights and $5 college nights.  And this is the first year in about 10 years where the Canes look competitive.  Other years when they stink, you'd have sections of the lower level that had dozens of completely empty rows.

I've not watched a Bruins game in a long time, but did catch the outdoor game today - what fun! Rask looked great, offense looked pretty good - a nice win. Only thing that would have made it better would have been some snow showers to give it a bit more atmosphere!

Frederic getting a crack at 3rd line C (JFK and Donato sent down). McIntyre called up with Rask likely still dealing with a concussion.

Of course, Frederic could also be a showcase for a trade. Given that he's from St Louis, he's often mentioned as a piece in a Schenn or (less likely?) Tarasenko trade.

Reports are that Sweeney re-engaged Columbus on Panarin and it's said the offer would start at Debrusk, a prospect (preferably with a few NHL games of experience) and a 1st rounder.

That just seems to heavy for my tastes (especially for a Free Agent).

Seems like the demands all start with:

1 of DeBrusk, McAvoy or Carlo
1 Prospect
1st Rounder

Just think that's crazy for any who doesn't have term. Guys like Schenn SHOULD cost less but we'll see.

With the NHL Trade Deadline 10 days away, I thought it's a good time to summarize where things stand. The needs are obvious. A top 6 Wing and a 3rd line C. Not sure there is any debate on that. Ideally, Sweeney has been looking for guys with term but that means you're either giving up a haul or getting someone who you hope plays up after a trade. Now to the assets:

Untouchable: Marchand, Pastrnak, Bergeron, McAvoy
Shouldn't go anywhere despite what many want: Krejci, Krug, Rask
Untradeable: Backes
What's the point of trading them: Chara, Moore, Miller, Kampfer, Acciari, Nordstrom, Wagner, Kuraly

Not untouchable but trading them would be unwise IMO - Debrusk and Carlo (I know I'll get some pushback on Carlo but he's a young, big RH D and he's starting to use his size. To replace him would be hard).

So now let's group the REAL trade candidates by position:

Cs - Studnicka, Frederic, JFK - I'd put them in that order in terms of upside. Would love to keep Studnicka. No problem trading JFK. May need to trade Frederic to fill one of your needs with a guy who has term.

Wings (with NHL experience) - Donato, Heinen, Cehlarik and Bjork - Bjork is injured (again) so you're not trading him for anything of value. The other 3 have had various levels of success and trials and all 3 are restricted next year. I'm guessing 1 of them goes. Heinen is the most established and fits in the top 9 (ideally, he's a 3rd liner who can swing to 2nd line. But when you have linemates like Marchand and Bergy, he hasn't looked out of place. Problem, for me, is how much is that going to cost next year. On an entry deal, he's perfect. Signed as an RFA, does he become too expensive? With Donato, we've seen great signs but also some significant dips. I also wonder how it looks to convince a guy to not become a FA out of college to come play for the home team and then trade him within the year. I like Cehlarik and wonder if he can't do what Heinen does.

Left Shot Defense - Grzelcyk, Vaakanainen, Lauzon and Zboril - Grizz might be the most tradeable amongst are established players. I know everyone wants to trade Krug saying that he can replace Torey. Long term, maybe that's the play (but Krug is one of the best as an offensive D and, despite defensive short-comings, that's not getting replaced by anything that Grizz does). I think Vaakanainen is with Studnicka as close to untouchable amongst the prospects. Zboril is the LH D version of JK. Disappointing prospect who still shows signs. I'm fine if they trade him. I like Lauzon but he could be a valuable piece.

Wings (Prospect) - Senyshyn and Lauko - I don't hate the Senyshyn pick as much as others do. It was always going to take time and I keep reading that there is something there. That being said, I get that you'd like to have something to show for a 1st rounder by now. Meanwhile, Lauko has taken his place as the high upside wing that is further away.

Grouping them differently, I'd probably go

Trade - Heinen, Grzelcyk, JFK, Zboril and Senyshyn
Better be a good deal - Frederic, Donato/Cehlarik, Lauzon and Lauko
Please no - Studnicka and Vaakanainen
Injured - Bjork

Hasn’t heinen played well up on the first line the last few games? I think he’s a solid player but haven’t watched a lot this year

Charlie Coyle to Bruins. Joey Mac hearing its Donato and a 5th.

I'd like to think there is another move coming. Coyle should be the 3rd line C not the 2nd line wing they need.

Bruins are hot, stranger things have happened.

For additional context, the Pats have a projected 2019 Cap Space of about $14M with the following free agents pending (not including those that are depth guys at best):

UFA - Chara and Acciari
RFA - McAvoy, Carlo, Heinen, Cehlarik and JFK

They'd still have a need for a top 6 wing (depending on what happens at this year's deadline) and would have to decide if they want to bring back Chara while they let a guy like Vaakanainen develop (most think he's a top 4 pair guy and he's NHL ready but I'd think bottom pair early on would be the better expectation for next year).

As an exercise @bruinscapspace was using some projections on the RFAs

McAvoy - $6M (wouldn't surprise me if that ends up being low)
Carlo - $4.25M
Heinen - $2.75M

The B's have the prospects to give.