in the words of kenny rogers.. "you gotta know when to hold em..."

There has been some talk among a few of our posters regarding the trading of Raycroft, and maybe another player/prospect, in order to fetch what i assume would be a 2nd line center/defenseman for the coming season. I have been fairly outspoken about letting Raycroft showcase his wares this season instead of shields or potvin. I still stand by that plan of action for this year. Trading Raycroft now may fill a hole with a serviceable second line center or maybe a defenseman if paired with another player/prospect. If Rayzor were a commodity on the stock market though, it may be wise to hold on to him for now in hopes that the prce may rise over the course of the year. IF toivonen is all that, and he is the true gem goalie prospect in the B's system, then holding onto Rayzor for a year or two and letting him play while Hannu gets used to life on this side of the pond, and hones his skills to where he can be plugged in as the Bruins' starter, may be the way to go. I see Raycroft having some good success in the NHL, and a year or two of NHL experience will drive up the margin on him and he will fetch a more valuable ransom. OR, on the other hand, if Raycroft becomes a true legit #1 star, we will know by then which of the two will bring us more as our starting goalie or as trade bait.

I realize that this may seem to be run on a bit, but lets not get hasty and trade away Ranford again only to lose to him in the finals down the road.

There has been some talk among a few of our posters regarding the trading of Raycroft, and maybe another player/prospect, in order to fetch what i assume would be a 2nd line center/defenseman for the coming season. I have been fairly outspoken about letting Raycroft showcase his wares this season instead of shields or potvin. I still stand by that plan of action for this year. Trading Raycroft now may fill a hole with a serviceable second line center or maybe a defenseman if paired with another player/prospect. If Rayzor were a commodity on the stock market though, it may be wise to hold on to him for now in hopes that the prce may rise over the course of the year. IF toivonen is all that, and he is the true gem goalie prospect in the B's system, then holding onto Rayzor for a year or two and letting him play while Hannu gets used to life on this side of the pond, and hones his skills to where he can be plugged in as the Bruins' starter, may be the way to go. I see Raycroft having some good success in the NHL, and a year or two of NHL experience will drive up the margin on him and he will fetch a more valuable ransom. OR, on the other hand, if Raycroft becomes a true legit #1 star, we will know by then which of the two will bring us more as our starting goalie or as trade bait.

I realize that this may seem to be run on a bit, but lets not get hasty and trade away Ranford again only to lose to him in the finals down the road.


I have to disagree. IF I could get a bonafide #2center or #2defenseman for Raycroft and a prospect/player I do it immediately. Of course I may change my mind when I saw the player/prospect involved, but frankly I'm sick of "waiting". I hear the phrase "a couple of years" thrown around alot, and while VERY true, it becomes very old when you are talking about the Boston Bruins. Joey T and Sammy aren't going to be 24 forever, so we shouldn't waste it.

With Toivonen a couple years away...maybe even less is the only reason I would even think of it...still I would like to keep Raycroft.
I would like to see if there was interest or "like said above" what players we obtain by using him with another player say like Huml or Hilbert we could obtain????

Again I don't see any reason to hurry this idea to move Raycroft anytime soon.
I have always like what I see in him...he seems to me like a solid player and maybe a duo of Toivonen and Raycroft could possibly be the best duo sice say...Dafoe/Tallas..no..no..noo...better say Moog and Lemy!

Unless some GM has a total and complete brain cramp...


I say hold 'em for dear life...

In over 30 years I've only seen 4 homegrown goalies...
Cheevers, Parent, Bouchard, and Ranford ...

We only held onto Cheesie.. Different circumstances on each , sure..

But the point is , like in baseball you can't have too many good young pitchers, same as young goalies...

If both prove to be Number 1s ...Outfreakinstanding...I say.
What a beautiful problem to have in the post apocalypse..new CBA world...

patience my children...patience ...should be the mantra of the day.


:D

IF they organization has concluded that Raycroft is not ever going to be a #1 goaltender, than I could imagine them shopping him. But honetly, I'm not sure I trust them to make that decision, especially considering the limited information available right now.

And If they make the decision that he isn't a #1 Goalie, AND some other organization is so enamored with him that they are willing to part with a significant return, than I could imagine a scenario where trading him would make sense.

I know nobody wants to see another Ranford situation where Andy is dealt, and develops into a 12-15 year starting goalie with significant playoff success. But you can not let fear of making a mistake prevent you from ever taking risks.

Teams need to evaluate their own talent, and then make decisions based on that evaluation. And if you believe a prsoect (any prospect) is not going to ever make it, than you need to see if you can pick up something of value for that prospect

Where in the world is all this coming from? We have lacked depth at goal for over a decade now and now we want to trade one of our top young guys? Are you all kidding me?

Raycroft has performed in Juniors, in the AHL, and in his brief stint in the NHL. The guy is a keeper and no one can say whether or not he is #1 or not yet.....not even with "inside sources".

We have a 19 year old kid who does look like the second coming (or at least is being hyped as much) which is great, but you can NEVER EVER EVER EVER have too much depth at goal. You hold onto both of these guys, you let them comete, develop, make each other better, and reap the rewards.

Where in the world is all this coming from? We have lacked depth at goal for over a decade now and now we want to trade one of our top young guys? Are you all kidding me?

Raycroft has performed in Juniors, in the AHL, and in his brief stint in the NHL. The guy is a keeper and no one can say whether or not he is #1 or not yet.....not even with "inside sources".

We have a 19 year old kid who does look like the second coming (or at least is being hyped as much) which is great, but you can NEVER EVER EVER EVER have too much depth at goal. You hold onto both of these guys, you let them comete, develop, make each other better, and reap the rewards.
I know the Broons are extremely high on Raycroft (they just don't know about putting it all on him- the old wade into the water not get tossed in theory); and Russ Conway has written he went around and asked the most respected scouts and GMs he knows who KNOW the goaltending game if Raycroft is a player and he keeps coming up with yes, yes, yes.....some he said think he can be very good.

[QUOTE=WhamBamCam8]I have to disagree. IF I could get a bonafide #2center or #2defenseman for Raycroft and a prospect/player I do it immediately. QUOTE]

That's a pretty big IF. A bonafide 2nd line centerman -- or #2 d-man -- for an unproven and somewhat suspect goalie prospect and some other prospect? What center are we talking about? I would think if it was anybody appetizing it would require our best remaining prospect, and quite frankly I'm not sure who that is -- Hilbert? Wouldn't mind losing him necessarily. Huml? I would be less keen on giving up Ivan. I just don't see this happening unless some GMs got a hard on for Razor.

Where in the world is all this coming from? We have lacked depth at goal for over a decade now and now we want to trade one of our top young guys? Are you all kidding me?

Raycroft has performed in Juniors, in the AHL, and in his brief stint in the NHL. The guy is a keeper and no one can say whether or not he is #1 or not yet.....not even with "inside sources".

We have a 19 year old kid who does look like the second coming (or at least is being hyped as much) which is great, but you can NEVER EVER EVER EVER have too much depth at goal. You hold onto both of these guys, you let them comete, develop, make each other better, and reap the rewards.


I hear what you're saying, and I can't say that I disagree, but you can never say never. I don't want to trade Raycroft, but it depends upon whom was offered.

This board was pretty split down the middle during the summer with playing/keeping the kids in the system versus trading for immediate help. IMO simply adding a second line center does not turn this club into a cup contender. We need:

1. A bona fide goalie (of whom we could have in the system already)
2. A true number 1 defenceman (of whom we could have in the system)
3. The aformentioned second line center
4. Players who show up in the playoffs
5. And the point I think is the most important is team unity. Let the younger players and the vets gel for a year or so, get them comfortable with each other. If there needs to be a trade deadline move in a year or so that involves a B's prospect to put the team into cup contention then so be it, but as for now, I say lets just play this season and see where it takes us with the players we have now

i dont think we would get dirt value for raycroft. i think he is got great potential and he has my vote for starter but he has to win it first. i just dont think himself and a pick is equal trade value for a #2 center or defensemen. just keep the kid and give him a legit shot of winning the job.

MOC has done a great job of getting good to great prospects in almost every position. he's alot better at scouting IMO then sinden was. the team he hired deserves two thumbs up too. touivenen/raycroft-i never thought we'd have 2 keepers with so much upside in my fricken life. i thought the ryabichov syndrome would be forever. on defense-you cant convince me any team has noticeably better/or even equal potential to bostons. center SEEMED alot more questionable a month ago then TODAY. nothing but good is said about bergeron...and we got one of the best russians outside the NHL on his way over in zinojnev. i doubt MOC would go through all the pain/time of getting the guys he wants/training our youngsters better and making sure our kids are signed if he didnt plan on exploiting them. raycroft and any bruin rookie were carefully picked and will be given every oportunity to prove themselves before being traded is ultimately what i'm trying to say. IMHO>

i say hang onto razor. i want to see him get his chance this year. toovy is a great looking prospect. however no great prospect is a sure thing. razor was the great prospect a couple of years ago and he has done very well down in providence.

keep them both and let it play out.