Quote:
Originally Posted by finchster
Chiarelli saw Kaberle as a top four defencemen and wanted him for a while. It didn't work out with Kaberle, but Chiarelli paid a high price for a guy he thought was a missing piece and a player he had been perusing for a while. Chiarelli wouldn’t give up a 1st, 2nd and a prospect for a guy he sees as a rental, he had every intention to re-sign Kaberle until it fell apart.
With the cap decreasing next season (I think it will go up past the 64.3m mark), Chiarelli won’t trade these assets because any player coming in is a strict rental, because if Chiarelli intends to keep a player he picks up at the deadline the team needs to be restructured. I have no doubt other GM’s will throw around such packages for rentals, but that hasn’t been Chiarelli’s thought process since he was here.
If the Bruins can stay healthy their biggest need is to improve on Chris Bourque and get an NHL defencemen for depth. Believe me, I would love a guy like Iginla or Perry at the deadline but I just don’t see the Bruins making a big splash even with the cap space.
|
Who's to say Chiarelli doesn't see a guy like Iginla as the missing piece this time around? He could see him as the new Recchi. Maybe he thinks if he can get Iginal to re-sign, he could replace Horton.
Fwiw, I actually
don't want to see it happen. I think the trade deadline is fool's gold and it's one of the reasons I'm so bullish on adding players in free agency- when all they cost is money. I'd hate to lose a Spooner or a Subban AND our 1st in what is a very deep and exciting draft. But Chiarelli already had cap space and he said in his press conference that he did the Thomas deal now so that he could be in a position to make a deal. That stuck out to me because it sounded more aggressive than his normal M.O., and it reminded me of Claude Julien, who I've felt has been more aggressive/pro-active in his coaching style this year. Sending Kelly/Pervs out for draws and key defensive situations with Bergeron. That's something we don't usually see out of him until the stretch run/playoffs. They still may end up shopping at the bargain bin, but all this has got me wondering if there's more of a sense of urgency organization-wide, to go for it this year.