Saw this on NHL.com and thought it was worth discussing.
In my opinion the Bruins would be wise to look for some low cost vets to add to the roster.
Here is why:
* Jordan Caron is both hurt and not ready for prime time. Remove his 1.1m cap hit and we have 2.5m to spend not even including the Savard LTIE.
* Guys have to ramp up to game shape fast and there will be injuries. Depth will be key.
* Dougie Hamilton. We saw some good and some so-so play at the WJC. The NHL is a huge step for a D that young. Depth at D is a major concern of mine.
* Who to target and why: Not much to choose from, but Tom Kostopoulos would be one guy. I know this will go over like a fart in church for some people here but the added toughness will help out as we will be having a lot of condensed divisional and conference games. Jason Blake. Not much left and hurt by injuries last year. If he comes with a low salary the veteran depth at LW would be valuable. Chris Campoli. I already cited D as an issue and he has some offensive upside. Has had an up and down career but if we limit our exposure with him and put him in positions to excel he could help...would at least add depth. Brett Clark could be considered as well.
Remember....only value will work. Depth will be key for this short season.
Brett Clark could be a nice low cost addition on the backend. A Motteau/Zanon type, but he always seemed to move the puck pretty well on the TB PP back when they ran with 4 forwards consistently. It was good when he was on it, bad when he left if that's any type of measure.
I would like to see Boston spend a few bucks on some one year deals to shore up the depth a little bit. Would help greatly in a short season.
Several guys are worth a shot:
Forwards: Fehr, Rolston, Knuble, DoMo.
Defense, I like Campoli and Clark, but even depth guys like Vandermeer, White, Commodore would be worth kicking the tires on.
Might be worth looking at Roloson in the nets too. Rask's durability is a concern and are we confident heading to the playoffs with Khudobin as a 1 and whoever as a back-up??
I would like to see Boston spend a few bucks on some one year deals to shore up the depth a little bit. Would help greatly in a short season.
Several guys are worth a shot:
Forwards: Fehr, Rolston, Knuble, DoMo.
Defense, I like Campoli and Clark, but even depth guys like Vandermeer, White, Commodore would be worth kicking the tires on.
Might be worth looking at Roloson in the nets too. Rask's durability is a concern and are we confident heading to the playoffs with Khudobin as a 1 and whoever as a back-up??
Campoli was brutal for the Habs last year. Commodore I believe is Habs property as well
Wouldn't mind Fehr and Clark
Cam Barker is another one, guy just needs to get his **** back but he wasn't bad a few years ago and maybe on a team like ours he can get it back
The problem is we have no cap space at all. I guess they could just buy out TT. I wouldn't mind getting Barker on the cheap.
If the cap is still at 70.2, we should be able to spend about 5 million this year (as long as it's on one year contracts, it won't hurt us next year when the cap drops). At least that is the way I'm reading it on capgeek. But I've been known to be wrong before!!
we have alot of cap space. savard will end up on ltir if necessary and thomas will end up suspended if he doesnt report. suspended guys dont get paid. thomas can easily be dealt if necessary
so we have around 10 mill cap space for 1 year if we wanted to spend it.
as to whom id target if i was after some ufa...
i guess i do think an addition to the third line would be valuable. Jason Arnott is an intriguing option that is still available as an UFA.
A dman with NHL experience wouldnt be horrible either just in case. Someone better then Johnson/Exelby. Unfortunately not much available... wonder if Sean ODonnell has anything at all left in the tank?
we have alot of cap space. savard will end up on ltir if necessary and thomas will end up suspended if he doesnt report. suspended guys dont get paid. thomas can easily be dealt if necessary
so we have around 10 mill cap space for 1 year if we wanted to spend it.
as to whom id target if i was after some ufa...
i guess i do think an addition to the third line would be valuable. Jason Arnott is an intriguing option that is still available as an UFA.
A dman with NHL experience wouldnt be horrible either just in case. Someone better then Johnson/Exelby. Unfortunately not much available... wonder if Sean ODonnell has anything at all left in the tank?
Thomas won't get paid, but his cap hit remains on the books.
I would like to see Boston spend a few bucks on some one year deals to shore up the depth a little bit. Would help greatly in a short season.
Several guys are worth a shot:
Forwards: Fehr, Rolston, Knuble, DoMo.
Defense, I like Campoli and Clark, but even depth guys like Vandermeer, White, Commodore would be worth kicking the tires on.
Might be worth looking at Roloson in the nets too. Rask's durability is a concern and are we confident heading to the playoffs with Khudobin as a 1 and whoever as a back-up??
Didnt see DoMo listed. The guy is a player and should absolutely be signed if still available. Likely will get a little more than most though.
Brett Clark could be a nice low cost addition on the backend. A Motteau/Zanon type, but he always seemed to move the puck pretty well on the TB PP back when they ran with 4 forwards consistently. It was good when he was on it, bad when he left if that's any type of measure.
For forwards, always had a soft spot for Arnott.
I'd like Arnott too and wanted him in Boston last year.
I'm thinking Chiarelli has the team all set though. Maybe a invite or something like Chris Clark last year, but I doubt he's looking too hard.
to a team below the cap hit.. cap hit means absolutely nothing. they only worry if he costs them money which he wont
so if they take him... and he reports later... they have an asset. if he doesnt report, they lose nothing and gain a favor from us.
it will be easy to move him if we want to
Nobody is below the floor. And McKenzie has said he's not coming back this year. The Bruins will take the cap hit this year, Thomas is UFA this summer, and that's the end of it.
