Bruins must fill holes as free agency kicks off

With nearly $20 million to spend in the NHL free agency period that opens on Wednesday, Bruins’ GM Don Sweeney has enough money to ensure that his squad will be a playoff team once again.

But whether he’s able to land the right players to make the Bruins a legitimate Stanley Cup contender is the question.

What do they need? Well, what don’t they need is probably easier to answer, which is a funny thing to say about a team with Cup aspirations (a testament to how good the core is). They need a top four left defenseman and perhaps another depth D-man. The could use a veteran goalie. A middle six right wing wouldn’t be bad.

And they may or may not need a second-line center. According to a source close to the situation, “nothing has changed” with regard to David Krejci’s intentions. In other words, it remains unclear if Krejci wants to return to the Bruins or he wants to return to his native Czech Republic, something the 35-year-old centerman has said he wants to do sometime before his playing days are over.

Could that be cleared up with one phone call ahead of Wednesday’s noontime opening bell of free agency? Perhaps. But for now we’ll have to assume that Sweeney must explore his options in replacing one of the more effective and perhaps under-appreciated Bruins in recent memory.

The free agent market would provide slim pickings. The B’s have been tied to 36-year-old Duck Ryan Getzlaf, once a force but whose production dropped to 5-12-17 totals in 48 games last year. There is defensive specialist Philip Danault, who at the age of 28 could make some decent coin. Either player would force Charlie Coyle, coming off a subpar and what we now know as an injury-plagued season, to bump up to second-line center. Not ideal.

Finding a more impactful replacement for Krejci may be more easily found on the trade market. One source said during draft weekend that the B’s were sniffing around Nashville’s Ryan Johansen. The Predators would have to take back a good portion of his contract, which comes with an $8 million cap hit for four more years, a good reason why he was left unprotected in the expansion draft. The B’s have also been linked to Christian Dvorak, who played well with Taylor Hall and has a much more manageable cap hit of $4.45 million for four more years.

That’s not the only heavy-lifting task Sweeney faces. He needs to find a strong, two-way defenseman who can play with either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo, preferably one who can eat up minutes on the penalty kill. Depending on the type of player he can land, Sweeney may need to target more than one D-man.

Again, Sweeney can mine the free agent or trade market, or both. Though there are free agent options, they’re dwindling. Jamie Oleksiak was signed last week by Seattle. Alec Martinez appears set to re-sign in Vegas and it appears the B’s are out on Ryan Suter and his desire for a four-year deal that would take him into his 40s. At this point, it appears the B’s own UFA, Mike Reilly, will explore the market.

But they’ll have a shot at a few blue-liners, such as big, stay-at-home Winnipeg defender Derek Forbort, who would help on the PK. Buffalo’s Jake McCabe, coming off a season-ending knee injury but only 27, could be an interesting get. There was some speculation on Tuesday that veteran Alex Goligoski could be a target. He’s 35 but he was still an effective player for a bad Arizona team. Jon Merrill had a good season with a bad Detroit team before being dealt to Montreal.

Meanwhile on the trade market, there has also been talk that the B’s could be in the hunt for Nate Schmidt, reportedly seeking a trade out of Vancouver. Schmidt, who had three very good years in Vegas but did not click with the Canucks, has four years left on a deal that carries a cap hit of $5.95 million.

Then there’s finding a veteran goalie to add to the mix that includes Jeremy Swayman, Daniel Vladar and maybe, just maybe Tuukka Rask. Braden Holtby was bought out by Vancouver on Tuesday, as was Martin Jones by San Jose. They join a group that includes Jonathan Bernier, Petr Mrzek and Linus Ullmark, among others.

Oh, and if that’s not a long enough of a to-do list, it wouldn’t hurt to add a middle-six right wing Blake Coleman, anybody?.

That’s a lot on Sweeney’s plate. The work begins in earnest on Wednesday at noon.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3iSMVHo