"That's why NYR and BOS are NOT good trade partners. " Actually in the real NHL Boston/NYR are good trade partners. CapFriendly Ranger GMs. there are a haven't been that many trades, the non Ranger teams could accept.

Oh Boston has the pieces (despite what Rangers fans think), but the pieces Boston has are better suited for a rebuild and the Rangers appears to want to re-tool. McDonagh would be a nice to have, but he's not a need for Boston. If Tampa wants him bad enough, drive up the price as much as you can and let them move NHL pieces.

I couldn't agree more let him go to Tampa and let them redefine their identity mid-season; we don't NEED him.

problem is Boston isn't going to move current roster pieces (and that's what NYR is asking)

You illustrated the situation well when trading at TDL, yes McDoangh, OEL, Karlsson., Patches (endless players) but teams don't want to strip their current squad to acquire their a "star". I still say a lot of this trade hype is media made , and social media and doesn't have that much reality in what actually happening with the real NHL GMs.

I'm sure a LOT of this hype is social media driven, I'd go as far as to say most of it, as that seems to be the modality of choice for sports reporters. But just going off past history and past TDL's a team that's leading the league in scoring doesn't trade away one of their top scorers to aquire a "star" who's team is struggling before the TDL just to say they made a splash... Just like Boston isn't going to trade away one of their top 4 defensemen when they're leading the league in GA/G for a struggling "star" just to make a splash. Now, I don't like Carlo all that much, mainly because of his overwhelming athletic ability, but lack of vision to put his tools to use, but he is good in the shutdown department (I will give him that), and trading him when we have the best defense in the league would be simply stupid. That's not to say the Carlo + ______ for McDonagh aren't just social media rumors as well, but if there is any truth to them it wouldn't be beneficial to step forward with this deal.

It definitely is media driven and it's usually a bit of a bend of the truth. Boston has definitely called NYR to see what the price for McDonagh would be, as probably has the other 29 teams. Everyone's going to do their due diligence on the situation as its not often a Top LHD becomes available.

As for Carlo, I think the Bruins would be okay for the playoffs, if not better, using McQuaid as the shutdown defender and Miller as the other guy rather than Carlo. For the future though, Carlo is obviously still developing and could be a decent top 4 defender and even now still plays pretty well depending on the opponent. The way I see it for him, it's mainly going to come down to his confidence and if he'll become a dominant player rather than a player who's just trying to not make a mistake.
I wouldn't be opposed to including Carlo in a trade for the right player, the only issue is Boston is stacked up on the LHD prospect pool and don't have anyone coming through on the right side other than Viktor Berglund, Daniel Bukac, and Cam Clarke, all guys who don't project to be anything more atm than a depth D at best, and you can't ride Miller/McQuaid for much more than another 2 years.

This is what I wrote in another thread about Carlo and why I don't particularly like him, but I'm not sure if McQuaid/Miller would be a better bottom 2 Right Side than Carlo/McQuaid; I'm just not sure if I agree with that. But, I do agree with the confidence part; it goes along exactly with what I wrote about him:

I think he has tremendous athleticism and skates really well for a big guy. He does a really good job of clearing out the crease in his own end, and is a solid passer, but shows no hockey IQ at all. He doesn't know when to pinch and when to stay home, so he plays a cautious game all the freakin' time. With his shot aresenal, which he has a booming slap shot, and a wicked fast release on his wrister, he could score some serious goals if he just knew how to play the game, and could see the ice and the play developing in front of him. Maybe it will come with time and experience, and he can be responsible for 10-15 goals per season, but as it stands now he is just this lump of raw material that needs to be molded. Also he shies away from physical contact. He could throw some mean open ice hits on the forecheck if he wanted to, but he passes on so many. I don't know if he's afraid of getting out of position or what, but he doesn't play an overly aggressive game and he definitely has the size and strength to do it. Finally on to blocking shots. He seems to always be in position to block yet he doesn't??? I don't know why.

A lot of this could be coaching... Cassidy could be telling him to rush back on the forecheck and get into position, that could be his role, and since he's partnered with Chara some of the year, Krug some of the year, and Grzelcyk some of the year Cassidy could have those guys pinching when the opportunity presents and telling Carlo to hang back, but some of it falls on Carlo sometimes he's in a better position to pinch in and help the rush and he just has to trust in his partner that they will cover his end, and sometimes the opposing rush goes right by him and he misses opportunities to check; he has to know when to take opportunities and when to follow Cassidy's play. This is all stuff to expect from a young guy I guess, but what slays me the most is the way he is hailed in Boston and he hasn't really done anything yet.

Anyway, those 2 paragraphs sum up the way I feel about the kid. Maybe it will change over time, and he'll learn the game a little better and read the ice a little better, and be able to see the play developing in front of him, but as it stands now, I agree with you, he's not trying to be proactive he's trying to be reactive and just not make any mistakes. That was a good way to phrase it. But I will give him this, he is a hell of a lot more athletic, skates better, and possesses a better shot than McQuaid or Miller; he just needs to learn how to put it all together and use it to his advantage.

Yea I'm obviously not a pro scout so they definitely have a better idea than me. I've just seen a pattern of these tall, "rangey" D-men that come into the league and they usually take two paths, and its that they either become a (when he was younger) Tyler Myers, or Colton Parayko that play with a bit of a desire to make a difference at both ends of the ice, or they become a Jared Cowen who has all the tools but never had the mind for the game and eventually finds themselves out of the league when they could've been sold high. I can't truly say he'll be one or the other because each case is unique when it comes to player development but as of right now his game reminds me of Cowen's, even though it is more sound defensively there are some parallels.

As for Miller, I have to disagree on that one. He's been quietly having a great season for the Bruins and playing well at both ends of the ice. The last few games he's been out injured for, the Bruins haven't nearly played as well as when he was in the lineup. Could be a coincidence but I think he's more impactful than Carlo or McQuaid right now

That's what I'm worried about too, is his stock falling. As it stands right now either he doesn't see the ice or like I said he's just afraid to get out of position, and maybe time builds confidence and working with the same defensive pair will build some confidence in his other defenseman, but only time will tell. He is very raw and has a lot of tools to work with, and I'm no expert on player development so I can only trust in Langenbrunner and his team and hope for the best.

As far a Miller, I've got nothing bad to say about Miller. I think his game is solid. I'm glad we have him headed into the playoffs.