A Long Winded Explanation about the moves made:
Free Agency:
Jake DeBrusk, 6 Years, 5.5 Million AAV
Matt Grzelcyk, 5 Years, 3.75 Million AAV
Torey Krug, 6 Years, 7.125 Million AAV
Anders Bjork, 1 Year, 1.24 Million AAV
Frankly, with the shutdown and no clue on some of the payments that some of these players (Bjork) could be getting, this is the best I could do currently. I think DeBrusk is well-worth the payday, his point-per-game average number is slightly higher than Charlie Coyle's but he's also 5 years younger than Coyle is and still has more room in his game for growth. Grzelcyk and Krug, pretty self-explanatory. They're both solid defensemen (Krug on offense, Grzelcyk has a two-way game that I genuinely like as well). 6 years sounds right for Krug as you don't want to give him an albatross deal. As far as Anders Bjork goes, I think he played well for Boston this year and if he can stay healthy, he is a solid top 9 to top 6 winger here. It doesn't matter here that I may have overpaid for any players either, I still have some cap room left over.
Trades:
Nick Ritchie for a 4th Round Pick
I don't think Nick Ritchie adds much and would be slightly overpaid as a 4th-liner, he can eff off to somewhere else! I heard Detroit's nice this time of year, but it doesn't matter where you send him. Just get a draft pick here and let the Bruins scouting department do the rest.
Lines:
1F: self-explanatory
2F: Good skill line, DeBrusk and Krejci have good chemistry and I think as a fellow Czech, Kase will add to that chemistry with Krejci.
3F: Studnicka is making this roster and playing him on the 4th line isn't good for him for a growth standpoint. I like him as a 3RW with Bjork and Coyle.
4F: This is where it gets interesting. This line has speed, grit and even a bit of skill. Kuhlman hasn't played much 4th line at all, but I think he works best with Kuraly and Wagner. I'm almost tempted to put Wagner as a scratch and put Par Lindholm at LW, but I'll hold off for now.
1D: Grzelcyk and McAvoy. I like this pairing for a few reasons. Zdeno Chara is getting older and slower by the day and Grzelcyk will help add more offense on the first pairing. They also were teammates at BU for a year. I think they have a natural chemistry there. While Chara has been a great mentor to McAvoy, I think it's time for him to take the reins here on the blue line.
2D: Krug and Carlo. Keep them together.
3D: Chara and Lauzon. This is a tough pairing right here. Lauzon is a solid defensive player and was better on that third pairing this year than Connor Clifton was, so put him on the opening night roster for sure.
Goalies: if it ain't broke don't fix it.
LTIR: John Moore, he's injury-prone enough where he can spend some time on LTIR, every team exploits this at least once a year, and with the cap likely remaining static, I can see it being done again.
I can't wait to get shredded in the comment section below, this'll be fun !!
Looks really good!
RFA deals are good, UFA deals are good!
the only things are that John Moore isnt going on LTIR, so they will just trade him for a 7th for something
and the bruins just gave up ritchie for hienen, and they are both worth at least a 3rd, so maybe do a 2nd OR 3rd and a 4th
I don't mind getting rid of Ritchie to leave room for the young guys, but we could probably pull a 2nd or 3rd for him. I think Chara takes 1mil again, and I believe Fredric will play 4c this coming year. Pretty good job though.
Honestly I think this is damn near perfect. I think it will be tough to get Grzelcyk for that cap number at that term. Maybe on a 3 year deal it can get done.
Looks good for sure.
* Not sure about Stud on the wing (see @ON3M4N posts...)... but I think he has to start in the NHL so I like it.
* Expansion & Ritchie:
- After the '21 season ends (in 2023 ha ha), having a "cheap/young/RFA in Ritchie" on the roster/pressbox may be a big asset. Pkg him (other prospects/futures) to keep Seattle from key guys like Grz or Bjork or Lauzon or _________________?
The value seems about right on the Detroit trade but I think they decline it. Detroit has a ton of wingers and if they are going trade draft picks it's going to be a center or a LD.