Latest on the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars.
Changes coming to Bruins and Penguins?
Could the Penguins consider moving Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby this summer?
TSN.CA: Pierre LeBrun reports there could be significant changes coming for the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins if both club miss the playoffs this season. In Boston, those changes could mean replacing head coach Claude Julien (who re-signed a contract extension this year) or GM Peter Chiarelli, who has three years left on his contract. The Penguins shook up their management and coaching staff last summer with little improvement in the club’s performance. Even if the Penguins make the playoffs but get eliminated in the first round, LeBrun speculates they could consider looking at their core, perhaps placing Evgeni Malkin on the trade block.
More on the Penguins, plus Hurricanes and Oilers speculation.
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jim Matheson also believes the Penguins could shake up their roster if they fail to reach the playoffs or make another early postseason exit. He wonders if they could trade Evgeni Malkin as Sidney Crosby isn’t going anywhere, suggesting they offer Malkin to the Detroit Red Wings, who have “scads of good young forwards and defensemen”, or maybe Florida and Colorado. Then again, Matheson also wonders if Crosby could feel he needs a change at 28 and makes it known he wouldn’t be adverse to moving.
Matheson also speculates over possible goalie trade targets for the Edmonton Oilers. He said he heard of talks between the Oilers and Cam Ward last year regarding a possible swap of Sam Gagner for Cam Ward before Gagner was dealt to Tampa Bay and flipped to Arizona. He also wonders if the Calgary Flames might move Jonas Hiller, who has a year at $4.5 million left on his contract. The Flames are “high on Karri Ramo” and promising Joni Ortio…Matheson isn’t sure if San Jose Sharks pending UFA goalie Antti Niemi is a possibility. He speculates the Oilers could look at LA Kings backup Martin Jones or NY Rangers backup Cam Talbot via the trade market. He expects the Oilers will bring in somebody. Joanne Ireland wonders what the Oilers could give up in return via trade. Would they part with the first-round pick they got from the Penguins in the David Perron deal? Do they give up a player? If they trade for a goalie they might not have enough bargaining chips to land a defenseman.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Yes, big changes could come for the Penguins if they miss the playoffs or get bounced early from the postseason. Could they consider moving Malkin or even Crosby? Sure, anything’s possible. Will they? I doubt it. Before folks go off half-cocked, they must remember the Penguins were among the league-leaders this season in man-games lost to injury. I daresay they wouldn’t be in the current predicament with a healthy Kris Letang, Olli Maatta, Pascal Dupuis and Christian Ehrhoff this season. It also doesn’t help the usually-reliable Chris Kunitz has struggled with iron deficiency since the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Malkin and Crosby both have full no-movement clauses and I daresay no intention of waiving them. The last thing the Penguins need is to create an intolerable situation with two long-time stars similar to the San Jose Sharks with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Yes, the Penguins are in salary-cap hell this season, much of it the product of their previous management. Moving out Malkin or Crosby, however, is probably at the very bottom of their list of priorities. Unless Malkin or Crosby request a trade, it’s not worth discussing.
As for the Bruins, I believe it would be a huge mistake to fire Chiarelli, who rebuilt the Bruins into a Stanley Cup contender. Yes, some of his re-signings were expensive and put the club into salary-cap difficulty this season and next, but that was the price of keeping a Cup contender together, and it caught up to them this season. Few folks in Boston bitched about those expensive contracts when they were signed, so spare me the 20/20 hindsight and revisionism. Chiarelli shouldn’t be fired.
Julien, on the other hand, could be past his “best before” date. If the players seem to be tuning Julien out, he could be replaced behind the bench this summer. There will also be roster changes for the Bruins. Most of their UFAs won’t be back, as cap space is needed to re-sign RFAs like Dougie Hamilton, Brett Connolly and Ryan Spooner. They could try dealing away the remainder of Marc Savard’s contract. It’s possible Loui Eriksson could be dealt, but his improvement over the course of this season suggests they could keep him for the final season of his contract. Maybe Dennis Seidenberg gets moved.
Improving the goaltending should be the Oilers priority, and I think they could target Martin Jones or Cam Talbot. The asking price, however, could include the Penguins’ first-round pick. If the Flames decide to move Hiller, I doubt very much it’ll be to their rival up the road in Edmonton.
Latest on the Stars goaltending.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Mike Heika reports the Stars poor goaltending numbers suggest they need a change between the pipes, but what kind of change remains to be seen. Starter Kari Lehtonen is under contract for three more years at an annual cap hit of $5.9 million. They makes him difficult to trade and expensive to buy out. His departure would also leave a huge gap in net, which current backup Jhonas Enroth has yet to prove he can fill. Heika notes the Stars’ goalie numbers, and those of their defense, improved down the stretch this season. “Lehtonen could simply be off this season, and Enroth might be the answer at backup goalie,” writes Heika.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Unless the Stars can somehow shed Lehtonen’s contract via trade to free up room for another starter, I think they’ll stick with their current tandem for another season. They could ditch Enroth, but he’s only been with them a short period and was undoubtedly still shell shocked after playing in the shooting gallery that was the Buffalo Sabres’ net for most of this season. I believe Stars GM Jim Nill will put the onus on improving his defense and then seeing if that helps improve his goaltenders’ numbers next season.
Dallas is a team I could see trading for Reimer to help solidify the backup position.
Not sure what they would give up for him, but I could see them making a trade.
On a side note, I wonder if there is any interest from Edmonton for Mark Streit, whose contract doesn’t look so bad any more.
He has 2 years left at $5.25, and is coming off a 50 plus point season. I know he is getting old, but he hasn’t shown it this year, and with only 2 years left, the Oilers would have a tutor for the young dmen the Oilers have, yet wouldn’t be tying up a roster spot too long. I can see a trade there. Not saying Philly would get much, but the cap space would help them breathe easier.
Can’t see dallas wanting Reimer they want a guaranteed starter. I think they will make a move for a starter this summer
how about phaneuf and reimer for their current goalie “let in” and their 1st round pick
ya…dallas isn’t giving up a first for those 2 plugs
Aww give them their fantasies jello – they have nothing else.
Pinky and Brain tag teaming Leaf fans again, big surprise.
Where were the Leafs even mentioned once in the opening blurb? But no matter, the Leafs trolls will find a way to nudge them into any conversation. So, suggesting a sieve like Reimer as a viable solution for Dallas doesn’t warrant some kind of response in your exclusive world?
Roflmao! PInky and the Brain …classic
Jimmy Howard For Lets
I’ve been hoping for the Flyers to trade Streit. I’ve never been a fan of his. He puts up numbers but isn’t a very good d-man. He gets most of his stats on the PP. He isn’t fast or mobile. Striet has been in the NHL 10 yrs but has been to the playoffs 4 times despite being a “leader” on those teams. 384 pts in 653 games could be enticing to teams looking for a PP point man and a 5+M contract with only 2 yrs left should be enticing to a teams looking for offense from the blue line.It also would give the Flyers much needed cap space,and provide room for the young dmen in the pipeline. Considering his age Hexy should only be looking for picks for Striet. Hexy got a bounty of picks for Coburn,who is 6 yrs younger, but I’d expect a similar haul for Streit despite his age. Calgary or the Wings might be interested and have the cap space.
I’m up early waiting foe the Sens game. Lol my Brother messages me yesterday saying he has to get early for a 930 NHL hockey game. Haha not every thing is warm and sunny on the west coast. Crazy this was never an issue when cbc had control. I believe this is thhe earliest NHL game I’ve watched. Could be mistaken.
I completely agree with your analysis.
At the very least the Pens and Bruins need to sit back and look at this season after a bit of time passes. No knee jerk movements.
I have watched the Flyers play at 9am before, which is a noon start back east, but I think that is my earliest NHL game.
Sens fans must be going nuts, big win today Jeff.
Here’s hoping they put in a good showing this playoff season.
Sabres- McEichel. Nuff said
I agree that it would be a huge mistake for Boston to cut chiarelli. Broones did what they needed to do to win the Stanley Cup and try and keep the team together. Seguin deal was a tough one.
Plenty of Broons’ fans have been upset with the contracts signed by Chiarelli, Spector.
Chiarelli and Claude Julien should not be fired solely because of one bad season. Likewise, they should not be kept solely because they won the Cup in 2011.
Chia made many moves to build the cup team, especially the defense, where all 6 players were his players. Of the top 6 forwards, only Horton and Recchi were his players. Tim Thomas was acquired by O’Connell and Tuukka Rask by Jeff Gorton. The bottom 6 forwards were his players. However, since the cup win, Chia has been a disaster. Trading a budding superstar for a has-been and 3 never-will-be’s was a disaster and trading the team’s second best dman for draft picks was likewise a disaster. Chia nearly traded Kessel and his first for Kaberle and the Leafs’ first (they would have picked Zack Kassian and what a disaster that would have been). He was going to trade Seguin to Calgary for Baerschi and the Flames’ first, but Carolina took the player the Broons want (Lindholm), so the trade was canceled. He drafted horribly in his first three years (e.g., Hamill, Colborne, and Caron) and replaced the chief scout with Gretzky’s brother who has drafted better. Worse still, he gave long-term, expensive contracts with no-trade clauses to mediocre players like Chris Kelly. He has overpaid on just about every contract. This has led to a complacent team.
Claude Julien was a great coach, but not anymore. His coaching was important in the cup win, particularly the first series against Montreal, when the team rallied after losing the first two games at home. He repaired the dmen and his timeout in Game 3 turned the game around, IMO. However, his system, which was so important to his success, is simply no longer nearly as effective; other teams have it figured out.
The biggest indictment of both Chia and Julien is their emphasis on one certain type of player, leading them to draft and trade players that fit a very narrow definition. Hence the trading of Wheeler, Kessel, and Seguin. This is not the 70s anymore, and the Broons, like the Flyers, are an anachronism. The rules changes, particularly removing the redline, and the way the game is officiated, argue strongly for a change in the system to an up-tempo approach, with mobile dmen and more skilled forwards. This year’s team is in between, not enough toughness and not enough skill to be successful. Every year, the game has moved more to the up-tempo game. The Broons are too slow to be success in this era.
So, the question is not whether Chia and Claude should be fired or kept, but whether they are the best people to oversee the needed change in system. Their past behavior argues strongly that they are not the best people to do so.
So hopefully, they will both be replaced and will both have some success elsewhere.
Be a big mistake firing the gm. He’s taking far more critizjsm then he deserves. Julien will survive to start next season. If things don’t turn around early next year. Both will be gone.
I’m not a Bruins fan but no way Chiarelli deserves this much criticism. Remember if it wasn’t for Chia there would be no Chara, which means no Stanley Cup, not too mention signing the best two way center in the league to a very cap friendly contract.
Sure, some Bruins fans didn’t like the contract. However, you scarcely heard a complain through the lockout-shortened season and 2013-14, when the Bruins were a Cup contender. The second-guessing started in earnest this season.
Chiarelli was hired May 26th 2006. Rask was acquired June 24th 2006.
Those top 6 forwards that were drafted by previous GM’s? Chiarelli drafted both Lucic & Marchand. Unless I’m mistaken those are the Bruins top 2 LW’s?
Seguin needed to be traded for issues we can never discuss here & was part cap casualty. Boston received Eriksson, Smith, Fraser & Morrow. I see 2 good hockey players in Eriksson & Smith & a solid D prospect in Morrow that will eventually play in the NHL.
As for what trades were potentially made. They are just rumors. No facts to support whether they were real. Just what they were, rumors so meaningless.
I assume by 2nd best Dman you mean Boychuk? NYI paid 2 2nd’s & a 3rd to Boston. Salary cap casualty & not able to be resigned as a UFA. Hamilton & Krug need contracts & Hamilton is taking over the #2 spot & was as the season progressed.
I think Chiarelli has been amazing as a GM. Boston missed the playoffs his 1st season as GM. Then went quarter final, semi’s twice, won the cup, quarter finals & lost in the finals, 2nd round loss & now realistically out of the playoffs.
Chiarelli has drafted ok considering his pick selection & he has traded very well even when being forced to make the best of a bad situation, The cap. Seguin, Boychuk & others are going to have to be cap casualties. You can’t have so much success in the regular season & playoffs & keep everyone under $69 million. Hard choices have to be made.
That D you mentioned that Chiarelli built was devastated by injuries this year. Chara missed 19 games, McQuid 19 games, Miller 40 games & Hamilton the last 10 of the season. That was a death nail for the Bruins playoff hopes. Factor in losing their #1 C Krejci for most of the season & Boston was doomed.
Someday folks will understand that injuries happen to every team every year, and a good capologist will build a roster 26 deep. 250 man-games lost is a good estimate. You can look at Colorado and Columbus as clubs that have a legit injury excuse this year. Pittsburgh as well on moderately high quantity but unusual concentration on one position. Boston had 8th fewest man-games lost. It is fair to blame the cap hell on a cup run, and great that it worked out, but pay the price now like good soldiers.
Very thoughtful and well said opinion/facts
I’d suggest Coach and system is fine but players are starting to age/slow
although correct about up tempo pond hockey …that changes in playoffs as hitting and slowing play becomes more common…a good team/coach/player/goalie can dictate tempo regardless of other factors even today
Noone complained about the bruins contracts? I have been a B’s fan for as long as I have been alive, and I can tell you that the only contract I did not balk at was Bergeron and Rask. Chara? lol. Kelly? lol. Marchand? lol. Lucic at 6per? come on.
If you believe giving a 3rd line at best center that’s 31yo a 3mil per contract WITH a no trade clause isn’t a bad GM choice, or a semi productive power forward who is night and day with consistency a 6 million per deal isn’t bad management, then there’s issues.
Trading Seguin was a mistake, even if Seguin was an “issue” he was a productive issue – instead of giving up on him after what 2-3 seasons… why not try and mentor the kid a bit more and watch him grow up?
Overall, the bruins need a new identity… and they have to part ways with a lot of their current one in order to get there. At the end of the day, heads are going to Roll because Neely isn’t going to tolerate not winning. Chai did pull off some decent deals but that magic is gone, and mostly due to HIS OWN CONTRACTS he wrote. In another season or two, they will be out of this mess, but by then it will be too late.
People forget bruins could have used compliance buyout on kelly right up to july first , if they do this boychuk is still a bruin playing 25 minutes a game ,allowing julien to shelter mcquaid , seidenbergs and charas minutes. There was absolutly no need to trade boychuk when they did .
So glad there are no bizarre Leafs offers for Crosby/Malkin. So far only reasonable well thought out comments. Must be my birthday.
Leafs should be rebuilding and drafting their own players. Enough trying to poach everyone else’s stuff. Trade the old core for picks prospects and replenish the organization.
“Few folks in Boston bitched about those expensive contracts when they were signed, so spare me the 20/20 hindsight and revisionism”
All bruins fans spoke loud and clear about the stupid contracts that PC was signing the team to. Of course you would know that if you actually frequented bruins webpages instead of giving your two cents worth without actually doing any background checks. We all questioned the big stupid contracts, we all questioned the trading of Tyler Seguin and Johnny Boychuk. So don’t sit there and say we didn’t “bitch” about it, we all did, we weren’t blinded by success only Peter Chairelli was.
As I noted earlier in this thread, some Bruins fans were nervous about those big contracts, but most accepted them as the price of keeping a Cup contender together. And when the Bruins marched to the 2013 Cup Final and won the President’s Trophy last season, there was scarcely a peep of criticism about those contracts or Chiarelli’s management. Most of the talk was how dominant the Bruins were and how another Cup could be in the near future and what a shewed GM Chiarelli was. The second-guessing didn’t begin in earnest until this season.
I am a Bruins fan & have been since 1972. I don’t lament those contracts. Just life in the cap era where teams have very short periods before RFA & UFA issues force them to expend way more dollars than they might other wise like.
What Chiarelli is doing is very hard. Balancing the needs of today with the needs of tomorrow.
What contracts are people unhappy with?
For all the success the pens have had, cup final, Stanley cup and play offs for how many years since crosbys come into league, I really feel their problem is drafting.
Who have they drafted that can actually play in the top 6?
They had the years of Malkin, Crosby, Letang, Fleury and Staal years ago. Since then what?
Matta looks good.
I know it seems silly listing alls those players and saying they haven’t been good drafting but they just haven’t.
Your comment, while correct, is missing a few important facts. Shero’s philosophy was to draft well, but put a large focus on puck moving defensemen who he perceived to be the rarest commodity. The idea here is that the team would have loads of top end puck movers to promote and then trade at a premium to bring in proven forwards to compliment Crosby and Malkin. So no, they didn’t draft any top 6 forwards in recent memory (outside of Staal if you want to go back that far), but they do have solid goalie (Jarry and Murray look great for the future) and defense depth (Pouliot, Dumoulin, Maatta, Harrington, etc.). To say they haven’t drafted well isn’t true – They are just at the point now however to make those calls on who to keep and who to move.
Sorry to say to the PC an Claude bandwagon these two need to go it all comes down to what have you done for me today. Any good moves PC made are cancelled out by trading away a franchise player for three plugs who are 3rd line players at best. He should of tried to dump Chara last year when he was runner up for the Norris. And no not all bruins fans were happy at all with the big bucks he gave out. Giving Smith a raise after the year he had is a joke an for 3 years. Signing Iggy to a huge bonous contract wasn’t bad if they took into account they didn’t have the cap space for it do this year they gotta pay a 4 million cap hit pen. This year If big changes are not done for next year Boston could slide to the bottom of the East with Toronto cause everyone in the East is improving
The Smith deal was one thing, as that came this season. I’m referring to the others (Rask, Bergeron, Lucic, Chara, Marchand). And as I recall, most Bruins fans were fine with the Iggy signing as long as it produced a championship. And when the Bruins won the President’s Trophy last season, you didn’t hear a peep about the contracts. As for “he should’ve dumped Chara”, I seem to recall the overall feeling was “let’s give him one more season and see.”
I was fine with the Iggy signing if it fit into the cap but if I knew it would put them in cap hell an loose him an his 30 goals for nothing I would not of agreed.
After they won the cup I was a
Firm believer in making changes to keep it fresh an players after a cup win would of fetched a lot
Injuries were a major factor in the Bruins’ problems this season. However, I think Julien has to go. I feel the players have started to tune him out. Chiarelli should stay, unless they can bring in someone like Ray Shero. I beg to differ with those who feel Chiarelli hasn’t drafted and traded well. For example, he made an excelllent pick in David Pastrnak. Ryan Spooner has moved into the lineup, and, despite the critics, Loui Ericksson had a solid season. I feel Riley Smith will rebound next year, while Joe Morrow, who came over from Dallas, may make the opening night lineup next season, along with Alexander Kokolachev and Brian Ferlin. So, the Bruins have some good young players who will relieve some of the cap crunch. The team has a good future, and will likely be back into the post-season next year. And, you know, missing the playoffs isn’t altogether bad. This is an excellent draft year, so they should get a good player at pick #14. In fact, they have a 1% chance at McDavid! 😉
Can you imagine the angst in certain quarters if either Boston or L.A. beat the odds and won the lottery?
Brooks is reporting there are some huge issues in the LA locker room between the players and Sutter. With this information out in the public space it could lead to a coaching change sooner vs later. If there is any validity to the story I would expect a change while there are plenty of sought after coaches on the market.
If that’s true Sutter would be a good fit in Boston if they dump Claude
Sutter is a great coach for an under achieving team. He demands his players to be all that they can be.
Good fits for Sutter would be Edmonton, Toronto, Boston, and Carolina. The only thing to remember when hiring Sutter is that his shelf life is 2 to 3 seasons before his effectiveness disipates.
I will put in the caveat Sutter will only be good in Toronto if they hold onto some mature talent. Players like Kadri, Kessel, and Gardiner could really benefit from Darryl.
Didn’t we already have a Sutter behind the bench? How did that work out! Not a Sutter fan!
I was disappointed that Dennis Seidenberg wasn’t moved two years ago. At 31 years of age, clearly he wasn’t going to improve or stay healthy. He was not going to be productive for much longer either. He needed to be moved to relieve some cap pressure. Anyone could of told you that back then. We should of taken a bag of pucks for him and used it to re-up Boychuk to a decent deal.
“it” being the cap space acquired from trading Seidenberg.
Hey Leafs fans. New blood,maybe? Look at Syracuse, or Grand Rapids for coaches in systems that can produce players who step in and help, and support good chemistry throughout an organization. Haven’t you tried the recycle bin too often in the past? And look to add some texture of good’ players, not just high priced FA’s. Character counts double in Toronto, where a hostile press can kill almost any ordinary mortal who has a bad game or two.