Bruins’ Offseason

Even though summer is in full swing, there is a renewed sense of optimism among Bruins’ fans for the upcoming season. Warm weather is the time for the Annual Draft and then the free-agency madness that began on July 1. The Bruins weren’t big players in the market this year as they’re already pressed against the salary cap and really don’t need to look for wholesale help from without as it appears that building from within is beginning to bear fruit.

Compared to 12 months ago, the B’s are a significantly better hockey team. Coach Julien appears to have the players’ attention and the team is playing a traditional Bruins-brand of hockey. They re-signed Aaron Ward and Chuck Kobasew, who were integral parts to the team’s success last year and Patrice Bergeron will return to the lineup in full health. They are finally developing a group of young players who are capable of being successful at the NHL level. The selection of Milan Lucic two years ago on the second round appears to have been a steal. Chiarelli has also made a number of moves to bolster the team’s youth, including signing UFA Blake Wheeler from Minnesota, who was the Coyotes’ first pick in ’04 but never came to terms. He also traded long time P-Bruin D Jonathan Sigalet to Columbus for massive forward Matt Marquardt.

Although hockey fans are like kids on Christmas morning when draft day rolls around, the Bruins’ draft choices have more often than not turned out to be lumps of coal in the stocking.

A Brief History of the Bruins’ Draft:

Since 1963, the Bruins have drafted a grand total of one (1) selection that has played the bulk of his career in Boston and made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame (Raymond Bourque in 1979). Perhaps you can understand why there have been zero (0) Stanley Cups won by the Bruins since 1972. B’s management need look no further than the success of the Detroit Red Wings as a model of how to consistently draft quality players. Over the past fifteen years, the Wings’ scouts have done a marvelous job finding kids (especially in Sweden and Finland) who have made great contributions to Cup-winning teams.

Here are some of the players the Bruins drafted that were traded away or never signed:
Ken Dryden
Ivan Boldirev
Reggie Leach
Rick MacLeish
Dan Bouchard
Andre Savard
Mark Howe
Al Secord
Brad McCrimmon
Bill Ranford
Bryan Smolinski
Kyle McLaren
Joe Thornton
Sergei Samsonov
Nick Boynton

Can you imagine that Boston actually had Dryden and traded him away to Montréal for Guy Allen and Paul Reid on June 28, 1964?

Here are a list of Bruins’ #1 busts post-67 expansion:

Don Tannahill (1969)
Ron Jones (1971)
Mike Bloom (1972)
Don Larway (1974)
Clayton Pachal (1976)
Dave Pasin (1984)
Rob Cimetta (1988)
Shayne Stevenson (1989)
Evgeni Ryabchikov (1994)
Johnathan Aitken (1996)
Lars Jonsson (2000)

Sure, the hockey draft is a crapshoot, but that many misses over 30 years suggests that either the dice were loaded or somebody was asleep at the switch. On the other hand, the B’s have historically done well with “value” picks in the mid-to late rounds.

Stan Jonathan 5th Round #86 O/A (1975)
Bob Miller 4th Round #70 O/A (1976)
Mike Krushelnyski 6th round #120 O/A (1979)
Michael Thelven 9th Round #186 O/A (1980)
Bob Sweeney 6th Round #123 O/A (1982)
Allen Pedersen 5th Round #105 O/A (1983)
Don Sweeney 8th Round #166 (1984)
Randy Burridge 8th Round #157 (1985)
Ted Donato 5th Round #98 (1987)
Steve Heinze 3rd Round #60 (1988)
Joe Juneau 4th Round #81 (1988)
Mariusz Czerkawski 5th Round #106 (1991)
Shawn Bates 4th Round #103 (1993)
Hal Gill 8th Round #207 (1993)
John Grahame 9th Round #229 (1994)
P.J. Axelsson 7th Round #177 (1995)
Andrew Raycroft 5th Round #135 (1998)
Andrew Alberts 6th Round #179 (2001)
Milan Jurcina 8th Round #241 (2001)

None of these guys could’ve been classified as superstars, but each had decent NHL careers.

On June 20-21, the NHL convened in Ottawa for the annual Entry Draft. This is the crew that Chiarelli and the Scouting Staff selected:

1/16 JOE COLBORNE 1/30/90 CALGARY, AB CA 6' 5" 190 AJHL CAMROSE C
2 /47 MAXIME SAUVE 1/30/90 TOURS FR 6' 0" 170 QMJHL VAL D'OR C
3 /77 MICHAEL HUTCHINSON 3/2/90 BARRIE, ON CA 6' 3" 185 OHL BARRIE G
4/97 JAMIE ARNIEL 11/16/89 KINGSTON, ON CA 5' 11" 183 OHL SARNIA C
6 /173 NICHOLAS TREMBLAY 4/5/88 OTTAWA, ON CA 5' 11" 190 CJHL SMITHS FALLS C
7/197 MARK GOGGIN 7/29/90 CHICAGO, IL US 5' 11" 177 HIGH-CT CHOATE-ROSEMARY C

Two things stood out: their ages (am I getting old!) and the fact that no defensemen were picked. The draftniks out there can weigh the relative strengths and weaknesses of these selections, but for all practical purposes, all this group represents is a bunch of boys with a dream. Just as occurred last year, Chiarelli and his staff rolled the dice on players whose possibilities lie in the distant future rather than finding impact players for the short term. It’ll be 4-5 years before anyone knows whether this draft was a success. No one has a crystal ball and can say for sure how well any one of these kids will fare.

If B’s fans look back to 2000, that draft was a bust. They had four picks in the first 60 and none of them panned out. Grade: F.

2001 was slightly better, as Andrew Alberts (6/179) made the team, but Shaone Morrisonn (1/19) was flipped to Washington in part of the ill-fated Sergei Gonchar trade and Milan Jurcina (8/241) was also traded to the Caps for a draft pick. Grade: D.

2002 was another bust. Hannu Toivonen (1/29) appeared to have great promise before suffering a bad ankle injury a couple of years ago. He was flipped to St. Louis last summer for Carl Soderberg (a talented Swede who may-or may not-come over). Toivonen lasted one year with the Blues before going back to Finland. Yan Stastny (8/259) was drafted, traded, re-acquired and traded again. There was some promise, but… Grade: D- (pending outcome with Soderberg).

2003 appears to be a very good draft class for Boston. Mark Stuart (1/21) finally made the leap to NHL-caliber defenseman last year. Patrice Bergeron (2/45) may rate as an all-time theft at the Draft table. Byron Bitz (4/107) made it to Providence after finishing with Cornell. Nate Thompson (6/183) has been a mainstay with the P-B’s and Kevin Regan (9/277) was a stud at UNH who will be in goal in Providence next fall. Grade: A-

The 2004 draft class appears to be pretty good, so far. The B’s had no first pick that year but David Krejci (2/63) found a regular spot in the lineup last year and registered 27 points. Martins Karsums (2/64) has played well in Providence and appears ready to make the leap. On the minus, Kris Versteeg (5/134) was flipped to Chicago for Brandon Bochenski (who failed here and was flipped to Anaheim for a sixth-rounder this year). Ben Walter (5/160) was flipped to Islanders for Petteri Nokillanen and a conditional pick, and Nokie played well for the B’s this year. Matt Hunwick (7/224) opened up a lot of eyes this year and may have an opportunity to make the team as a puck-moving defenseman. Grade: B-.

From 2005-onward, things are still in the “too-soon-to-tell” stage. Matt Lashoff appears ready to turn the corner and make it in the NHL. Petr Kalus was traded to Minnesota last summer for Manny Fernandez. Kalus languished in the minors and Manny was hurt all year, so we’ll need at least another year to determine whether the pick was wasted. Vladimir Sobotka appears to have earned a spot in the lineup and plays with speed and aggressiveness. Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic from ’06 have been good players. Kessel’s battle with testicular cancer and his subsequent return to the lineup have been well-documented and praiseworthy. Julien benched him for a couple of games during the Playoffs and he returned to the lineup a changed young man. If he exhibits the same intensity on a nightly basis moving forward, the B’s chances for postseason success will increase significantly. Lucic is a crash n’ bang cornerman who occasionally evokes memories of Cam Neely with his physical style but has far to go to equal Neely’s touch with the puck.

July 1 brings the NHL's annual free-agent madness, where a lucky few cash in beyond their wildest dreams. This year, there were a few big names at the top and a ton of lesser lights and journeyman who were looking to hit the jackpot. The NHL increased the salary cap to $57 million this year and some general managers were bound and determined to go on frivolous shopping sprees. Bruins fans were salivating over the prospect of the team signing one of the few big guns available, Pittsburgh's Marian Hossa (who ultimately signed a one-year deal with the Wings). Bringing in a player of Hossa’s caliber may have been great but it wasn't going to happen as the B’s are already pressed hard against the salary cap and there wasn't any wiggle room to bring in a marquee player. The first day of free agency always brings about deals that make hockey fans shake their heads utter amazement. Here are but just a few deals that should have required the general managers involved to be immediately committed to an insane asylum:

New York Islanders sign defenceman Mark Streit to a five-year contract worth $20.5 million (he's a nice player, but the terms are way over the top)

New York Rangers sign UFA defenceman Wade Redden to a six-year contract worth $39 million (maybe five years ago this would have been a good deal, but Redden’s well into the back nine at to tie up $6 million into an aging, immobile defenseman makes no sense at all).

Toronto Maple Leafs sign UFA forward Niklas Hagman to a four-year contract worth $12 million (a reasonably good utility player getting paid a star's salary)

Columbus signs UFA defenceman Mike Commodore to a 5 year deal worth $18.75-million (this was a misprint, right? They're not serious are they?)

Chicago signs UFA defenceman Brian Campbell to an 8 year deal worth $56.8-million (Campbell is a very good defenseman, but he's not a dominant force on the blue line, and within a couple of years the Hawks will really regret this move).

Colorado signs UFA forward Darcy Tucker to a 2 year deal worth $4.5-million (this was a guy who the Leafs were so happy to be done with that they probably helped him pack his bags. When did the management team in Denver suddenly become so stupid?)

Chicago signs UFA goaltender Cristobal Huet to a 4-year, $16.875 million. (How much to the Hawks intend to tie up in salaries for goaltenders? They're already paying Khabibulin a fortune. As far as Huet, he rode a hot hand late in the year after coming over to the Caps from Montréal. Before that, he was slightly above the journeyman level).

Florida signs UFA forward Cory Stillman to a 3 year deal worth $10.6-million (they’re desperate for anybody who has the ability to put the puck in the net, Stillman used to be a decent player for Carolina but not anymore).

Toronto signs UFA defenceman Jeff Finger to a 4 year deal worth $3.5-million a season (What? Someone ought to call the commissioner to make an inquiry to determine whether the Leafs are deliberately tanking next season so they can have first dibs on Tavares.)

Washington signs UFA goaltender Jose Theodore to a 2 year deal worth $9 million (caveat emptor).

With all of this as a backdrop, the Bruins advised the media around
6:30 of an imminent signing, then proceeded to make the media and fans wait three hours before announcing that they had signed (insert drum roll) Michael Ryder from Montréal to a three-year deal had about $4 million per season. Needless to say, Bruins fans were particularly underwhelmed by this move. Ryder had back-to-back 30-goal seasons two years ago but found his way into Guy Carbonneau’s doghouse last year and was benched for a number of games during the playoffs. Apparently, Ryder has a big fan in Julien, who coached him in juniors, the minors and with Canadiens. After signing Ryder, Chiarelli announced that the team was pretty much finished dabbling in the free-agent market place.

The Bruins still need a puck moving defenseman, whether by trade or by free agency. Dennis Wideman elected to opt for salary arbitration, and given the ridiculous salaries that were handed out to mediocre defensemen on the first day of free agency, may have priced himself out of the team's plans for the future. Bruins fans are still highly critical of the trade of Brad Boyes to St. Louis for Wideman at the trading deadline two years ago. Wideman was a B-/C+ player last season and the management figured he'd be worth somewhere in the $3 million range. He's a much better player than Commodore, and he’ll obviously be looking at that particular signing as a starting point. If that's the case, the Bruins may need to start looking in a different direction.

In early July, the team conducted its annual Development Camp in Wilmington where the youngsters had an opportunity to showcase their skills for the management and, by all accounts, the Camp was a big success.

In a minor move, the team moved RFA Pascal Pelletier to Chicago for C Martin St. Pierre. Pelletier was a hard worker who had a brief stay in Boston last year before returning to Providence, where he had been a mainstay with the P-B’s for several years. He’s an extremely hard worker who simply had the misfortune of being in an organization that has more highly rated centers. St. Pierre is a career AHL’er and will add firepower to the P-B’s as they look to contend for the Calder Cup once more.

Shortly before the arbitration schedule began, the B’s and Wideman agreed to a three-year deal that pushed the team over the salary cap, prompting the team to buy out the final year of Glen Murray’s contract that counted $4.15M toward the cap. He cleared waivers and is a free agent.

It’s sad to see a player who was once a highly productive force leave as a result of budget problems, but that’s life in the new NHL. The B’s simply could not afford to keep a player around at that price who can’t be counted on to deliver. His effectiveness in the past couple of years was limited by injuries, though he’ll certainly catch on with another team if he chooses.

The team as constituted is pretty much set for next year. There may be a surprise or two coming out of camp in September, but things are looking good right now.