Help Wanted: Puck-Movers Inquire Within
by Ryan Durling on Jun 27, 2011 11:16 AM EDT
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Between Toronto and Boston, Tomas Kaberle made 4.25 million dollars last year. If he makes that money with the Bruins next year, he'll be the second-highest paid defenseman (Zdeno Chara, 6.9 million) and fourth-highest paid player (Tim Thomas and Patrice Bergeron, 5 million each) on the team.
But after his production declined and his conditioning obviously dropped following the trade from the Maple Leafs to Boston in February, Kaberle made himself into a commodity of sorts - sure, his presence helped the Bruins to win their first Stanley Cup in 39 years, but it wasn't the player himself as much as it was the style of play that got them there.
With free agency just over 72 hours away, the Bruins have options; Peter Chiarelli has reportedly been in talks with Kaberle's agent, but it isn't likely that he's going to come back at nearly the cap hit he once had, especially since there's other talent out there that could be had for less than that cost. While marquee free agents don't dot this offseason's landscape, there are a fair amount of (younger) puck-movers that could be had for less than Kaberle earned last year. Among them (with age and last year's cap hit):
- Joni Pitkanen (CAR) 27, $4,000,000
- Kevin Bieksa (VAN) 30, $3,750,000
- James Wisniewski (MTL), 27, $3,250,000
- Christian Ehrhoff (VAN) 28, $3,100,000
- Marc-Andre Bergeron (TBL) 30, $1,000,000
Of course, MAB is a turnstile, and Bieksa proved himself to not fit the Bruins mold during the Stanley Cup Final. Wisniewski would be a solid add as long as he keeps the histrionics to a minimum, but of that group, Pitkanen definitely has the highest ceiling. It was reported last week that Carolina might not be able to afford to retain him, but over the weekend was revealed that the Whalercanes are in talks to keep him around.
Of course, we can't have a puck-moving defenseman post without mentioning Phoenix's Keith Yandle, who's an RFA this year and who will command way more than the $1.2 million he earned in his first two NHL years.
Yandle - a Boston native - would be an ideal add for the Bruins - at 24 and 6'1", 195 pounds, he fits the Bruins mold. He hasn't missed a game in the past two seasons, putting up 100 points and a plus-28 in those two season. He also figures to benefit from the added presence of home cooking and quality ice in Boston, something which he doesn't see much of in Phoenix.
His playoff performance (2-8=10, minus-6) in 11 postseason games hasn't been anything to write home about, but he'd have much less pressure if paired with Andrew Ference or Adam McQuaid on the Bruins' second pairing, assuming that Chara and Dennis Seidenberg are playing together on the first pairing.
The Bruins are most likely to re-sign Kaberle; they're second-most likely to go out and get a puck mover (Ehrhoff or Wiz) in free agency. After about 294 other scenarios, including Vancouver fans acting with dignity and Montreal becoming a first-class city, they might land Yandle (I'll note here that a Tuukka Rask-plus-for-Yandle's rights deal would have been a decent move for both teams if the Bruins really believed in Thomas, but there simply wasn't enough time to negotiate it with the B's going so deep into the playoffs), but they probably won't.
There is, of course, the off-chance that Dougie Hamilton makes the team out of training camp, and this entire conversation becomes a moot point. But even if he excels and wows everyone at camp, it's beyond likely that Boston sends him back to Niagara.
Of course, there are other options out there. These are just the most logical. If you were Chiarelli, what path would you take?
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The problem with acquiring Yandle is the contract he is going to demand. If you believe this report-, http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/thinking_cap_xG4wK8j0VgDW8UcsIK9pNP
then the cap may be going down, and the cost of Yandle could price the Bruins out of resigning core guys in the near future. I think it’s Kaberle on the Bruins terms, or Kampfer gets the chance to prove himself. If things don’t work out, the Bruins would still have cap space to make a move in season.
wiz is a good bet
hes not staying in MTL. and he can move the puck, good shot, fast skater. not too much money
You know how I said my profile pic would always be an animal? well, Chara's a BEAST!
I think Wiz would be a great fit here.
Suck it, Felger!
by phonymahoney on Jun 27, 2011 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Agreed, he would be a great fit. But at 27 years old and a current cap hit of $3.25m, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone throws $4m and a few years at him. I don’t know that the Bruins can afford that.
yeah
he would have to want to come to boston
You know how I said my profile pic would always be an animal? well, Chara's a BEAST!
How does the organization feel about Steven Kampfer and filling the puck-mover role? I’m not a believer that he’s ready for a full-time role, and I’d pefer more expereince or at least a more certain top-4 D man.
An escalator can never break. It can only become stairs.
I think with the current position of the organization age wise and having just won a cup, now is the time to let youth mingle with experience. Let Kampfer, Seguin, and Caron cut their teeth with some actual NHL minutes. Show Kampfer and Seguin some PP time and see what some youth and new blood would do.
Pitkanen is the first choice
then Wiz. We completely overpaid for Kaberle. He will not fit with our system, so we can all let that one go. I wouldn’t trade Rask for Yandle unless THEY overpaid me. Thomas was excellent this year. In about 10 months, you will be very happy that Rask is still here. I don’t expect Thomas to be the solution beyond next year’s playoffs.
Pitkanen is easily the best overall puck mover and the only one who fits our system. I think we need to move Ference out as well as not re-sign Kaberle. Boychuk is also a poor fit today for us. Kampfer should get a shot at more time on the ice as his vision and shot are pretty accurate. Ference can’t see 15 feet in front of him.
Let Kaberle go PLEASE!
First thing is to let Tomas walk even though we got fleeced on that trade. He is just not a good fit here at all. If I were the Bruins I would seriously consider Yandle. He is young and a perfect fit for what the team needs. Other than that I would consider Kampfer of Bartkowski for a bigger role next year. I am not sure Pitkanen is worth a long term commitment at big dollars. The team should be in good shape cap wise going forward if it is managed right.
I think Wisniewski is going to get a lot more than people think. The top 4 options are all fairly unrealistic with the cap uncertainty and the number of years (if not dollars) that they’re going to command being 30 or younger, in a free agent market that has big market teams thinking they’re a piece away from contention and small market teams needing to get to the cap floor. I’d stay the heck away from Free Agency altogether with the exception of the possibility of Kaberle taking an “I’m only really comfortable in 2 places” discount.
In terms of names to fill spots, the name Jan Hejda got thrown out there on HF last night as a defensively strong player who you could pair with say Kampfer. I’ve also wondered at times what CJ’s relationship was with Andy Greene in New Jersey, but it’s tough to gauge because Greene was a rookie, and Lams played Greene more in the playoffs (17 mpg) than Julien did in the regular season (14 mgp).
by Michael Taylor on Jun 27, 2011 12:16 PM EDT reply actions
Honestly...
I just pray to the lord, or whatever higher powers may be, that Kaberle is not brought back. However they try to replace him, whether it’s Kampfer or from outside of the organization…I would give my left (you know what) to ensure he does not return.
That said, I HOPE the Bruins do sign someone…and that someone’s name is Wisniewski. I don’t want to see the Bruins miss out on another Montreal puck moving defenseman like they did by re-signing Wideman and letting Streit go to the NYI for about a million dollars less. I think Boston has room for him in the current cap, especially with the increase in the ceiling (and I am also kind of going with the feeling that Savard won’t be back). I don’t think he’ll get a huge contract, my guess is something along the lines of a 4-4.5 million. I would put him on par with a guy ilke Ryan Whitney or Dustin Byfuglien (sp?) who is making 5 million and 3 million respectively. But because he is relatively young (27) it wouldnt surprise me to see a team go a bit higher, in the 5-6 million range.
If the Bruins don’t get another puck moving D-Man and decide to go with Kampfer, I am curious to see if the Bruins make a run at one of those insanely talented RFA like Parise or Yandle.
What price would you pay for Kaberle?
What if Kaberle came back at $2.5m? How low would he have to go to keep him?
3-4 million
lol if you think Kaberle signs for 2.5m
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Jun 27, 2011 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Bieksa just signed a new contract with Vancouver so you can cross him off the list. I never saw him leaving nor did I think he would fit in Boston so it doesn’t really narrow down the possibilities too much.
For Horton.
I know the Vancouver defense was hurting, but I wasn’t that impressed with Bieksa.
Suck it, Felger!
by phonymahoney on Jun 28, 2011 12:42 AM EDT up reply actions
glad to see Bieksa re-sign far, far away. He’s much more fun to hate, anyway.
I think Kaberle might have more value if only because Kampfer isn’t ready to be the guy yet, and if Hamilton’s good enough to be around in 2012, you want him to be able to learn from a vet.
but Kaberle at what cost? If Bieksa just got 4.5 per, and whatever Makarov signed for… Kaberle is going to be in their ball park salary wise, no?? Also, it;s unlikely he would take anything less than a 3 year deal. I just don’t see how it works in Boston.
The cap hit for Kaberle was already 4.25m/year. I very much doubt the guy is going to take a pay cut after adding a Stanley Cup ring to his resume. The fact that he was tied for our highest-scoring defenseman during the playoffs doesn’t help matters either.
I’ve been rather negative about Kaberle in the past but I wouldn’t mind if he came back at a similar salary. In hindsight I think a lot of the disappointment was from unrealistic expectations – he was supposed to be the silver bullet that cures our struggling power play.
I’d like to give him and the rest of the team a year to practice and work things out. I doubt he’ll take a short contract but it’s worth wishing for anyway.
My guess is about ~5m/year and a 4-6 year contract
For Horton.
I should clarify that is what I’m guessing Kaberle is looking for, not what I think he’s worth
…
For Horton.
Shrug. He had 47 points this year and 49 last season.
For Horton.
by Sinnach on Jun 27, 2011 10:54 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
not necessarily
it’s not like Kaberle has an excellent 2010-11 campaign. Of course, he was on a Cup winner.
Suck it, Felger!
by phonymahoney on Jun 28, 2011 12:43 AM EDT up reply actions
I was a vocal non-fan of the Kaberle deal, but I’ll be even more so with Pitkanen. He was an epic turnover machine for Carolina every game we played against them. When it comes to handing goals to the other team, he’s like the T-1000 to Wideman’s Schwarzenegger.
by TomServo42 on Jun 27, 2011 5:36 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
What about Ian White?
Ian White is young (younger than all listed), pretty productive on the power play, solid in his own end, and given his size he may not be the type of player that draws as much attention during free agency as some of the other teams.
He’d be my first choice.
Kaberle’s gonna get paid.
Your 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins
Hockey Blog Adventure: New Post: 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins: YES!!! (I'm also on Twitter.) GO BRUINS! (and Wild!)
by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Jun 28, 2011 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions
i think we can get a pick for him
You know how I said my profile pic would always be an animal? well, Chara's a BEAST!
holy overpayment, Batman!
Kampfer it is.
Suck it, Felger!
by phonymahoney on Jun 28, 2011 10:11 PM EDT up reply actions
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