Deadline Buzz: Who's coming, who's going?

As March 4th approaches, the Bruins find themselves in a unique position: comfortably settled into a playoff spot, and, for the first time seemingly in years, being buyers at the trade deadline. Barring a collapse of epic proportions (think Yankees 2004, and multiply it by 10), the B's will find themselves in one of the top three spots in the Eastern Conference come April, and according to some recent comments by GM Peter Chiarelli, are gearing up for a serious run at Lord Stanley.

Also, today on WEEI's Dale & Holley, which is probably the best show on WEEI, as listening to the Big Show try to talk about hockey is about as helpful as me trying to teach Calculus, Chiarelli said there is a 60-75% chance that he WILL make a trade at the deadline.

This means a couple of things: management believes this team has a serious shot at the Cup, and appears to be ready to put the pedal to the metal and go for it. Also, it means that some current Bruins property is on his way out of town, which, with a team as tight-knit as this year's group, could have some bad side-effects. If a player sent away in a trade is from Providence, it may not impact this year's NHL team much. However, if it's a regular (or even a bit-role) player from the big club, it could disrupt what until this point has been a locker room that by all accounts has the atmosphere (attitude-wise, anyways) of a frat house.

Some names that I've heard bandied about that may disrupt the B's squad include Chuck Kobasew, Vladimir Sobotka, Matt Lashoff, and even the injured Marco Sturm. Chiarelli has shown that he's not shy about making trades, as referenced by sending the popular Brad Boyes packing in two years ago, a trade that, as made clear by Patrice Bergeron's comments in the link, wasn't popular in the room either. To put it plainly, there's no way player egos should be put before a real chance for the Cup, and I don't see any way he lets feelings or camaraderie get in the way. That's not to say he'll bring in a locker-room cancer, but if he feels a player is available that can help the team, he won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

In the "afore-linked" Hubhockey.com piece on Chiarelli's interview on WEEI today, it lists a couple of things that he mentioned on the show today, basically clues as to what he may be looking for at the deadline. His remarks included:

• He wants to get the team bigger up front, and add size in general.
  
• He would add a forward and a defenseman in a "perfect world", but is confident in the depth in Providence.

With those couple of things, especially the first one, let's try to narrow down the Bruins' possible trade targets.

• Nik Antropov, F, Toronto Maple Leafs- The writing is on the wall for the big Russian winger, as Leafs' GM Brian Burke has all but promised to trade the winger before the deadline. Antropov certainly fits the big-body mold (6'6", 230 lbs.), and is also a left-handed shot, playing on the right wing. With Burke's assertions that he will be moved, he may have lowered the market for the winger. The Bruins could probably have Antropov for a lower-level prospect (possibly Matt Lashoff, to solidify the Leafs defensive corps) and a first or second round pick. Antropov has 42 points on the year so far, but my concern is that he may not fit in the dressing room. I'm not sure there are any players on the team who have played with him before, and he seems like he may be out of place character-wise compared to the current group. However, he's a big-body who may thrive from a change of scenery, and would fill the need for a left-handed shot. Antropov is in the last year of his contract, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. LIKELIHOOD: 6.5/10.
• Keith Tkachuk, F, St. Louis Blues-Here's a story for you: local kid comes back to his hometown team and helps them win their first Stanley Cup in over 30 years. That's the scenario that could follow if Tkachuk comes to the Bruins. The Melrose, MA, native is in the last year of his contract in St. Louis, and is another big-bodied winger who shoots from the left. The problem here is that the Blues are currently still in the hunt for a playoff spot, sitting seven points out of 8th place at the time of this post, and may not be sellers at the deadline. In all likelihood, the next two weeks will settle it for the Blues. If they don't make a significant move towards a playoff berth, they'll be forced to make some trades. If this is the case, Tkachuk is, in my opinion, the most likely player out there who will pull on the black and gold for the first time after March 4th. He'd likely cost the B's though, probably a player like Martins Karsums or Vladimir Sobotka as well as a first or second round pick. LIKELIHOOD: 7.5/10
• Jordan Leopold, D, Colorado Avalanche- Leopold's name has been tossed about by Bruins fans for weeks now, with some sources saying a deal for Leopold is already in the works and nearing completion. The 28-year old Leopold, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, would certainly solidifiy the Bruins' blue line. He wouldn't add much in size (6'1", 200 lbs.), but he is definitely a solid player. The former Hobey Baker Award winner would probably come with a decent price tag, but one deal that could materialize (and would be a blockbuster for sure) would be to send Manny Fernandez to the Avs. I feel like this isn't likely, since the B's seem comfortable playing the two-goalie system, but the Avalanche are in the market for a more solid goalie, and the free-agent-to-be Fernandez COULD fit the mold. If not, expect to see a winger (Kobasew, Sobotka, Karsums, Bitz or Nokelainen possibly) and maybe a couple of picks heading to Colorado. LIKELIHOOD: 7/10
• Erik Cole, F, Edmonton Oilers- Another big guy (6'2", 205 lbs.) who shoots from the left and plays on the wing. Seems like a good fit, and there were even reports that Cole was telling friends he thought he was Boston-bound. This is one trade I'd rather not see. In a player's bio on TSN.ca (the link on each player I've listed's name), there is a section called "Honors and Awards", and Cole's last one listed is winning the Stanley Cup...three years ago. No honors in three years, and slumping point production? Doesn't sound like a solid pick-up to me. The hope here is the Cole would wake up with a change of scenery, and could, upon reconnecting with Cup teammate Aaron Ward, find his game again. I'd rather stay away from this one, especially when the asking price seems to include Sobotka, and I think Chiarelli will think the same way. LIKELIHOOD: 5/10.
• Jay Bouwmeester, D, Florida Panthers- The "creme de la creme" in this year's trade pool, Bouwmeester is on every contender's wishlist, and the Bruins are no exception. However, as was the case with St. Louis, the Panthers are in a very real chase for a playoff spot, and may be hesitant to deal the big defenseman. GM Jacques Martin will likely decide soon, and may be forced to deal him. It's unlikely that Bouwmeester, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, would return to South Florida, so Martin needs to decide which is worth more: a foray into the playoffs, or getting something in return for Bouwmeester. In my opinion, trading Bouwmeester would sink the Panthers' season (and it's been a good one so far), and completely demoralize the team. However, if he does get dealt, expect the Bruins to at least make a call. The package for him would be huge, something to the effects of Zach Hamill, one of David Krecji, Phil Kessel or Milan Lucic, possibly Tuukka Rask, and a couple of picks as well. I think the bidding war and subsequent asking price will scare the B's away. LIKELIHOOD: 3/10.

There are other names that are being tossed about as possibilities for the B's, and here they are, in no particular order:

• Dominic Moore, F, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Ryan Smyth, F, Colorado Avalanche
• Chris Pronger, D, Anaheim Ducks
• Bill Guerin, F, New York Islanders
• Doug Weight, F, New York Islanders
• Mikael Samuesson, F, Detroit Red Wings

Anything's possible at the deadline, but in my opinion, the guys most likely to come to the Bruins are the ones I talked about more in depth at the top of this post. For the fun of it, here is my prediction for what the Bruins will do at the deadline:

TO BOSTON: F, Keith Tkachuk, 2010 4th-round draft pick
TO ST. LOUIS: D, Matt Lashoff, F, Vladimir Sobotka

I think that'll be it for the Bruins, and this is based purely on opinion, so don't hold me to this. If it came to fruition, it'd have the B's line-up looking something like this, when completely healthy:

Lucic-Savard-Kessel
Ryder-Krecji-Wheeler
Tkachuk-Bergeron-Kobasew
Bitz-Yelle-Thornton

Chara-Ward
Wideman-Ference
Hnidy-Stuart

Thomas
Fernandez

I do think that once Ryder returns, the lines will go back to how they were before, especially the top two. The third line, with the edition of Tkachuk, gets a lot bigger, and with a rough-and-tumbe guy like Kobasew, could be a line that could wear opponents down and grind out goals.

Other trade deadline predictions:

• Montreal, desperate to save their Centennial Season, will make any payment necessary to acquire Vincent Lecavalier from Tampa Bay.
  
• Pronger won't be dealt.
• Washington, Pittsburgh and Vancouver will make significant deals.
• Teams like New Jersey, San Jose and Philadelphia may make minor deals to tweak their rosters in preparation for the playoffs.
  

Even if the Bruins make no moves, the trade deadline is always a great day: HFBoards and TSN routinely crash with all of the server traffic, and the NHL Network will likely have trade specials on all day. It's going to be an interesting couple of months, and the stretch drive to Lord Stanley will begin in earnest on March 5th.

Ryder Out Indefinitely

As per the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, Michael Ryder is out indefinitely after suffering a facial fracture after taking the stick of Ottawa's Antoine Vermette to the face late in Thursday night's game.

The high-stick, which gave the Bruins a four-minute advantage on which they tied the game, appeared to catch Ryder near the right eye, and caused the forward to bleed profusely. He did not return to the game.

According to Fluto Shinzawa of the Globe, Ryder's eye was not affected, but he may still require surgery.

Tough blow for the B's and Ryder, who was playing very strong hockey as of late. With Ryder out, the line-up has a little less firepower, but expect one of the youngsters to fill in during Ryder's absence.

January Wrap-Up

Now that the school year has started back up again, my contributions to this blog have slowed considerably. Fortunately for Boston hockey fans, the Bruins aren't following my lead.

In my December wrap-up post, I predicted the B's to go 10-2-1 in their 13 games last month, giving them more credit than my last couple of predictions. In reality, the Black and Gold put up a record of 8-3-2, proving that perhaps I should stick to my less optimistic predictions.

However, on the bright side, claiming 18 out of a 26 possible points is nothing to be ashamed of, though the B's were playing less-than inspired hockey at times in the month of January.

A couple of games stick out as being especially disappointing, for different reasons:

• Jan. 6, vs. Minnesota: Not so much disappointing, but extremely frustrating. Here was a game in which the Bruins had a chance to avenge one of their few regulation losses by beating a Minnesota team that defeated them in the second game of the season. Instead, the Bruins got shutout for the only time (so far) this season, and didn't really have an answer for Minnesota's neutral zone defense. Granted the Wild are a good team and a loss against them isn't something to be ashamed of, but it was a bit of a stinker in front of the hometown fans.
• Jan. 19, vs. St. Louis: This game was a little strange, because it was a game the Bruins didn't deserve to win, but I ended up being disappointed when they lost. After playing rather listlessly for most of the game, the B's found themselves down 2-1 late in the third to one of the bottom-ranked teams in the Western Conference. However, they cashed in on two St. Louis mistakes with two quick power play goals, and when Zdeno Chara buried a slap shot with 3:05 to go in the third to give the Bruins a 4-2 lead, it seemed like they would be making the great escape, and stealing the two points. To their credit, the Blues didn't lay down, and scored with 1:20 to go and goalie Chris Mason on the bench. 1:20 later, David Backes batted a puck out of the air to tie the game with literally no time left on the clock. After reviewing the goal to see if the stick was too high, the refs awarded (and rightly so, in my opinion) the tying goal to Backes, sending the game into overtime. The game eventually went into a shootout, which the Blues won. Blake Wheeler was the goat in this one. He missed an empty net goal that could have iced the game, then again missed an open cage after beating Mason in the shootout. In his defense, the whole team played less than superb hockey that afternoon, but they still emerged with a point.
• Jan. 29, vs. New Jersey: Another game in which the Bruins got a point, but was disappointing nevertheless. This was a game of unlucky and lucky bounces depending on which side one takes, and one that, ultimately, the Bruins let get away. The Devils are a good team, one likely to be in the Bruins' way to postseason glory. After going into the locker room down 2-0 and being thoroughly outplayed, they came back with three straight goals to take the lead with six and a half minutes to go. With their strong defense, it should have been time for Claude Julien's boys to lock down the neutral zone and smother the Devils. Instead, Patrik Elias scored with under two minutes to go, and Jamie Langenbrunner got his second of the game in overtime to give New Jersey the win. This was another game that saw the Bruins let a point that they should have had slip away, and while they're in comfortable playoff position, a team can never have too many points, especially against an inter-conference rival.

The Bruins are currently in what is arguably the toughest portion of their schedule, as 11 of their 13 games in February are against teams that are currently in playoff contention (the only ones that aren't being Ottawa and Tampa Bay). Their last three games in January were against playoff teams as well, so the boys from Causeway street are truly being tested. Currently, they are passing with flying colors, having won 6 of 7, including their first three games in February.

Luckily, the B's have gotten mostly healthy, and should be facing the NHL's top tier with the majority of their roster intact. The biggest circle on this month's slate has to be Tuesday's game vs. San Jose, for a few reasons. The Sharks and Bruins have been flip-flopping in the NHL's top spot for three months now. It is Joe Thornton's second return to Boston since being traded (let's see if he lasts more than five minutes this time). It is also a chance for the Bruins to silence some doubters. If they can beat San Jose, as they have Washington, Detroit, New York and New Jersey, they will have beaten a bonafide top team in each conference, giving the team some confidence going into the stretch run.

I think that while the B's will certainly not have an easy time this month, they will silence the few remaining "haters" out there, and will come out of the month in good shape. Excluding the three wins they already have, I'm predicting that come March 1, the B's will have gone 7-2-1, thereby finishing February with 99 points, sporting a record of 46-10-7.

99 points before March? I'll take it.

Go B's.