The Bruins are in the rare position of both anticipating their own draft choice and looking for NHL talent that could push them into Stanley Cup contention. Rarely does a team with a top-five pick have Cup aspirations for the coming season, but that's the place Peter Chiarelli and Co. find themselves in.
The B's will select either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin with the number-two pick, acquired in the Phil Kessel trade, and are considered by some to be a scorer or defenseman or two away from being serious Cup contenders. The B's should return relatively the same team next year, with the addition of Hall/Seguin, a healthy David Krejci and newly-acquired Nathan Horton. A few players, including Dennis Wideman, will be out of the fold, but with their additions, the B's should be a formidable group.
Entering tonight, the only real certainty is that the B's will take either Hall or Seguin at the number-two spot. The rest is completely up in the air, and a number of B's players have been rumored to be on the trading block.
The biggest names that have been bandied about are Tim Thomas and Marc Savard, one an obvious trade candidate and the other a head scratcher.
Thomas has been on his way out since Tuukka Rask took over last season, and now it appears that the first "trade wheels" are in motion. Trading Thomas would free up about $5 million in cap space, valuable money that the B's could use to fill holes elsewhere, namely on the blue line.
There are a number of rumored suitors for the former Vezina winner, the most viable of which appear to be San Jose and Philadelphia, with Washington a dark horse. San Jose let Evgeni Nabokov walk earlier this week, meaning they'll probably be in the market for a new goalie. I suppose it's possible that the Sharks go with Thomas Greiss this coming year, but I can't see a high-caliber team like the Sharks entering this season with an unproven rookie in net.
However, San Jose can probably be crossed off the Thomas trade list, due to Sharks' GM Ron Wilson's assertion that he won't spend too much on goaltending, citing the Blackhawks as an example of how a high-priced goalie doesn't bring Stanley Cup success.
The Flyers remain a viable option for Thomas, as many maintain that the Flyers would have won the Cup if they had a competent netminder.
The other rumor floating around, the more confusing one, is that the B's are looking to trade Savard.
Savard has a partial no-movement clause, allegedly limiting his trades to teams in the East so he can stay close to his family. To me, trading Savard would be absurd. The pivot signed an extremely cap-friendly deal to remain with the Bruins, and has said that he loves playing in Boston. The reasoning for the rumors seems to be that if the Bruins draft Seguin, they'll have him, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Savard down the middle.
Apparently, Savard would be traded to make room for Seguin. This boggles my mind on multiple levels.
- Trading Savard after the deal he just signed would be like a slap in the face to a player who took a pay cut to stay in Boston. The B's don't have great PR in the eyes on many casual fans in Boston, and trading a big name and fan favorite like Savard wouldn't help much.
- Seguin is already going to be under immense pressure to produce as a number-two pick. Trading Savard would essentially place even more pressure on the rookie to produce, be it as a third-center or as a winger.
- The B's had the league's worst offense last year. Why trade your best playmaker?
Matt Kalman of the BruinsBlog agrees with me, but ultimately it's up to the Bruins' brain trust. The sentiment of this blogger, however, is that trading Savard would be a huge mistake.
