The Bruins have already made one trade with the Colorado Avalanche this season.
If Peter Chiarelli is keeping a close eye on the doings in the Rocky Mountains, he might have a chance to swing another swap with the Avs. Although there have been no trade demands or declarations by the club that it wants to move someone, John-Michael Liles can’t be a happy camper in Denver right now.
As Adrian Dater of All Things Avs reported today, the veteran defenseman was pinned to the bench for the entire first period by head coach Joe Sacco in the Avs’ loss to Nashville last night. Even worse, the coach offered no explanation for the benching.
Dater writes:
Just that, for whatever reason, Sacco decided to put him in uniform, announce him as in the game on the lineup sheet, then keep him sitting there for the entire 20 minutes. Players like Liles will say all the right things after situations like that, but, boy, that was a humiliating thing for him to have to endure. That’s every player’s worse nightmare, to be singled out as the one guy on the bench who doesn’t get a shift. Then, the TV cameras start focusing in on them on the bench, doing a slow burn while teammates hop on and off the bench around him.
Yeah, Liles wasn’t good in Friday’s loss in Columbus. But what about all the excellent games he’s played earlier this season? One bad game and you get embarrassed like that? Why not just make him a healthy scratch for the full game then? Incidentally, I asked Sacco directly about Liles not playing at all in the period, and he said, “I think you guys can figure it out.” No, not really.
If those two paragraphs aren’t enough to make Chiarelli dial up his Colorado counterpart Greg Sherman again, nothing will. Chiarelli and Sherman, of course, made the Matt Hunwick/Colby Cohen trade earlier this season.
Liles’s production has slowed down after a fast but he is still having a bounce-back year and is exactly the type of player the Bruins want. In addition to his puck-moving ability, he’s only 30 years old and is signed through next season. His cap hit of $4.2 million can squeeze under Boston’s cap pretty well, considering the Avs might even be interested in a young roster player like Mark Stuart as part of the deal.
In 56 games this season, Liles has posted 6-29-35 totals and an even rating. The better news is Colorado is just about on the verge of becoming a seller, as the Avs are in the midst of a seven-game losing streak. I wouldn’t overpay Colorado for him.
While he’s batting around trade ideas with Sherman, Chiarelli should bring up winger Milan Hedjuk’s name too. But considering the way they treated Liles last night, the Avs might be quicker to move him than another player on their roster. With two weeks until the trade deadline, it’d be wise for the Bruins to direct their sights a mile high for a potential upgrade to their team.
MK, Since reading this blog about the Aves I feel a move for Hejduk and Liles would be a great move, and probably easier than prying Kaberle from Toronto. Wheeler and Ferance with a 2nd round pick is what I would offer in return. Veteran (cup winning) scoring winger and a PMD…… for a young big winger who is yet to find his role in the NHL plus a proven defenseman for a team that has trouble in their own end. 2nd round pick to push deal over the edge
Liles registered a -6 in a 9-1 loss to the Flames. A reaction to the benching, or just a player struggling with confidence, I wonder? Interesting that he struggles that much the day after the sit-down mentioned in the article, even considering that the writer noted that he’d struggled in the prior game against Columbus as well. I know plus minus isn’t an automatic indicator of individual performance, but given the circumstances and timing it seems rather telling.
Another ugly game for the Avs tonight. Can’t be much longer until they start moving pieces.
Please send Boychuck
For the first time since all the trade rumors started, here is one that actually seems feasible. With all the talk of “who’s untouchable” and all the pipe dreams for absurd packages, there has yet to be a viable trade even suggested before this one.
Sending Stuart and some prospects and/or picks could be enough to get the Avs to part with Liles, and that fits into Chiralli’s philosophy of “adding without subtracting.”
the deadline for PC ends after the game vs. ottawa and before the game vs. the flames, three days of, so julien can “establish” the new guys
col will have 4 games in this stretch, these are the 8 points they need to get a playoff spot
so we will know more on feb 22th, i hope so
we need more consistence!
Liles & Hejduk? Yes please!
I find it hard to belive that a guy of his caliber would be on the trading block after he becomes the grocery stick for one period. But, I’ve been wrong before and he’d be a great pickup for the black and gold.
Rick Nash. Enough said.
hopefully it’s a personality conflict (liles showed sacco’s wife how to scuba) and they need to get him out of town quickly.
“was pinned to the bench for the entire first period by head coach Joe Sacco ”
Are you sure he wasn’t late or something? Sitting the 1st period seems kinda strange.
Hi Matt,
I’m glad you brought up the Colorado Avalanche. Though in general I think you are correct in an earlier point you made about the fact that most of the teams that are truly out of it don’t have much in the way of desirable assets, the Western Conference offers two interesting exceptions at the moment in the forms of Colorado and St. Louis.
Both of those teams were, after all, well entrenched in the playoff hunt until the last couple of weeks. That would seem to indicate that they have more strengths than the other NHL also rans. After all, both have been in rebuilding mode for several years and as such have started to establish a somewhat stable nucleus of young players. Colorado, in particular, clearly has a high offensive upside; they merely can’t play team defense.
Other than the more veteran players you note in your post, is there anyone on either team who you think could help make up for some of the nagging inconsistencies in the Bruins’ offensive game that have surfaced again lately? Further, given that those teams seem to be on the cusp of respectability, are they more likely to hold onto some of their more able performers even given the high hill they now have to climb this season in the Western Conference?
Also, on the veteran side of things, would the Bruins be able to get their hands back on Brad Boyes without sacrificing too much? He seems to have been a fairly consistent performer for the Blues since he was traded there, at least based on statistics (other than last year). Or would he fall into the relatively untouchable category? Thanks.
-Robbie
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