Chiarelli
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was a brief guest of TradeCentre with James Duthie on TSN this afternoon, some 90 minutes before the arrival of the trade deadline.
When asked if he was done dealing, Chiarelli said:
“We’re tinkering a little bit on some minor, minor depth [deals],” said the GM, who made his major splash a week and a half ago with his acquisitions of Tomas Kaberle and Rich Peverley.
So that might be some good news for the Providence Bruins and their fans, but as far as the NHL product, it sounds like what you see now is what you’ll get when the team takes the ice in Ottawa tomorrow night.
As far as whether that would change if some of Boston’s toughest competitors made major improvements between now and the deadline, Chiarelli said:
“We’re not going to react because we’re satisfied with the moves we’ve made so far.”
Bo, I guess I’m just not a huge Penner guy. Always worried about “motivation” problems with guys like you know who & you know who else on the Bruins.
Matt. I guess I thought the D prospect the Kings shipped to the Oilers was a top pairing prospect. The #1 pick is identical, and the Oil also get a conditional pick. I don’t think much of Colborne, mind you, and I think calling him a potential number one center (picked 16th) and calling Teubert (picked 13th) a 3rd pair defenseman is totally slanted. D take longer to grow into the position – we all know that – and the scouting reports are just as mixed on Teubert (some compare him to Pronger – he’s that tough and nasty) as they are on Colborne (some say he’s as soft as butter). Someone made the good point that Penner has another year on his deal. Still – I think they are very comparable, and based on the Bs needs, I’m happy with the price we paid to make a run for the Cup.
So the only team you listed who we aren’t wining (or have won) the season series against is Detroit. Yes, all these teams have elite offensive players, while our best offensive players are “just” good. (I agree that Lucic, Bergeron, and Krecji by no means count as superstars, and bergeron is just on the fringe of what one might call a star) but even if we lack overall talent up front, these teams you seem so worried about, Washington especially, are teams the Bruins have handled pretty well this year (Detroit not included). So obviously there is something more important going on than just offensive flair up front. The funny thing is that the only teams with a better offense than us this year are the Flyers, Vancouver, Detroit, and Chicago, the first three of whom we agree are better than our team. Furthermore, we have the best defense in the league, and the only team with a better goal differential is Vancouver. That is pretty telling of this team as a whole.
I agree though that Washington did get better offensively, but I do contest that Wideman will be having some “adventures” in front of their net, as his +/- is well deserved. I definitely don’t want to see the caps first round, but I’d rather see the pens less so, especially if Crosby comes back to the form in which he went down.
Also, remember, the teams that went to the conference finals were the 7 and 8 seeds in the east last year while only Pittsburgh was the 4 seed, and the highest left by the semis.
As far as stars go, there are only a few players who the bruins will sorely miss if we lose, where as all those teams you listed, (with the exception of Detroit and apparently Vancouver) will be far less of a team without that those stars. If Stamkos, for example were to go down, I imagine Tampa would stand far less of a chance of winning, whereas if Krecji went down, while our chances would be reduced, we now have that depth that would allow us to stay in a playoff series.
I totally agree that Kelley is a 4th liner though he can serve as a 3rd liner if called upon. I wait anxiously for him to prove me wrong, but I’m O.K. with him on the 3rd line.
My point in all of this is that we deserve to be in the conversation this year, and certainly have a shot. Even if there are other teams with a better shot, and at least those teams are few and far between.
I personally think we stand a better chance of winning the cup next year, as some of our younger players should be better and we won’t have Ryder!
Also, I think the chances of signing Kaberle are pretty high if he likes it here. He really seems to be a loyal kind of guy who is in it more for the team than the cash.
so the only thing seperating the red wings and the bruins is a winger? the bruins can’t skate with that team, i’d agree peverly and kelly make them a better skating team but kelly is useless other than that. and they are third liners! (i’d contend kelly is really a fourth liner). the bruins were never short there. the red wings have two legitimate superstars on offense, the bruins have none. the red wings also have the best defenseman to play the game since bobby orr. and they know how to win. they also have a superb coach, another area the bruins can’t compete in. finally, the penguins may know how to win but they don’t have malkin for the rest of the year. washington on the other hand has a lot of skill and made a couple of decent moves without losing anyone of note. my point about washington is this: does anyone really want to draw the caps as a potential lower seed in the first round or certainly in the second? i don’t think so.
tampa bay is another team with three stars up front that the bruins can’t contend with. four if you count gagne. philly goes without saying.
The red wings were before the trades. Yes we were embarrassed pretty well, but it highlighted where we were lacking and that has since been addressed with the exception of a top winger (who Horton was billed as upon addition). Getting Kaberle fills a gaping hole that wasn’t present before in we have a good passer on our blue line now. That makes the team far more dangerous just because passing lanes that did not exist before are now present for the opposing team and must be respected. Furthermore, Kaberle, while certainly not physical, is not a defensive liability. While Peverley and Kelley don’t do much for our top 6, they do give us some reasonably defensive centers who are good on the draw and can put up some points too.
I’d agree with your assertion that we aren’t better than the Flyers, and probably not as good as the team we beat on Saturday or even the wings.
But not by much.
Also, there is a lot of unknowns going into the playoffs that would certainly give us pause, such as Horton. But those issues can go either way.
Also, Washington is surely what we were last season; dealing with injuries and underachieving, but I would worry more about a pens team that knows how to win. Wash is in the same boat as us. Also, like the Bruins over Tampa. Even with their new No. 1, their defense is still lax, and offense can be turned off by good defense.
Bojangles, Bruins gave up a potential No. 1 center & a first round pick plus a conditional pick for Kaberle. Kings gave up a guy who’s a third-pair D in the AHL and a first for Penner. I don’t think that’s the same thing.
MK
David,
they were a reasonable pick to win the east to begin with. Assuming Kaberle comes back is a big assumption. It may happen but it is a big assumption to make. I still don’t think the bruins are better than philly.
this week they can handle the best of the west. where were you when they were being embarassed by the red wings?
saying these trades make them a great team is a bit of stretch. top ten team in the league before but how much better are they really? still might only be third in the east. don’t sleep on washington either.
Kaberle by no means makes us cup favorites, but he definitely puts us in the conversation. When you consider how much of the core is under contract for next season, and assuming Kaberle returns, we’re pretty damn close. Also, remember that the before the trades we were a good team in a wide-open conference, now we are a great team in that same conference and we just proved that we can handle the best of the west. Also, remember before any of these trades came some great games in which we fought it out with the best of the east, and came out a little better than the Flyers. Now we are better than we were then. The Flyers? maybe a little, but the improvement is in different magnitudes. Great job by Chia, as always.
better question is kelly and boyes went for the same thing. who would you rather have?
penner is still under contract next year i believe, hence the premium on him. with that considered the bruins gave the same for less. i like the kaberle move but there are other reasons why penner cost as much. i’d like the kaberle move better if this team didn’t need top six forwards. kaberle doesn’t put this team over the top.
In another decent move – Bs pick up a goaltender for Jeff Penner and we never knew ye – Mikko Lehtonen.
Why not?
Exactly… PC takes a lot of hits in this town. I think we’re very lucky to have him.
kaberle hands down. i only noticed penner last night when he fouled one off with an open net.
Interesting looking at the Penner and Kaberle deals. About the same haul – who would you rather have?
i thought ltir was 10 games / 24 days?
Will address that later today, Bojangles.
Matt – How much better did the Caps just get?
Hungus, you cannot just put AF on LTIR. He has to have a serious injury that will keep him out for the season.
MK
put af on ltir and you can afford a pretty good d man (~$3.5m).
Not for nothing, I think they should make a move for a cheap, veteran defenseman who does nothing but play defense. I understand that they did this with Hnidy, but there has to be someone out there not coming off of a major injury that they can spend the 1.3 in cap room on