Welcome to The Hot Take! This will be a reoccurring feature in which we open up a discussion within the wide world of hockey.
After writing about the Bruins the other day about how they were secretly shopping both Chara and Marchand, my brain started to churn (a dangerous thought, I know). Why are the Bruins doing this half-assed rebuild? It is only delaying the inevitable, so what exactly are they trying to do? I want to take a look at the team and its current construction. I want to break down exactly how you can maximize this team to the best of its ability.
This topic was touched on by Yahoo’s Ryan Lambert, he doesn’t think that their is much truth to the thought of trading away all of those players, but I decide to flesh out the thought of moving these players. What are some of the returns that these players could get?
Let us start with both Chara and Marchand. I already talked about how both of them are still useful players and still bring a lot of value to a team that looks to be going nowhere fast. What exactly could their return be?
I added both of their graphs to emphasize the point that they are both playing at a top flight level the past few seasons.
Chara, who for all intents and purposes is a top flight defensemen, doesn’t have a good barometer to go off of as players like him don’t get dealt often. So it is tough to gauge what a possible return could be, the starting point would obviously be picks as the team needs to rebuild via a youth movement. If picks can’t be sacrificed then young players will have to do. When looking at both it is tough to evaluate who could even put together such an offer. You would have to look at prospect heavy organizations that need defensive help. Those organizations are few and far between. This then begins the problem for the Bruins who have held onto Chara for too long. It is a depreciating asset that should have been sold off at its peak rather than its decline.
Marchand, unlike Chara is pretty young in comparison as he is 27 years of age. He could bring back a similar return as Chara simply because he is in his perceived peak. I have talked at length in another article about how he may be carried by Patrice Bergeron, who is widely considered one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Get what you can, while you can. Which then brings us to the two star centers on this team, Bergeron and Krejci.
Both are very effective in their role and can still play with the best of them but as I stated in the prior paragraph you need to take advantage of the assets you currently have before they become a liability. When looking at the two centers it is really tough to discern between the two. Both have their merits as playmakers and tough two way players but who would be better to deal? The slight edge would have to go to Krecji, who is a year younger, signed for more money and isn’t nearly as good in the possession game. It is actually scary how close they are in production. Bergeron severely beats out everyone in possession though which should help him age gracefully in the NHL.
Do they have the right GM at the helm to do it all? Don Sweeney made a bevy of moves which perplexed many around the league but simultaneously was thought to be savvy by some as well. So which is it?
The trade of Dougie Hamilton?
Perplexing.
The trade of Milan Lucic?
Savvy.
Flipping Martin Jones for a first?
Saavy.
Drafting a couple off the board picks in the first round?
Perplexing.
The answer is no one really knows what they have in Sweeney. He is a complete wild card in the grand scheme. He has some tendencies of the old guard acquiring players with a lot of truculence but by the same token has known when to cut a player loose as well once he sees the decline.
The rebuild process normally takes years and years to see any sort of result but the Bruins have a chance to do this the right way without it taking too long. They need to start selling off pieces prudently but also need someone to get them through the tough times that are surely ahead. Their situation isn’t new to the NHL but they have an opportunity to do it the right way, which few teams have been able to manage. Boston better hope Sweeney is the man for the job.
