Any judgment on what GM Don Sweeney does or doesn’t do to improve his 43-8-5 Bruins team will ultimately have to wait until the deadline at 3 p.m. on March 3.
Whatever information slips out before any deal is consummated could all be part of the head-fakes and feints that go into negotiations. And while one move may seem perplexing, a second one that no one sees coming could make it all make sense.
With those caveats in place, we have some thoughts on the B’s reportedly hot pursuit of Columbus defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
We have no problem with the B’s trying to land the 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman, in theory at least. We also wouldn’t quibble with Sweeney coughing up their first-round pick at this deadline, especially when you consider that the legitimate hope is that that pick will be in the 30s.
But to use a first-round pick – reportedly just part of the ask – on Gavrikov? That seems to be a drastic over-payment and begs a lot of questions. Is he injury insurance or are they planning to alter their top six D corps? If it’s the latter, the likely candidate to get bumped out would be Matt Grzelcyk. How would that affect the harmonious room? Is this a rental or will the B’s try to re-sign the UFA-to-be?
Are the Bruins even a better team with Gavrikov instead of Grzelcyk, who is playing some of the best hockey of his career? And if the B’s are so unhappy with with their left defense, how is it that left defenseman Jakub Zboril has gotten a grand total of six minutes and 47 seconds of ice time since Nov. 23?
Yes, we know the old adage of ‘you can never have too many defensemen.’ And the Bruins have a right to be particularly sensitive to it. Last year, not only was Grzelcyk rendered ineffective because of a shoulder injury that required offseason surgery, both Hampus Lindholm (concussion) and Charlie McAvoy (COVID) missed time in the seven-game series loss to Carolina.
Two years ago, a concussion to Brandon Carlo opened things up for Mat Barzal and the New York Islanders to advance at the Bruins’ expense. And one advantage we’ll concede to Gavrikov over Grzelcyk is that he could take some tough penalty killing minutes of Lindholm’s plate to keep him fresher for 5-on-5 play.
So it stands to reason that Sweeney would want to bolster his blue line crew with something a little more than, say, a Josh Brown. That’s especially true if Sweeney can make cap space by moving Mike Reilly, who has been playing in Providence most of the season and has one more left on a contract that carries $3 million NHL salary – real salary for next season is $4 million. (Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman has reported forward Craig Smith, who is in the final year of a deal with a $3.1 million AAV, is also being dangled, which is not a major surprise considering the B’s cap issues.)
But if the B’s get squeezed so much to bring in a Gavrikov, will they have enough in their asset pool to bolster the bottom six? To these eyes, there is just as much of a need to fortify that group with a player who could possibly play higher in the lineup in a pinch.
The B’s certainly survived the 17-game loss of Jake DeBrusk, going 12-4-1 in his absence. But it was a challenge to find the right mix in the top six and, by the end of DeBrusk’s time on the IR, his return was much needed. In their worst stretch of the season in which they went 1-3-1 (OK, everything is relative), it was the goal scoring that dried up, not their ability to defend. In those four losses, the B’s scored just seven goals. It’s a small snapshot, but one that should cause at least some concern.
In theory, Taylor Hall would be that guy to bump up, but he was not able to sink his teeth into his opportunity to play higher in the lineup, or on the first power-play unit. In the 17 games DeBrusk was out, Hall had just a three goals and four assists. A little more oomph is needed.
Who could provide that? There’s Nick Bjugstad in Arizona (13-10-23, plus-6 in 57 games for a bad Coyotes team), St. Louis’ Ivan Barbashev, who has dropped off from his 26-goal campaign last year but still has 10-18-28 on a plummeting Blues team. Or could they make a bigger splash? The best forward available is San Jose’s Timo Meier. There are teams in better position to make a deal for Meier and the RFA wing would be an expensive piece that is low on the priority list for a team that needs centers. But, boy, he’d be a great fit for the stretch run that the B’s hope can produce just their second Stanley Cup in a half century.
While the early reports regarding the cost of Gavrikov may seem a bit odd to some of us, Sweeney has a pretty good track record at this time of year, adding players like Lindholm, Hall and Charlie Coyle for the long-term. We’ll find out soon if he can add to it.
A Gavrikov addition might be fine, but not if it costs so much that Sweeney can’t help the forward group.
Tomas Nosek, out since Jan. 19 with a broken foot, traveled with the team and practiced on Wednesday, but coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after practice at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle that he would not be ready for Thursday’s game against the Kraken. He could play later in the four-game Western trip, said Montgomery.
