Why the Bruins Should Wait Until Next Year to Make Their Big Move

If it wasn’t clear to you last season, it should be clear to you now: The Atlantic Division is a powerhouse.

The Atlantic Division featured three teams in the top-6 places of the final standings in the NHL last season. The Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd), Boston Bruins (4th), and Toronto Maple Leafs (T6th) were a three headed dragon during the 2017–18 season.

Since the NHL off-season began in the middle of June, one of the three teams has gotten significantly better, and another one of them is working hard to try to get significantly better. The Maple Leafs added hometown boy and star free agent, John Tavares, on day 1 of free agency with a 7-year $77 million contract and the Lightning are looking to acquire stud defenseman, Erik Karlsson, to add to their already deep lineup. Then there’s the Bruins, who haven’t done much to help the team moving forward.

Due to the alignment of the NHL, if you finish in the top-3 of your division you’ll most likely have to beat two teams in your own division to get to a matchup with the other division winner from your conference. Last season the Bruins were going to have to go through both the Maple Leafs and the Lightning in order to get to the Eastern Conference finals. In the first round they beat the Leafs in seven games. Their next matchup with Tampa Bay didn’t go as well. After a solid beating of the Lightning in game 1, the Bolts bounced back and easily handled the Bruins in the next four games to win the series in five games.

You can make the case, and back it up, that the Bruins were better than the Maple Leafs last season. But are they better than them now that the Leafs have Tavares? No. And the beating in the playoffs by the Lightning proved that they’re a step ahead of the Bruins already. If they ultimately add one of the best players in the NHL, it’ll make them that much better than the Bruins.

So now that Maple Leafs have made their big move and the Lightning are looking to making their big move….what’s next for the Bruins?

Would it be totally bad for the Bruins to consider the 2018–19 season a lost season? Personally, I don’t think so. There’s no way that the current Bruins roster gets through both Tampa Bay and Toronto. And if they somehow do, can that team get through either Pittsburgh or Washington? If they do then call me all the names in the world. But I’ll say it now….that ain’t happening.

So instead of making a panic move and mortgaging the future for guys like Jeff Skinner or Artemi Panarin, why not build for the 2019 off-season? Why not wait for guys like that to become free agents.

Here’s a list of some of the bigger names in the 2019 unrestricted free agent class:

Now obviously some of those guys won’t hit the open market, and others (AKA Tyler Seguin & Blake Wheeler) will have little to no interest in coming back to Boston. However, a few of those names will hit the open market and can come to Boston to help a club that’s filled with a mix of veteran and youth talent.

So why waste picks and prospects on bringing guys in when you can wait a season and bring them in for just the price of a new contract? Why don’t the Bruins shed some salary, gain picks and prospects, and set themselves up even more for the future?

The Bruins currently have a surplus of men on the blueline, so at least one or two defenseman have to go. With the signing of John Moore on the left side and the belief that former 1st round pick, Urho Vaakanainen, will be ready by next season, they should be serious about dangling Torey Krug. Krug is coming off a career year and is a guy that many teams could use on the power play. Would the Bruins still like him on their power play? Yes. But with guys like Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk, they can afford to lose Krug on the power play to help setup for the future. With the way the trade market has been over the last few seasons trading Krug should definitely land the Bruins at least a 1st round pick in next years draft. They could even get more for him.

The next man on defense to go is Adam McQuaid. McQuaid has proven to be a solid defender and a true leader, but his contract is expiring at the end of the season and he and Kevan Miller are basically the same player on the same side of the ice. Losing McQuaid wont hurt the Bruins, it’ll only help them land a mid-round pick in an upcoming draft.

On the offensive side of things the Bruins have two contracts that could be moved to help create space. Though he’s got a no movement clause, trading David Krejci could help open up $7.25 million in cap space. Now I’m not completely on-board with trading Krejci, but it’s always an option. The Bruins would need him to wave his clause and if he does he could land the Bruins another 1st round pick and either more draft picks or a prospect to go with it. If the Bruins don’t want to trade Krejci then they’ll most likely trade David Backes, who’s in the third year of a five year deal that’s currently haunting the team. Trading Backes would more so cost the Bruins than help them due to his contract and age. However, trading the contract would still clear space and allow the Bruins more freedom in next season’s free agency.

The 2017–18 season for the Bruins allowed the young guns to step up and prove their worth. So why not let them do the same in 2018–19? Last seasons rookies can continue to develop and this year’s rookies can try and prove their worth. It can be a big win situation for the future of the team.

Ask yourself this, can the current Bruins roster beat Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Washington or Pittsburgh to get to the Stanley Cup Final? The answer in your mind should be no. Trading away pieces and setting up for 2019 and beyond isn’t going to make the 2018–19 season a complete lost cause for the Bruins, it’ll just make it a lost season in terms of competing for the Stanley Cup. They still have loads of talent and young guys that can keep them relevant and win some games. So how about not joining the arms race with Tampa and Toronto and letting them have their fun this season. How about waiting until next July to create some fireworks of their own? I wouldn’t mind seeing it happen.

Kevin Maggiore (@kevin_maggiore)