Boston Bruins: Don Sweeney Reveals Off-Season Plans
Boston Bruins: Don Sweeney Reveals Off-Season Plans Prior to 2016 NHL Entry Draft
Just one day prior to the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, Bruins’ general manager Don Sweeney held a press conference where he shared some important information. From offense, to defense, and pending Unrestricted Free Agents and Restricted Free Agents, Sweeney shed some light on some of the plans he has for this off-season.
When discussing the back-up goaltending position and specifically being asked about Jonas Gustavsson, Sweeney mentioned Malcolm Subban is a “strong candidate” for the role next season. He also mentioned that he would be letting Gustavsson go to the free agency market, along with defenseman Zach Trotman.
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Trotman showed some promise in his first season with the Bruins before being relegated to the press-box for much of last season. The 6-foot-3, 219 pound right-handed defenseman is far more defensive than offensive, but he showed potential to be a solid NHL blue-liner in his brief exposure to the League. On a team that is so defensively-starved like Boston, it seems questionable to let Trotman hit the market rather than offering him a low-cost, short-term contract to give him more time to develop within the Bruins’ system.
While Sweeney is letting both Gustavsson and Trotman hit free agency, he did mention that he was having on-going discussions with both Lee Stempniak and John-Michael Lile’s camps on contract extensions. Stempniak continues to prove teams wrong as he’s been a solid, and very underrated NHL forward throughout his entire 11 year career.
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John-Michael Liles, on the other hand, should be less of a priority for Sweeney given the Bruins log-jam of defenders best suited for the fourth, fifth, or sixth spot on the back-end. Liles was very serviceable for Boston after being traded to them at the 2016 Trade Deadline, but if the dollar value gets too high, Sweeney shouldn’t hesitate to cut ties and move on.
The biggest news that media and fans alike were looking for was an update on Loui Eriksson. At this point, it still seems like the Bruins are intent on bringing the veteran forward back to the team, but finding common ground is proving to be difficult. “Our position was that we really value Loui and what he brings to the table and we’d like to find a fit, but it may not happen”
It’s been mentioned by Darren Dreger of TSN that Eriksson is looking for a six-year contract, while the Bruins seem set on a four-year term.
“I’ve said all along that Loui’s a good player,’’ Sweeney said “and our intention was to offer him what we think is a very, very good deal — for him and us.’’ In the past, Seeney has also said “He’s a damn good player and we’d like to retain him,’’ He added “But I don’t know if that will work.’’
The Boston Bruins have some important decisions to make over the next few days. With two first round draft picks this year, Sweeney has some options for potential trading. To acquire a legitimate top-pairing defenseman, it will almost certainly cost at least one of those two picks.