Boston Bruins: Can The B’s Keep Brett Connolly
If the Boston Bruins want to thrive under Don Sweeney, we know he’ll have to make several big choices.
We all know about the Dougie Hamilton contract situation. A couple of days ago, I suggested that the Bruins follow the lead of the Montreal Canadiens and offer Hamilton a bridge contract. A two year deal would make the most amount of sense for all parties, and it would get the Bruins out of it’s self-imposed cap hell.
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It’s good to see other people jumping on the ‘bridge contract’ bandwagon.
Now, once the Bruins figure out how exactly they’re going to deal with Hamilton, there are still a few pieces of the puzzle. Whatever money is left over will be needed to sign Ryan Spooner and Brett Connolly.
Dougie Hamilton has already been labeled a career Bruin by members of the Boston media. It makes total sense to keep him unless someone offers an obscene offer sheet. (Rumors have it that Edmonton is considering it, but the odds are they won’t risk giving up their draft picks for him.)
Ryan Spooner has the potential to be a career Bruin. Spooner has worked his way up through the ranks, and is very likely to end up playing for Boston in October. Spooner should inherit the position left open by the departure of Carl Soderberg to free agency. Spooner has the speed and skillset necessary to help the Bruins get back on the playoff track, and it’s imperative that the Bruins lock him up the moment after they secure the services of Hamilton.
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That leaves us with Connolly. With all the young talent the Boston Bruins are bringing in, does it make sense to keep Connolly in Black and Gold? We didn’t get much of a chance to see how Connolly would do last season, but what little we saw was positive.
Connolly had two assists in the five games he was able to play for the Bruins. He brought back an oomph that was missing in the bottom six forwards. He’s only twenty-three, and has the chance of being a long term member of the organization.
Sadly, it’s going to come down to money. If the Bruins cave in and give Hamilton six million plus, and the Bruins give Spooner his well deserved raise, there just won’t be enough money in the tank to hold on to Connolly. The only way we could keep the four-year NHL veteran would to offer a league minimum contract, and it’s likely he wouldn’t go for that.
So, with the Bruins in cap jail for the next two seasons, we’ll have to hope the bunch of new talent will help the Bruins fill in the holes in the bottom six for the next season or two. Then again, Don Sweeney could surprise us all, and move one of the big contracts before free agency begins.