The Boston Bruins fan base are a very vocal lot. If they don’t like something, they’re pretty loud about it. Last Friday, the fans opinions of the trades and draft picks hovered between confused and irate. Don Sweeney had a plan, and while it didn’t go completely the way he wanted to during the draft weekend, he stuck with it.
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A lot of fans were hoping that Sweeney would do something (anything really) during the first day of free agency. Sweeney the Questionable became Sweeney the Shark, and he smelled blood in the water. Every move he made had a positive effect. Sweeney’s moves made the Bruins a playoff contender once again.
First, he rid himself of one of Peter Chiarelli’s bad contracts. He chose to move Reilly Smith to the Florida Panthers. He was also able to sell off Marc Savard‘s remaining contract. (This gives the B’s an additional $7,552,143 in cap space). In return, he brought a local kid back home to Boston. Jimmy Hayes hails from Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Hayes is 6’6″ and 221 lbs. He’s a dependable right-wing player that put up thirty-five points (third best) for the Panthers last season. He’s the big body that Cam Neely was looking for, he’s the offensive-minded player Don Sweeney was looking for, and he’ll bring the proper level of snarl to either the second or third line. While he will likely see a raise from the $925,000 he was making with the Panthers, it will certainly be a net savings for the Black and Gold.
Puck Prose
Don Sweeney wasn’t done surprising us. He then scooped up winger Matt Beleskey in free agency. Beleskey was the Anaheim Ducks’ big surprise player last season. Like Hayes, he’s a six foot plus, two hundred pound plus, thirty point scorer that is equally offensive minded. Two big grabs in one evening. The Bruins fans were worried about filling out the top nine forwards. Sweeney took care of two of those slots in one evening’s work.
He also surprised us with Beleskey’s contract. Beleskey had turned down a four-year/$16 million dollar contract to stay in Anaheim. Sweeney was able to snag him for five years and $19 million. Sweeney was able to bring him to Boston for $200,000 less a year. (Guess that Harvard Economics degree is really paying off.)
Beleskey is the kind of guy who could drop the gloves on opening night. He’s certainly has the same ‘Boston’ vibe that Hayes has.
He’s willing to back up his hit. That’s something the Bruins seemed to lack last season. Having that kind of sass back on the top-six would be an enormous psychological edge to the B’s, and it would be welcome to see it again.
Beleskey was also happy to join the Bruins organization. He changed his affiliation from the Ducks to the Bruins in near-record time.
My Wife and I could not be Happier joining the @NHLBruins. We are thrilled to be part of such an amazing organization and hockey town!!
— Matt Beleskey (@Matt_Beleskey) July 1, 2015
While a lot of us were comparing last weekend to a dumpster fire, Don Sweeney has earned back a lot of the respect he lost. He made shrewd moves, gave the B’s more cap space, and found the right kind of players that mesh his plans and Cam Neely’s desires into a functioning enterprise. So, *stick tap* to the rookie GM. You really do know what you’re doing.