The Boston Bruins were able to achieve most of their objectives in the first two days of free agency. While the B’s haven’t locked up a much-needed defenseman yet, they made some amazing progress. Solid players were signed, and it turned out the Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton trades weren’t as bad as they originally seemed.
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Peter Chiarelli didn’t often surprise the fans(other than giving away big contracts for mediocre service). In Sweeney’s first big week as GM, he surprised us twice. First with the sub-par draft picks (time will be the judge on that one), and secondly his masterful recovery during free agency.
The Boston Bruins were able to make several great secondary deals in the opening days. They re-signed a solid young center, gave a two-way contract to a very big blueliner, and likely locked up their backup goaltender for the 2015-16 season. Here’s a quick look at how Don Sweeney‘s degree in Economics is really paying dividends for the Bruins.
Had Claude Julien had more faith in Ryan Spooner, and a little less faith in unsteady veterans, the Bruins would have gotten the extra points needed to make the playoffs last year. Spooner was one of the biggest surprises for the B’s last season (second only to David Pastrnak). Spooner was able to center for Milan Lucic, helping the veteran winger rediscover those lost gears. He looked great on that improvised second line with Lucic and Pastrnak.
Puck Prose
Spooner put up eighteen points (8 goals) in twenty-nine games with the B’s last season. The Ottawa native was coming in as a restricted free agent this year, and the B’s wisely chose to extend him a qualifying offer. Initially, I was worried that the Bruins might over pay for the 23-year old forward.
“I think he’s in a place now where he has confidence in his own abilities and Claude had confidence him and how he can utilize him as a player and continue to get him to get better.” – Don Sweeney on Ryan Spooner
Sweeney still had a little of his trade magic left in his hat. He was able to sign Spooner to a very-cap friendly two-year deal. The contract will pay him $900,000 per season. That’s an incredible price to pay for a top nine forward. He’s a bargain if he has a twenty point season. If Spooner puts up thirty plus (18 points for 29 games puts him on track for a 51 point season), Sweeney will be lauded as a genius for picking him up so cheaply.
The Bruins signed Chris Breen to a one-year, two-way contract. Breen is massive. He’s 6’7′ and 224lbs. The 26-year old defenseman is adequate in his job, but his game could use a little more spit-and-polish to it. He put up ten points (two goals) last season for the Providence Bruins. He does have a limited amount of NHL experience (nine games with Calgary), and the big club might call on him to become a bottom pair player if the B’s can’t grab that top-four defenseman they’re looking for. His contract is worth $600,000 at the NHL level.
Finally, the Bruins signed goaltender Jeremy Smith to a deal. Smith was brought on as the back-up to Malcolm Subban in Providence. Smith fought hard for and eventually won equal time in the crease last season in Providence. He ended up with the better set of numbers for the Baby B’s, and is currently the favorite to get the number two job in Boston. The 26-yr old netminder earned himself a $600,ooo one-year, two-way deal for his efforts last season.
“Jeremy Smith was a real pleasant surprise last year,” said Sweeney. “We identified a player that had had maybe a little bit of an average type year, but had upside with him. He had won at his other levels and he was a great complement to Malcolm. We now have a group of goaltenders that continue to push and challenge each other, and vie for possibly a backup role behind a real good goaltender in Tuukka.”
Thanks to Sweeney’s judicious moves, the Bruins now have nearly $9 million in cap space. That’s almost the point where they started from. The Bruins made some seriously bold moves, and believe they’ve found the right combination of youth, speed, skill, and heart. The Boston Bruins went from irrelevant to a contender again in just a matter of days, and it seems that Don Sweeney was the right choice to right the ship in Boston.