The Boston Bruins already have enough things on their plate this offseason. They need to reverse their run of bad drafting, and try to start finding impact-ready players. They’ll need to find at least one top-four defensemen at or after the NHL Entry Draft. If all this wasn’t bad enough, the Black and Gold will need to prepare for the upcoming expansion draft.
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According to the terms of the expansion draft, the Las Vegas Black Knights will be required to pick one player from every team. The Boston Bruins will likely have to give up a valuable player to Las Vegas. Now it’s up to the Bruins front office to mitigate the damage done.
The Bruins have only three forwards that are safe at this time. David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, and Matt Beleskey can’t be moved due to the status of their contracts. So, how will the Bruins front office fix a potential mess down the road?
Sign Brad Marchand to a deal that gives him a no-trade clause. Marchand will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming season. If the Bruins want to find themselves back in a playoff position in the near future, they’ll need to lock up Boston’s ‘Little Ball of Hate’. The 28-year forward had a record year last season in goals (37) and points(61). While Marchand will be expensive, he’s finally matured as an all-around player.
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Do the same thing with David Pastrnak. Of all the players available that could be available at the time of the expansion draft, the 20-year old is the most vulnerable. The young Bruins winger will have played three years in the NHL by the time of the expansion draft.
Over the last few years, the Bruins have made either ugly first round choices (Zach Hamill in 2007, Joe Colborne in 2008, Jordan Caron in 2009), wasting their first round picks on players that the Bruins couldn’t keep (Tyler Seguin – 2010, Dougie Hamilton – 2011), or having players that haven’t been given a chance to shine (Malcolm Subban).
David Pastrnak seems to be the rare exception to this rule. Pastrnak has done a good job as a top-six forward, and has certainly found his legs as part of the Krejci line (with Beleskey). Pastrnak has the potential to be the next David Krejci and it’s imperative that he’s locked up as soon as possible.
The Boston Bruins have an entire season to protect their best players. Hopefully, the B’s front office will make a series of proper and rational moves to protect their team.