With the signing of David Backes, the Boston Bruins have to decide what to do with David Krejci.
Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has an important choice in front of him. The Bruins have an embarrassment of riches among their forwards. They also need to find someone to fill in a top-four slot on defense.
The addition of David Backes guarantees the Bruins organization will certainly be running deep at center. Perhaps a little too deep. The Bruins now have three top-six centers in Backes, David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron. They may even have a fourth in Ryan Spooner.
With so many centers, the Bruins may find themselves as sellers in a lucrative trade market. The Bruins might be able to get top dollar for their top line center and alternate captain, David Krejci.
David Krejci is one of the better playmaking centers in the league. The Czech center would easily command a high price on the open market. Several teams are looking for a top line center and would happily give up the top-four defenseman the Bruins are still hoping to find.
It could be a very smart move by the Black and Gold. Krejci is 30 years old, and currently commands a $7.25 million dollar salary. The only thing that would wave off a potential trade partner is that Krejci is coming off the second surgery of his career. If Krejci has a strong first 20 games of the season, then he’ll be very valuable.
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If the Bruins decide against a major trade, it could hurt the organization in the long run. The NHL salary cap is likely to remain stagnant next year. The Bruins would be paying $20 million for three top-six centers, nd the team has yet to come to terms with Brad Marchand. The Bruins will need to watch the cap to avid the mistakes of the Peter Chiarelli era.
Still, there is a bright side to the Bruins keeping both Krejci and Backes. If Krejci stays, the Bruins would likely move Backes to play wing on the Bergeron line. A Marchand-Bergeron-Backes line could easily become one of the Top 5 lines in the NHL.
The Bruins have an opportunity to either make out like kings in a trade, or have one of the best top-six forwards units in the league.