Boston Bruins: Drew Stafford Arrives, Sweeney Aces Deadline
By Joseph Ochs
Drew Stafford joins a red hot Boston Bruins squad as they make a sprint toward the postseason. Don Sweeney resists temptation, retains Carlo, entire prospect pipeline, and doesn’t overpay for anyone’s services. Let the good times roll in the 617.
As winners of seven of their last nine contests, the Boston Bruins are officially cruising. Things got even better Wednesday as Boston acquired Drew Stafford from Winnipeg in the waning moments of the Trade Deadline. With just a conditional sixth-round pick heading the other way, the deal scores as a big “low risk/high reward” trade.
With over 700 NHL games on his resume, injuries have taken a toll on Stafford this season. Three separate stints away from the ice have limited Stafford to just 40 games and have minimized his impact when he is in the lineup. Nevertheless, a clean bill of health, a change of scenery and a playoff push could work wonders to ignite the former first-round pick.
Though Stafford is a nice, cheap addition for Boston, perhaps the best trades were the ones that Don Sweeney did not make. Boston’s top-notch pipeline remains fully intact. Sweeney retained all of the team’s 2017 draft selections, and at worst will part ways with a fourth-rounder in 2018. Boston refrained from acquiring exorbitantly-priced backup goaltending. With many in Boston believing Donny is “out of his element” as general manager, score Wednesday as a win for Boston’s front office.
That’s how well things are going in Boston right now; even the front office is receiving high marks.
Related Story: 2017 Trade Deadline Brought Questions for the Bruins
Without further ado, let’s recap Boston’s trade deadline.
Drew Stafford
With 3:00 PM EST coming and going, the Boston Bruins had seemingly stood pat. No deals this year for the Black & Gold.
Not so fast….
As he has many times before, ESPN’S Joe McDonald broke the news via Twitter twelve minutes past the Deadline that Boston had acquired an unnamed forward. Shortly thereafter, Boston’s mystery man was revealed to be pending unrestricted free agent Drew Stafford. The deal was initially met with mixed emotions; Stafford has had an injury-plagued season, with production well below his career averages. When the price was revealed as a conditional sixth-round pick in 2018, the mood changed considerably.
A four time 20-goal scorer (including last season), the 6-foot-2, 215-pound right winger possesses great size, a slick scoring touch and a willingness to drive the net. Though Stafford has posted just a 4-9-13 stat line through 40 games, the majority of those contests have been played on his way back from various injuries. Fully healthy, Stafford seems poised to slot in on Boston’s third line alongside sniper Frank Vatrano and the rejuvenated Ryan Spooner. Stafford’s strengths driving to the net and cleaning up in the crease could (should) present a significant upgrade from Jimmy Hayes.
Furthermore, Stafford has experience playing left wing as well. Should rookie Peter Cehlarik falter, Boston can now slot either Vatrano or a streaking Stafford on Krejci’s left wing without completely robbing its third line of scoring potency.
Despite playing in over 700 NHL contests, the 31-year-old Stafford has played in just 24 playoff games. Such is life when you spend your career in Buffalo and Winnipeg. It’s safe to say Stafford will be energized with a fresh start and the playoffs within sniffing range.
Affordability of Stafford Deal and Conditions
The conditional sixth-round pick in 2018 becomes a fifth-round pick if Boston makes the playoffs. It becomes a fourth-round pick if Boston wins one round, and Stafford plays in 50% of Boston’s regular season and playoff games.
For the context of Stafford’s price, consider the following:
- Dwight King and Jarome Iginla are both scoring at a lower rate than Stafford this season and were traded for conditional fourth-round picks. King’s compensation becomes a third-round pick if he re-signs in Montreal.
- Tomas Jurco was acquired by Chicago for a third-round pick. Jurco has zero points in 17 games this season and just 39 points in 160 career games.
- Ottawa acquired Alexandre “Nom-Nom” Burrows and Viktor Stalberg for a prized prospect (Jonathan Dahlen) and a third-round pick, respectively. Stafford is scoring at a higher rate than Stalberg, and comparably to Burrows.
- Jannik Hansen was traded to San Jose for a former first-round pick and a conditional fourth-round pick. The fourth-rounder becomes a first rounder if the Sharks win the Stanley Cup. Though Hansen is a bit more versatile than Stafford, he isn’t that much of an upgrade. The cost/productivity ratio is heavily skewed in Stafford’s favor.
That’s tremendous value. If the deal pays off and the B’s win a round, Boston gives up just a fourth-round selection for a contributing forward. If Stafford and the B’s flame out, Sweeney parts with just a fifth or sixth-round pick 15 months from now.
The fact that this deal came down to the wire (and beyond) paints a pretty picture for Sweeney. It shows that he was patient and likely acquired Stafford for less than what Kevin Chevaldayoff had initially sought. Score one for Donny.
Bruins Keep Brandon Carlo, Charlie McAvoy and John-Michael Liles
As I mentioned above, perhaps the best deals were the ones Sweeney did not make.
Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy are still Boston property. That is probably the biggest win of the Deadline for Bruins fans.
Beyond the young duo, Boston retained Liles. With Mark Streit fetching a decent haul (twice) and Ron Hainsey doing the same, there was a market for Liles. Boston likely could have added a fourth-round pick or mid-tier prospect from a contender seeking defensive depth. That might sound appealing in return for the team’s pending UFA/ seventh defenseman. However, I urge you to re-consider that take every time a Bruins defenseman limps off the ice after blocking a shot. Or, in the case of Colin Miller’s massive hit on Alex Burmistrov, a reminded of the potential for suspension.
Related Story: Colin Miller Delivers Punishing Hit
Without Liles, Boston is one blocked shot away from icing Joe Morrow during a playoff push. By no means is Morrow a disaster. And, to his credit, I do think he has the potential to pull a Matt Hunwick and resurrect his career elsewhere on a bottom-pairing. But he has hardly played his way into the top-six, hasn’t played an NHL game in nearly six weeks, and is frankly not as good (or experienced) as Liles.
Barring a too-good-to-be-true offer, Sweeney was wise to hold onto Liles as an insurance policy.
Matt Beleskey
I, for one, would have loved for Boston to have found a taker for Matt Beleskey. Again, I believe there was a market for his services. However, with Beleskey’s play this season taking a serious nosedive, it’s likely the offers weren’t too rich.
Boston is soon to be fairly flush with talent on the wings. Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, David Backes and Frank Vatrano are in Boston for the foreseeable future. Cehlarik and Danton Heinen have already debuted with the parent club. Jake DeBrusk, Zachary Senyshyn and Anders Bjork will be competing for jobs in September. Moreover, Tim Schaller plays a similar game to Beleskey and currently does so at 1/6 the cost.
Beleskey’s $3.8 million cap hit is starting to look more than a little steep. Perhaps Boston can find a taker once the expansion draft is over, and teams don’t have to worry about protecting players. With so much young talent on the way, a second or third-round pick for Beleskey would be gravy. Clearing his cap hit off the books and redistributing the money elsewhere would work wonders for an organization looking to regain its contender status.
Jaroslav Halak
Backup goaltending has been Boston’s biggest roster flaw this season. As such, it was no surprise that the B’s were rumored to be involved in trade talks for Jaroslav Halak. Halak was a star for Team Europe during the World Cup. Less than three months later he was down in the AHL.
In his defense, his bad NHL numbers can largely be attributed to his team’s rough start. However, Halak has been a monster since landing in the AHL. The 31-year-old Slovak has posted a 14-2-1 record, with a 1.91 GAA and .933 Sv%.
At the time of Claude Julien’s firing, Boston had won just one game started by someone not named “Tuukka.” One game. One.
As such, the match seemed obvious. Boston could absorb Halak’s contract for the remainder of the season, and then….
Oh. Right. Another year at $4.5 million. For a backup goaltender.
I don’t care if all Garth Snow wanted in return was a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card, Boston could not justifiably take on that salary for a backup. There are bound to be solid goaltending options for the new Vegas Knights, and as such no guarantees Vegas would take Halak off of Boston’s hands.
Furthermore, Anton Khudobin has looked sharp of late. He’s won each of his last two starts and looked downright impressive against Los Angeles. He was easily Boston’s player of the game, making multiple impressive saves en route to the win. He stopped 27 of 28 versus the Kings and has saved 56 of 60 over the past two games. That’s a .933 sv%.
Only 19 games remain on Boston’s schedule, with just three more back-to-backs. Boston will utilize their backup three, maybe four more times this season. As such, refraining from acquiring Halak was the right call.
Radim Vrbata
Boston had been linked to Vrbata off and on for months. I myself saw the fit alongside Krejci, the affordable salary, his team’s seller status, etc. Talks supposedly were taking place as recently as the night prior to the Deadline. Ultimately, Vrbata wound up going….nowhere.
Pegged to be one of the day’s most sought-after players, first-year GM John Chayka apparently overvalued Vrbata. Chayka insisted on a Second Round pick in return and wound up with nothing but an expiring contract on a 35-year-old.
With 47 points in 62 games, Vrbata does represent an upgrade from Stafford. However, as I mentioned earlier with Jannik Hansen, the cost/productivity ratio is a more appropriate unit of measurement. Considering the investment made last year on Lee Stempniak, Sweeney could not justify once again spending valuable futures on rentals.
Recap
Next: Boston Bruins Acquire Drew Stafford
The Boston Bruins made one move at the Trade Deadline. Drew Stafford is a reclamation project of sorts, and as such carries tempered expectations. However, it was precisely the kind of low risk/high reward deal that should have been made. Moreover, Boston refrained from dipping into their prospect pool, dealing valuable draft selections, or sacrificing depth on their already thin blue line. They refrained from taking on an extra year of high-priced backup goaltending, and Don Sweeney even won a staring contest with another NHL GM. These reasons, on top of Boston’s best play of the season, are more than enough to elicit a few smiles around Causeway Street.