Boston Bruins: Talking Matt Duchene trade with Mile High Sticking

I had to fill my time somehow.  With no game for the Boston Bruins on Friday, Saturday, OR Sunday, we at Causeway Crowd were getting listless.  So I decided to have a little fun playing armchair general manager.

During the summer, Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene made it known that he wanted out of Denver.  One of the many teams linked to trade talks for the disgruntled center was the Boston Bruins.  For a team that didn’t make a splash in free agency, and being a team that usually trades away big names rather than bringing them in, it was interesting news for awhile.

The rumor mill had Avalanche General Manager Joe Sakic’s asking price to all teams interested as incredibly high.  When it comes to the Bruins, the pieces Colorado coveted included defensemen Brandon Carlo or Charlie McAvoy.

Now, obviously no deal was done and Duchene started the season on the Avalanche roster.  Many people predict that he won’t last the season in Colorado and will be traded at some point before the deadline.  But for what price?  That will only be seen with time.

I reached out on Twitter to our fellow FanSided blog that covers the Avs, Mile High Sticking, and engaged in some role play trade negotiations.  I wanted to see what it would take to land Duchene in Boston.  They happily obliged to my request.

The low-ball offer and response

Just like any negotiation, I started with a proposal that realistically didn’t have a chance of success.  Why you ask?  Why the heck not?  Perhaps Duchene is even more disgruntled to be in Colorado than we expected, and the Avalanche’s expectations on return will have gone down at this point.  So here’s where we started.

https://twitter.com/MHSAvalanche/status/916667564435972099

Yeah, we offered that.  Here is one problem the Bruins would face in trying to bring on Duchene.  He has a $6 million annual salary the next two years, and the Bruins are currently up against the salary cap, with only about $270,000 in wiggle room.  There’s virtually no way to do a trade for Duchene that doesn’t involve Colorado retaining some salary from Duchene and taking on some salary from Boston’s books.

Matt Beleskey is 29 years old and has shown an ability to score in the right system.  But in Boston, he’s a 3rd line winger at best coming off a bad season.  He has a $3.8 million cap hit, which would be amazing to get off Boston’s books.  Matt Grzelcyk is a solid young defenseman prospect, something the Bruins currently have a stockpile off.  However, he’s not as highly touted as many in the system.

As you can see, our trade offer went about as much as we would have expected.  This deal would move enough cash that if the Avs retained 50% of his salary, it would work.  Yes, Duchene’s $6 million is somewhat team friendly, but not for a team who can’t afford the $6 million.  Plus, it’s only for two more years, so it could end up being NOT team friendly after the 2018-2019 if he were to choose not to re-sign.  So, that was a dud.

Negotiations continue…

So, when modifying the initial trade proposal, I had to think about Colorado’s needs.  Obviously, defense is #1 on their priority list.  But, when losing a player with the offensive talent of Duchene, some sort of replacement is necessary.  That’s why we swapped out Beleskey for Ryan Spooner.

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The much-maligned 25 year-old centerman improved his game significantly over the offseason.  However, in Boston, absent a significant injury to Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci, he will be no more than a 3rd line center and power play guy.  Duchene, if brought in, could slot in on the left wing next to Krejci and David Pastrnak, making that line even more dangerous than it has looked already.

The Bruins also have organizational depth at center, and the likes of Sean Kuraly or Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson could slide in to replace Spooner as the 3rd line center.  Our top-6 at that point with Duchene in would be arguably one of the most dangerous lines in the NHL.

As you can see, the conversation then shifted to Charlie McAvoy.  That was shut down right away.  McAvoy has the chance to be something really special in Boston.  His two-way play on the blueline is something that we believe makes him a legitimate Calder Trophy candidate this season, and will make him a Norris Trophy winner in short order.  And so, we’re nowhere.

One last try…

If you’re reading this, you’re probably going to call me crazy.  Spooner AND Brandon Carlo, plus a draft pick for Duchene?  Like we said before, the Bruins have some depth at the blueline.  Rob O’Gara and Jakub Zboril are young players who proved themselves this preseason and competed for a roster spot in the NHL.  Either one of these two could likely replace Carlo in the lineup.

Carlo, while a solid defensive-defenseman, isn’t such a transcendent talent that he should be considered “untouchable.”  Especially if he can be used to bring in a guy like Duchene who would probably flourish in head coach Bruce Cassidy’s fast-paced system.  Once again, with the Spooner and Carlo deal, Colorado would need to retain some salary, which appears to be a non-starter issue for them.

Their response is where they start to lose us.  Technically, is it correct that Duchene is a 30 goal scorer and a 70 point player?  Yes, technically he is.  However, in his eight year career, he has only done each of those one time, in different seasons.  It’s not like those are his usual numbers.  In fact, he hasn’t eclipsed 60 points in his last 3 seasons.

In conclusion…

It was the worst kept secret in the NHL that Joe Sakic was asking for a king’s ransom in return for Duchene.  From Ottawa, he wanted potential superstar defenseman Thomas Chabot.  From Columbus, he wanted defenseman Ryan Murray and proven scorer Boone Jenner.

Next: The injuries keep mounting for the Bruins

Unless a team is willing to pay that steep price to get a player who will possibly leave in 2 years, it looks like Duchene will stay in an Avs uniform.  We’d like to thank Mile High Sticking for helping us out and taking the time to banter back and forth with us.