When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made a handful of moves at the firesale he had at last March's trade deadline, he moved on from key players. Captain Brad Marchand was moved to the Florida Panthers, and defenseman Brandon Carlo was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
By now, you know how much of a fleecing that was of the Maple Leafs by Sweeney. Another player moved by Boston's GM was center and Boston native Charlie Coyle. He was sent to the Colorado Avalanche for a package that included prospect forward Will Zellers. That could be another fleecing given that Zellers is a rising prospect and Coyle is no longer in the Mile High City.
Colorado traded Coyle over the offseason to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he was a nice veteran presence for a team that nearly made the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They faded at the end of the season and now have a big offseason ahead of them as they look to find a way into the postseason next season. One Blue Jackets reporter had a very curious take on Coyle and his upcoming free agency.
Columbus beat reporter has curious take on Charlie Coyle's upcoming free agency
Aaron Portzline of The Athletic broke down the Blue Jackets upcoming free agents and who they should keep. Of course, Coyle is someone he believes they should keep, but he went a little overboard in assessing the 34-year-old's value. First, here is what Coyle said about returning to Columbus next season.
“Could I see myself here? 100 percent,'' said Coyle. "There are going to be some decisions, and we’ll see how things shake out. There are a lot of unknowns with what’s going on right now. I have to see what’s going there, talk with my family, my people on my time and figure out what’s next. But I really, really enjoyed my time here. I could see myself being here, for sure.”
Now, Portzline didn't beat around the bush on what the front office should offer Coyle to remain in Ohio.
"Try not to be alarmed by Coyle’s use of the past tense in some of his comments. This is an immensely important contract for the Blue Jackets, such that Coyle could be seen as having a blank check to set his terms. The biggest question will be the length of the contract for a 34-year-old with 1,032 NHL games under his belt,'' wrote Portzline.
A blank check for a 34-year-old center? Imagine giving Charlie Coyle a blank check to return next season and possibly beyond? That is a little bit of an overreaction. Did anyone ever envision Charlie Coyle and a blank check being used in the same sentence? No, not even when he was in his prime. Maybe Sweeney overvalued him when he gave him $5.25 million a year, but a blank check? If that's the case, that could be a devastating move by the Columbus front office.
Add us as a preferred source on Google