Which Bruins stay, and who goes? | Poke the Bear
In this episode of Poke the Bear, Conor Ryan and Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub roll through all of Boston's pending free agents and discuss whether or not they're staying or going in this summer. That, and much more!
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Welcome to the #CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for Boston #Bruins hockey. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the Boston sports. Get complete inside access to the Bruins at TD Garden, the game day skates at Warrior, and everywhere on the road. CLNS #NHLBruins' credentialed insiders Mike "Trags" Petraglia, Evan Marinofski, Conor Ryan, and Joe "Haggs" Haggerty. Providing instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else on Causeway Street.
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Prize Picks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS
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Welcome to the #CLNS Media Network’s YouTube channel for Boston #Bruins hockey. CLNS Media is the leading online provider of audio/video coverage for the Boston sports. Get complete inside access to the Bruins at TD Garden, the game day skates at Warrior, and everywhere on the road. CLNS #NHLBruins' credentialed insiders Mike "Trags" Petraglia, Evan Marinofski, Conor Ryan, and Joe "Haggs" Haggerty. Providing instantaneous news and analysis all in real time, as well as full access to complete videos from the players, coaches, ownership and everyone else on Causeway Street.
For the CLNS award winning Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, College hoops, NBA History, go here to featured channels- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiP7KyKodc3OHuN_XhEyPPw?sub_confirmation=1
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SportsTranscript
00:00I don't think either party is going to be happy when the games are, you know, the most
00:06important game, so to speak, you know, like the playoffs, like he's not going to want
00:10to be a scratch for the playoffs.
00:11You're not going to want to sign a guy who, you know, or you have a good inkling that
00:15is going to be scratched in the playoffs, like, and so with the way that they are trending
00:19as a team, with the way they are trending as an organization, you know, we've talked
00:24about this before the big body defenseman, they keep drafting big defenseman.
00:29It just doesn't make sense.
00:30It seems like he's a, he's a piece from a prior regime that maybe they no longer believe
00:34in structurally or organizationally.
00:38He doesn't fit their ethos anymore.
00:40Poke the Bear is powered by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS
00:45Media Network.
00:50And welcome into Poke the Bear episode 239 presented by CLNS Media and sponsored by our
00:55good friends over at PrizePix and game time tickets.
00:59My name is Conor Ryan.
01:00And once again, we are joined by 985, the sports hubs, Ty Anderson, Ty, how you doing?
01:07What is going on?
01:09How are we doing?
01:11Well, Ty doing well.
01:12I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep from the Celtics championship celebrations to gone
01:18for a while.
01:19Joe Mizzou is roaming around every filming location of the town.
01:23He's going to Boston Sand and Gravel next with the Larry O'Brien trophy.
01:28But it's a fun time in the city, I would say.
01:30I think even though this is a primarily hockey podcast, I think we're all happy that that
01:36core players finally gets their due, gets put up with again in this city.
01:40All comes down to if you want or not, it gets you in the clear for the rest of your career.
01:46It's good to have so many players that are so key to this team, finally kind of get their
01:49moment in the spotlight and get recognized for being some of the all time greats within
01:53that franchise.
01:54Yeah, for sure.
01:56And I will always say that summertime parades in Boston just hit different.
02:02This will now be the third one of our lifetime.
02:07They just they're just different.
02:08You know, it's everyone gets to go to the city.
02:12There's there tends to be no school or it's so late enough in the school year where kids
02:17can skip it.
02:18And the Burwins one was on a Saturday, which is crazy to me that they did that back on.
02:23It got the most people there possible, but, you know, there's something about a summertime
02:27parade in Boston that is just it's it's more fan oriented or fan friendly than the ones
02:33you have for the Patriots.
02:34You know, there's been six of those middle of January.
02:37Oh, it's brutal.
02:39Yeah.
02:40Even the Red Sox ones, you know, like I remember the first Red Sox won in 04.
02:44It was raining, you know, it was spitting rain all day and it was just it was it was
02:48raw.
02:49It was cold.
02:50It was great.
02:51But then again, that weather kind of stunk.
02:52So I'm sure it's going to be great on Friday.
02:55It's going to be incredible.
02:56I'm sure the numbers are going to blow our minds, too.
02:59You know what I mean?
03:00Like, I remember 2011, you know.
03:04Being there in the morning for the parade availability and then meeting up with my friends
03:09down the road for the parade itself, and I just remember like the streets are hard to
03:13navigate right now.
03:14You couldn't walk through it.
03:15Now it's 2011.
03:16You know, I feel like we've got probably three times as many people live here now since then.
03:21So it's going to be wild, I bet.
03:23Yeah, absolutely.
03:24And now the the Boston team, the longest title drought amongst the big four, the Boston Bruins.
03:30Yeah, this is interesting to think about again.
03:33They're in the mix, like next to the Celtics, who like would not surprise me if they go
03:38back to back next year.
03:39I'm getting ahead of myself.
03:40But that team's going to be in the mix for quite a few years now.
03:43But Bruins are probably the second closest team in terms of the odds, right?
03:46It's hockey.
03:47A lot of shit can happen.
03:48Terms of where they are, where they should build off of next year.
03:53They're right in that mix, right?
03:56They are.
03:57It's just it to your point, though.
03:58It's like, how can you project it right?
04:01Like hockey is just so hard to project.
04:05There's overtimes, there's bad bounces, there's bad penalties.
04:08Like, I think it's funny that I don't think there's a sport where a bad call can torpedo
04:14you more than hockey, right?
04:17It's never about the referees.
04:18I understand that.
04:19Like, you got to play through it.
04:21You know, teams get screwed all the time.
04:23But it is wild that like one bad call or one bad sequence can completely shift a series
04:29like, you know, Bruins fans.
04:32If you're going to spend the summer, you watch the Panthers and the Oilers right now and
04:35you're gonna spend the summer going, man, if that call didn't get called in game four
04:40and they hang on, it's two to two going back to sunrise and you win game five.
04:44I mean, it's wild, right?
04:47Like it's so that's why it's like, yeah, they should be next.
04:50But who knows?
04:51Who knows what can happen?
04:52Right.
04:53And so this is all part of the calculus that makes this summer and the summer after that
05:00so important for the Bruins.
05:01Like, this is their chance to load up or to reset, to reshuffle, whatever you want to
05:06call it.
05:07And if you don't do it, I don't know, man, the Red Sox, as weird as it sounds, could
05:12overtake you.
05:13The Patriots could overtake you.
05:15They got a good defense.
05:17If Drake May is what they think he's going to be at number three, you might be number
05:20three before you know it.
05:22Yeah, that's true.
05:23And the Bruins, as you said, have a great opportunity to add to this team in a couple
05:28of weeks.
05:29It's it's funny.
05:30I think we lose track of it with the Celtics and all that stuff, how quickly the shit's
05:34about to hit the fan with the NHL offseason.
05:35I mean, hell, you got teams making trades in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs
05:39now.
05:40And that series is going on way too long that Jim's like, we can't wait anymore.
05:43So yeah, we have that.
05:45We do have that coming up very quickly.
05:47But I think before, you know, next week, we'll start looking at actual free agent targets
05:52outside of, you know, players on the Bruins own team, trade the draft, all that kind of
05:57stuff.
05:58I think for this week, let's maybe look more internally, right, and kind of do a bit of
06:02a primer as to who the Bruins have on their roster.
06:06Now they're going to hit the market as UFAs.
06:09We'll talk at a few RFAs as well.
06:12But let's maybe run down the list of quite a few guys who are going to hit free agency
06:17and whether or not they're going to be back with the Bruins next year.
06:19So I haven't I broke it up in terms of by position tie.
06:23I feel like let's get let's get defense first, because I feel like we kind of know how those
06:27ones are going to go.
06:28Let's just get the 3D out of the way now.
06:31So leading off with Derek Forbert and I'll do I'll do this.
06:37I'll I'll I'll say the player you say whether or not he's back or not, and then we'll kind
06:41of go from there as to whether we agree and what kind of the future holds for that player.
06:45So Ty, leading off, Derek Forbert, is he back?
06:51He's gone.
06:52He's he's not back.
06:53He is.
06:54He's gone, I think.
06:55Yeah.
06:56Now, I agree.
06:57And I mean, for me, I think it comes down to and I think we're going to have the same
07:01probably script for most of these pending UFA defenseman.
07:04But it just seems like where that player is in terms of his career injuries and where
07:10the Bruins can maybe upgrade at that spot.
07:13It just seems like it's time to move on from player that, you know, did kind of the dirty
07:17work for a lot of the these three years in Boston.
07:19But I think you need to upgrade to that position or even find a cheaper alternative for kind
07:24of what he brings in terms of those PK reps, block shots, all that good stuff.
07:29Yeah.
07:30And I mean, we've talked about him before in terms of like the public's perception of
07:34Derek Forbert is not shared by the Boston Bruins, for better or worse.
07:39They like him, whereas a lot of fans realize his limitations and they they don't like him
07:44because of those limitations.
07:46However, I think his fate was sealed once he acquired Andrew Peake, a guy who, you know,
07:52does the same kind of role.
07:53Yes, he plays the right side and he's a right shot versus a left shot.
07:56But same kind of guy.
07:58You rely on his blocks, you rely on what he can do in the PK, and he's also cheaper and
08:02he signed with term.
08:03So I think once they made that move, the writing was on the wall for Forbert, both on the twenty
08:10three, twenty four season and his Boston future personally.
08:13Yeah.
08:14No, I agree.
08:15I think Derek Forbert, great Bruin will always remember Dalla rest in peace, a great legend
08:20of Boston sports lore.
08:22But I think Derek Forbert will be playing somewhere else this upcoming season.
08:27Yeah.
08:28You know, it's weird.
08:29Sorry, real quick.
08:30Yes.
08:31I saw a report today out of Minnesota that Alex Goligosky is not going to be back.
08:34He basically was like an extra D for Minnesota.
08:38He's going to retire, I think, is what they're what they're what they're thinking or what
08:41they're saying.
08:42Forbert's from Minnesota.
08:44I doubt that given his injury history, he's going to earn a full time roster spot out
08:51of the gate next season.
08:52I'd wonder if he'd go to Minnesota on a cheap contract, you know, go home after a trying
08:59year, obviously, between the injuries, the situation with his dog, you know, like like
09:04he went through it this year.
09:06Right.
09:07And I would just wonder if Minnesota would say, you know what, we can take a cheap flyer
09:11on a guy who has been given the PK, things of that nature, like I'd wonder if he would
09:16go home at that point.
09:17Yeah, that would seem to be a good fit for him.
09:19Yeah.
09:20Again, a full time, you know, starting spot out of the gate.
09:23Probably not.
09:24But still, like when he's on his game and playing those kind of minutes that no one
09:27really wants to log in terms of PK and blocking shots on stuff, that's where his value does
09:31kind of shine.
09:32So you do hope he lands with somewhere where even if it's maybe not cut and dry in September
09:37in the middle of the start of the year, he can he can eventually carve out a set spot
09:42there.
09:43So best of luck to Derek Forbert.
09:46Another defenseman hitting the market, Kevin Shattenkirk.
09:49Is he back or not?
09:50I don't think he's back.
09:53He's he's what?
09:54He's like 40, 48 games away from 1000.
09:58I think he wants to be in a place where you can hit that hit that milestone.
10:02And I don't think it's going to be here again.
10:06Their right side is pretty locked down.
10:08You know, you got your pillars there and Shattenkirk can play on the left side.
10:12But I don't think it's where you get his best hockey consistently.
10:16So I think he's going to go somewhere where you can hit a thousand games and maybe call
10:20it a career.
10:21But I Shattenkirk was a guy who.
10:26You look at his production, a lot of a lot of it was with David Pasternak.
10:30Yeah, it's kind of easy.
10:32It's easy to find those kind of guys, all things considered.
10:35Yeah, no, I agree.
10:37You know, solid veteran, especially with the price tag is had his moments where he was
10:42able to inject a little bit more scoring punch on the blue line.
10:45You know, stepped up in the playoffs at times, gave that speech that all the players credited
10:50before Game 7 against Toronto, which is, again, when you have a veteran guy making like one
10:56point oh five million or something, you will gladly take any of those contributions for
11:01a guy with that signing.
11:03But as you said, right side's pretty locked down now.
11:05We don't really have you don't have a vacancy there where a guy like Shattenkirk could step
11:10in and you look at where his strengths are in terms of playmaking, powerplay, those kinds
11:16of things.
11:17We've talked about before when we mentioned guys like, you know, Chikorin or Krug at times
11:23with Mason Laurie, you know, establishing himself and hopefully growing more into that
11:27role.
11:28You don't want any player coming in here or you're signing any player, especially that's
11:31going to take away some of those reps, even it's on the second powerplay unit or what
11:35have you.
11:36So again, Shattenkirk, good veteran, but it does seem like he's a guy that you're moving
11:40on from.
11:41Yeah, I just I think that.
11:45You know, a lot of these guys that we're going to talk about today, like they're veterans
11:50and they're prideful veterans, and if their opportunity here in Boston is being a scratch
11:56or being a spare part, I don't think they want to do that.
12:00And I think Shattenkirk, you know, like they're kind of getting the band back, the band back
12:05together in Tampa, it feels like.
12:08And I would wonder if you go back down there for cheap money, you know, if they have an
12:11opening for a guy who, you know, the caveat being, hey, just play me 48 games at least
12:16so I can hit a thousand, you know, and like like they tend to be pretty good with that
12:20kind of stuff.
12:21So we'll see what happens there.
12:23But yeah, like you alluded to it and you mentioned like the speeches, like the veteran leadership,
12:28like there's always a market for that, right?
12:30It's just a matter of are you trying to win a cup or do you want to hit a milestone?
12:34Right.
12:35And sometimes you can do both.
12:36But in a game that gets consistently younger and faster, that may be a little bit harder
12:41for him than it was a year ago when, you know, that he made an annoying one point oh five
12:47million.
12:48I had to look it up every time we read.
12:50I was never certain.
12:51And it was so annoying because I was like, I was like, wait, is it one point oh seven
12:55five?
12:56What what is it?
12:57It was like Nosek had an annoying number like that, too.
12:59I could never remember exactly what it was.
13:01Wasn't it like what was Nosek?
13:03It was like, was it to like two point one, two, five or something like that or that was
13:08hot?
13:09That was hollow.
13:10I think that was hollow.
13:11It's number.
13:12Yeah, I think Nosek was like one point.
13:15See, that's what I'm talking about.
13:16It was either like one point seven five or like one point one seven five.
13:20Like it was something weird like that.
13:22Yeah, exactly.
13:23So I don't think the Bruins have to worry about that, that contract on their books in
13:28terms of having to sort through.
13:30I was going to say sort of through cap friendly.
13:31But if I mention that the Washington Capitol is going to DMCA my my they're going to take
13:36my VPN.
13:37They're going to shut down my computer, all that good stuff.
13:40So RIP to cap friendly.
13:43But the last defenseman, Ty, that's hitting the market, Matt Griswold, he's staying or
13:49is he going?
13:51Probably the second most polarizing player in their internal free agent class, I would
13:57say, besides one forward who we'll talk about later.
14:01I don't see how he's back.
14:03And I say this because it's now been two straight postseasons where they've scratched him in
14:08the playoffs.
14:10And I think that, you know, his best utilization for the Bruins moving forward is probably
14:16as a third pairing defenseman.
14:19But what comfort do you have in doing that?
14:23And then knowing that he'll do that for 82 games and then they'll lose a game in the
14:27playoffs and it's right back to the press box.
14:29Right.
14:31I just think a clean break is probably best for both sides involved at this point.
14:37And he's a guy that I think could help a team that struggles with their breakouts or struggles
14:43with getting the puck out of their own zone.
14:46You know, if you got if you got a defense that's a bit too big and not mobile enough
14:51like he could help you in that regard.
14:52But I just think a clean break at this point makes sense for both sides involved.
14:57How do you feel about it?
14:58Yeah, I agree.
14:59And again, I've been obviously a big fan of Grizzic and what he provides.
15:03This past year was tough for him, right?
15:05He was dealing with an injury pretty early on that hurt his numbers, like even when he
15:09was with McAvoy, which you can talk about whether he's built for the playoffs, what
15:14have you.
15:15But when you look at how good he was with McAvoy and just the five on five buzzsaw that
15:20they were for years, like he would take that just over 82 games and then you get to playoffs
15:24and go from there.
15:25I agree that he was kind of put in these bad spots where a lot of times it wasn't really
15:29even his fault of being tied like, you know, he's had rough playoff runs, but him getting
15:33scratched for game six against the Panthers for Fulbert and Clifton, who just had to both
15:38have horrific games like turnover five seconds later, pucks sailing past all marked bad like
15:46situations like that.
15:49It just seems like it's something where if he's not going to have the trust of the coaching
15:53staff to be in those roles during those kind of years where again, he was good at five
15:58and five play during the regular season.
16:00You go into this year where his numbers decline in terms of both production and just the underlying
16:05numbers with McAvoy.
16:08If you don't have a guy that, you know, for what his past contract was, where you could
16:12plug him next to McAvoy and you don't have to touch that pairing in the regular season
16:16wasn't really the case this season.
16:17And again, you look at his age, he's going to be 31.
16:20Not the biggest, biggest defense when obviously he's had injuries.
16:24I just don't feel like he's a guy that now seems to be a clean break.
16:28I think he can help a team if he was to come back on a, you know, on a cheap deal, you'd
16:32probably take him for just what he brings in a limited role.
16:35But it just seems like how the coaching staff utilizes him, how we can probably get a solid
16:41contract or carve out a set role somewhere else.
16:44I agree.
16:45It just seems like now is the best time to move on from a guy that's been here for a
16:48sneaky long, long time, right?
16:51Like he's been all across the line.
16:52I've been part of some really good teams, but it does seem like just now is the time
16:56to kind of move on and see how you can kind of change that left side of your defense a
17:00little bit.
17:01Yeah.
17:02And I think the other part of that is like, you know, to the injuries, like it's entirely
17:07possible that they're just there's too many now and it's too much to overcome and it makes
17:14sense to move on and, and to just kind of start, start new somewhere else.
17:20And you go back to the shoulder injury, he had a sports hernia injury this year.
17:25You know, he's, he's just, he's been through it, man.
17:28You know, he's, he's been through it.
17:30And I just think that again, it's time, it's time, it's time to, you know, have a break
17:37and go somewhere else because I don't think either party is going to be happy when the
17:44games are, you know, the most important game, so to speak, you know, like the playoffs,
17:48like he's not going to want to be a scratch for the playoffs.
17:50You're not going to want to sign a guy who, you know, or you have a good inkling that
17:54is going to be scratched in the playoffs.
17:56Like, and so with the way that they are trending as a team, with the way they are trending
18:01as an organization, you know, we've talked about this before, the big body defenseman,
18:05they keep drafting big defenseman.
18:08It just doesn't make sense.
18:09It just seems like he's a, he's a piece from a prior regime that maybe they no longer believe
18:14in structurally or organizationally.
18:17He doesn't fit their ethos anymore.
18:19It feels like, and I'm, I'm very happy that you mentioned that he's been around forever
18:24because I I'm doing, you know, for the website, I'm doing like a rundown of the free agents
18:29like we are.
18:30Do you know how many games are, let me put it this way.
18:34Do you know where he ranks for games played among Bruins defenseman all time?
18:39Blew my mind.
18:40This blew my mind.
18:41I'm not going to lie.
18:42Is he like, like, like 14 or something like that?
18:44Or is it like, is he top 24?
18:46He's 24.
18:47Pretty impressive.
18:48Yeah.
18:49Hundred year history of a team.
18:50He's top 25.
18:51Like that's wild to me from a kid from Charlestown.
18:54It's pretty cool.
18:55So yeah, it is.
18:56Absolutely.
18:57You know, it sucks that didn't end, you know, the, the, the way that all hometown kids want
19:01it to.
19:02But I also don't think that he should be looked at, you know, as like a failure, like, no,
19:07again, you carved out a 500 plus game career or whatever it is, you know, for like, I think
19:12it's 400, 500.
19:13Like you carve out that kind of career here, you know, as a five foot nine defenseman drafter
19:19than what the third round, fourth round, like that's a, that's a success, man.
19:23It really is.
19:24Yeah, absolutely.
19:25So wherever it goes against up next, again, we wish him well along with all the other
19:30guys.
19:31We're going to talk about who may not be back in a black and gold sweater.
19:33Ty, we're going to move on to look at other areas of the roster.
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21:13Shout out once again to our good friends over at price picks.
21:16All right, Ty, we obviously have quite a few forwards before we go to that and that'll
21:21take up the chunk of this podcast.
21:25In terms of just the goalies, RFAs, Jeremy Swayman, we expect a contract.
21:31Do you have any changes in terms of what you think that contract's going to end up being?
21:34I think it's all obvious he's going to sign, but what's your prediction as to what that
21:39deal is going to end up being?
21:40All right, I'm going to say eight years.
21:44I'm going to say 7.75 per.
21:49That's what I'm going to say.
21:51I think that if I'm his camp, I'm angling for like 8.5, but I do think that they've
22:02been pretty good about getting guys to take just under market value and they're going
22:08to say, hey, we have an internal structure here.
22:11We got to try to get a center or you're going to be backstopping some pretty bad teams.
22:18I think that's kind of where they're going to land.
22:21I might be completely wrong on this, but I just feel like they're going to get it
22:24just under eight per season, in my opinion.
22:27What do you think?
22:28Yeah, I have eight by eight by eight, 64 million.
22:33I agree that if you're able to get anything under eight, I think if you're a Bruins fan,
22:36you are very happy because, again, you look at just how much the cap's jumping up, not
22:41just this year, but I think the next two or three years, there should be a pretty sizable
22:45jump.
22:46At least that's the projections.
22:48We could be looking at this cap ceiling in 2026, 2027, and you could be getting close
22:53to 100 million, where all of a sudden, if you have a guy like Swayman for under eight
22:58and you've got upcoming contracts for guys like Ottinger and Demko and some of these
23:03other goalies that are just circling, if all of a sudden the next threshold are these goalies
23:09where the market value is 8.75, 9 million, 10 million, and that's the benchmark for players,
23:18how you have Pasternak now making 11 or you have McEvoy making 9.5 when in another two
23:24or three years, unestablished number one defenseman, probably the benchmark is 11.
23:29The established franchise winger who can score 50 goals is getting 13 million a year.
23:34Those contracts are going to continue to look better and better over time.
23:38If you're the Bruins, you're able to get Swayman for under 8 million.
23:43I think Sorokin has his contract signed for 8.25, but he's got a Vezna finalist not under
23:49his belt, I guess, so that kind of helps him out.
23:53But if you're the Bruins and you get him to eight and or under, I think you take that
23:57and you are more than happy with kind of getting a pay bump secured for him, but also something
24:03that over the next even year or two could look pretty good, especially when all these
24:07other goalies end up signing their new deals.
24:09Yeah, exactly.
24:10And that's something that and I apologize if we've talked about this before, but, you
24:15know, one thing you have to consider with Jeremy Swayman and one thing his camp is going
24:20to probably be considering here is that he is setting the market for the guys like the
24:26next wave.
24:27Like you have Jake Ottinger in need of a new contract soon.
24:30Igor Shosturkin needs a new contract next year.
24:34I want to say there are some other guys involved in that grouping.
24:37I think I think Soros is, I think, two years away and he's a little bit older, I know.
24:41But but again, one of the best goalies in the league.
24:44So, you know, I think that when you look at Swayman, he is kind of setting that market
24:51for that, you know, that next wave of the young elite goaltenders.
24:55And so I wonder if his camp is putting that in their mind saying, well, yeah, we can sign
24:59for a little bit less.
25:01But, you know, if Igor is making 10 million a year from now and Ottinger is making nine
25:07point two five, do we look stupid, you know?
25:09And so I think there's that part of it.
25:11I don't think that's going to be a determining factor for Swayman.
25:14He likes it here.
25:15He wants to be here.
25:16He wants to be the number one guy here.
25:18And so and so it's going to cost them.
25:20But I just wonder, I wonder, you know, where do they meet in the middle ground between
25:24Swayman, his agent and Don Sweeney?
25:27Like what what?
25:30You know, baseline do they get to and say, OK, we'll concede here and here because we
25:35know this makes the most sense, like they're going to have to do some haggling, but it's
25:39got to get done soon, man.
25:40You got to know how much money you have right to play with.
25:42So I hope it gets done soon.
25:44But I just wonder if they got to make the other move with the other goalie before they
25:47can actually put that pen to paper there.
25:49Yeah.
25:50You don't want to hit the point where all of a sudden you're you're thinking you're going
25:53to sign Tyler Toffoli or someone and all of a sudden you realize you're point seven
25:58five million.
25:59That damn that damn Shattenker contract, that damn point five point oh five million screws
26:04you over.
26:05So, no, you do have to know for a guy who's probably going to be I'd imagine your top
26:10signing in terms of this annual payout, you have to figure out how much money you're actually
26:15going to be working with.
26:16And again, that also, again, as you said, coincides with Omar in terms of are you going
26:20to have another five million off the books?
26:22Are you using that to acquire someone else?
26:24And that takes up some of your cap space.
26:26So a lot of moving parts there.
26:28But you do hope the Bruins do sign Swayman pretty soon to what we expect and hope is
26:32a long term deal worth pretty sizable pay bump considering the year he had tie to the
26:39final pot here, the forwards and might as well start off with the one that has brought
26:44up the most discourse, the most divisive player, I'd probably say on the Bruins.
26:50Jake DeBrusque had a great playoff run, didn't have a great regular season, always considered
26:56kind of polarizing to see where exactly his market is or what kind of player the Bruins
27:01have in a player like Jake DeBrusque.
27:04But what's your what's your take?
27:06See here is he signing elsewhere on July 1st?
27:09I think he's signing elsewhere and and, you know, to your point earlier talking about
27:16guys getting paid more in the not too distant future.
27:21You know, it went up to it increased to what, 88 million for this upcoming year.
27:27They're hoping next year to be 92 or 93 million.
27:31And so we're looking at a cap rise that by the third or fourth year of Jake DeBrusque's
27:37next contract, he might be making what your third liners make.
27:43And so that's that's the part that's tough to project here.
27:47But I do think he's gone.
27:48I think that the Bruins have a history here of when it plays out this long, they've made
27:54their decision and it tends to be we're walking away.
27:57I think the tea leaves have been there and I thought that the language of Don Don Sweeney's
28:02breakup day availability told you where they were leaning.
28:07He said we were aggressive.
28:09We were aggressive in our in our pitch.
28:11So it's like, OK, so they're not anymore or something happened.
28:15And now it's now it's see you later.
28:16So I think he's gone.
28:18I think he's going to Western Canada.
28:19I don't know where exactly, but I think he's going out there.
28:21What about you?
28:22Yeah, I agree.
28:23I just it was one where you you mapped it out right.
28:27And you hoped I think I think he's a really good player that fits a lot of needs for this
28:31team.
28:32And you listen to what Cam Neely says about how this team needs speed.
28:37You got a guy right there, Jake DeBrusque, who has that skating ability, who performs
28:40in the playoffs, wins puck battles, can do a little bit of everything, developed into
28:45a really, really good two way player where you don't really even when he's not producing.
28:49I know that's why he gets paid those big bucks, but he's a guy you don't really have to worry
28:53about.
28:54He's not going to hurt you defensively.
28:55He's not going to do those kinds of things.
28:56So he's a really good player.
28:59But then you hear, as you said, Don Sweeney mentioned all the stuff during breakup day.
29:02It does feel like, hey, we made you our best offer.
29:05We want you here.
29:06You're not going to take that deal.
29:07Shit, man.
29:08Good luck.
29:09Good luck.
29:10All right.
29:11Like, what do you what do you want us to do?
29:12Right.
29:13Like, and again, it's unfortunate because not to say that, like, oh, like I wouldn't
29:17take, you know, Reinhardt or anyone else like that, like, obviously.
29:21But like in terms of where the Bruins are going to have in terms of you're allocating
29:25money towards Swayman and, you know, an Elias Lindholm or someone else like that.
29:29And you're not going to most likely be in the running for a big fish top six winger
29:34like a Reinhardt or against, obviously, a guy like DeBrusque makes a lot of sense as
29:38being that really versatile top six winger that can still, you know, do a lot for your
29:43team. If he's not going to be in the mix, you have to now, you know, find it.
29:48Are you replacing him in the aggregate?
29:49Are you looking for all right, we're going to get, you know, a guy who's off and on
29:54like a Bertuzzi, but his defensive game isn't up to par.
29:57Is it you get a guy like Tyler Traffoli, who's probably a steady goal
30:03scorer can give you 20, 25 goals.
30:05Are you looking at more of a value add with a guy who's, you know, a quick skater like
30:10Anthony Duclair, right?
30:11Like there's a lot of ways you can kind of spin it in terms of how they can replicate
30:16his production. But in terms of his overall, the package that he provides, he does kind
30:21of check a lot of boxes to what this team needs.
30:23So I can see why the Bruins are like, all right, the money is not going to work.
30:26We gave you our best shot.
30:28We're not going to keep on haggling with you.
30:30We're not going to keep on getting to a bidding war.
30:33We have so much other shit to take care of.
30:34But it is unfortunate that you look at what the Bruins need now.
30:38He would, you know, make life a lot easier if they were able to come to terms on some
30:43long term deal for six, six and a half or something like that.
30:46I just I see him not signing that here in Boston now at this point, barring something
30:50crazy happening. Right, right.
30:52And and there were there were times where you thought like, I'm trying to remember a
30:58guy whose negotiations went this long and he signed and signed.
31:04Yeah, like I think Taylor Hall is the closest thing.
31:07But even that wasn't like there was no doubt there was like, no, no, we're going to
31:10find a landing spot. We just haven't done it yet.
31:12Like like I don't think there's a case that compares to that in recent memory.
31:19You know, like Poshnok was signed at the trade deadline, you know, months before he
31:24went, he was going to hit free agency.
31:26So. You know, that's that's telling in that regard, and I wonder, you know, again,
31:32this might be more sports radio bullshit clanging around in my brain, I wonder if
31:36Jake's. His open sort of I want to sign, I want to get signed during the season was
31:44because he rejected an offer that was pretty decent, you know, in September or
31:49whatever, and then had the miserable year he had scoring wise for a while and was
31:53like, shit, I want to I want to get signed, man, I want to I want to sign like and
31:57if that and I wonder if that point the Bruins are like, no, that deal is off the
32:00table now, which is kind of similar to something that happened with Torrey Krug,
32:03where they had an early season offer.
32:07The Krug's camp said, no, no, we're going to wait and see, and then that offer was
32:11subsequently pulled.
32:13And so I wonder if something like that kind of happened.
32:16And that's why Jake got so open and was was was very transparent about the anxiety
32:23of not having a contract and what it does to him.
32:26You know, I just wonder if that was almost like a play on his part.
32:29Like, no, let's just go back to that first offer.
32:31I don't care.
32:32But again, that might be just sports radio bullshit I'm inventing in my brain, which
32:35I'm one to do, you know, on occasion sometimes.
32:38So, yeah.
32:40Now, I mean, listen, that it makes perfect sense in terms of where Sweeney has
32:44mentioned they've had offers out there for him, like and if he's not going to buy
32:48it on a deal and like I could see the Bruins after that 20, you know, 20, 22, 23
32:54season, where if he doesn't break his leg in the winter classic, he probably has
32:5735, 36 goals like that was a he was fantastic that year.
33:02I can see the Bruins wanting to make a concerted effort to sign him there.
33:05They already stuck with him through the Cassidy stuff, the trade requests they
33:09signed, you know, you thought he was going to get traded at the deadline a few years
33:12ago and they signed him to a bridge extension instead.
33:15Like the Bruins have made a concerted effort of of investing in this player
33:19that they drafted, keeping him here long term.
33:21Like, I don't think there was a case where it's like free and say, all right, good
33:24luck, man. See you later.
33:26Like it was clearly like they wanted to retain him.
33:28So how that broke down, how it kind of went, fell to the wayside.
33:33And again, like didn't have a good regular season, but performed well in the
33:36playoffs. Maybe that changed the approach.
33:38Maybe the Bruins circled back at the end of the year.
33:41Again, we're just kind of going through potential scenarios here, but I can see
33:44the Bruins checking back in at the end of the year being like, hey, strong end to
33:48the year. Like we want to keep you here.
33:49And he's like, yeah, do you see the playoff I had?
33:51How about seven?
33:53You know, like, all right, man, like whatever.
33:55Right. Right.
33:56All the police agent. Fuck it.
33:57Like, you know, like that could also just be the case where it does seem like this
34:01isn't like, all right, like Godspeed, Jake, like best of luck to you.
34:05Like, you know, we've only invested in your career for, you know, almost a decade
34:09now. We've kind of stuck with you.
34:10Like this is not a player that at that age, what he provides, how good he is, you
34:15know, as a two way player now that you just let him walk.
34:18Like, I think something must have just fallen to the wayside over the last couple
34:22of months or earlier this year that just seems like that it's time just to move on.
34:28I got to showing the Bruins are wanting to engage in a prolonged bidding war when
34:32again, there's so many other things going on.
34:34It's the same thing like Pertuzzi last year, like with the Bruins like to keep
34:37Pertuzzi. Yeah.
34:39If like they did, if they realized his market was going to dry up, maybe they would
34:42have stuck around, but they didn't have that luxury.
34:44You have only so much cap space.
34:46You had so many bargain contracts that are getting signed early on.
34:49You couldn't wait a few of the Bruins in that regard.
34:51The Bruins can't wait until July 3rd or 4th for DeBruys to make his decision when
34:56there's so many other guys that are going to get signed 30 minutes into the starter
35:00for agency on July 1st.
35:02Absolutely.
35:02And that that's that's the part that is going to be really telling for Don Sweeney
35:07in terms of where he's at as a veteran GM, been on the job now for nine years.
35:12Right. I got to be one of the longest tenure GM's currently active in the league.
35:16I would imagine, um, does he, does he, you know, show some patience, some restraint,
35:24uh, when names and guys start flying off the board, um, or do they strike first, you
35:30know, like, like sometimes there will be a guy, there will be a talented player who
35:36was unsigned by July, let's say July 3rd, you know, July 3rd, July 4th, there'll be
35:41a guy still looking for work.
35:42Who's a good player happens every year.
35:45Can the Bruins be that team that strikes or do they blow all their money right off the
35:50bat?
35:50And, you know, I go back to 2021.
35:54Remember how excited we were in 2021?
35:56They had like 30 million in cap space.
35:58We're like, Oh my God, they got 30 million.
36:00This is great.
36:01And they got role players.
36:03They got role players and Lena Solmark.
36:06And you were like, uh, all right, I guess that's fine.
36:10Yeah.
36:10And so I just, if I'm the Bruins, I would love it if they could exude a bit of
36:17patience, you know, don't race to re to sign Eric Holla and Tomas Nosek as good as
36:24they were, uh, for your team and Nick Foligno, like, like have a little bit of
36:30patience, but at the same time, does the market allow them to do that?
36:33That's the other part of the equation.
36:35We'll see.
36:36Yeah, absolutely.
36:37We'll see if it's going to be July 1st.
36:39It's going to be like, whatever it is new when it starts in 1201, it's like, they're
36:42going to sign Brendan Duhame.
36:43I'm like, okay, yeah, he hits a lot of guys, but oh shit.
36:48All right, guys.
36:50I thought you were going to say that's going to be 11 59 AM and Twitter's going
36:54to be like, why haven't they signed anybody?
36:56Like it's going to be like, that will happen.
36:58That will happen as well.
36:59Didn't like Twitter.
37:00I'll be doing it too.
37:02Didn't Twitter break or like it was super slow one day during free agency.
37:05It was some big NHL day where like, I think most of Twitter didn't care.
37:08Cause it was like a big NHL day.
37:10Maybe it was the deadline.
37:12That sounds right.
37:13It was down or something that, that, that, that dipshit will probably like put his
37:17grilled cheese on like the, on like the hard drive and fry the servers or some
37:21stupid shit concerning shit like that.
37:24But yeah, exactly.
37:25Looking into this, this is mozzarella just in the CD-ROM case.
37:29It's that, it's that, it's that YouTube video where it's like, there's
37:31beans in the hard drive.
37:35Yeah, exactly.
37:36So, uh, hopefully that doesn't happen again.
37:38Hopefully he doesn't put any, uh, grilled cheeses in the, I would say on the
37:41radiator, the Leo Tarttle line, but, um, but, uh, Ty, before we further delve
37:47into the rest of the forwards that are hitting the open market on the Bruins,
37:51take another quick break here from our good friends over at game time tickets.
37:55Quick break to tell you about my good friends over at game time.
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39:38Now back to the show.
39:40Shout out once again to game time tickets, our talents run through these last
39:44couple of potential or pending free agents.
39:46Um, upfront, Dan Heinen, he's staying or is he going?
39:52I think he's going.
39:53Um, I feel like he might've priced himself out like in a really good year.
39:59He's the guy that I'd love to keep around for less than 2 million.
40:02I don't think he's going to be making that though.
40:03I think he might make two and a half or three.
40:05So if the price is right, I bring them back, but I just don't know if they can
40:08get that right price because going back to the DeBrusque comments, like a
40:14discussion rather, you know, I thought that you don't sign him.
40:18You've got to sign two guys that make the same amount of money, right?
40:20One to address the PK and another one to address sort of the net front power play,
40:26you know, top six maneuverability.
40:29Um, but I just don't know if they, again, similar to what we're talking
40:33about with like not blowing your money on role players, I just wonder if the
40:37price point is a bit too high for him at this point, I'd love him back.
40:40I just don't know.
40:42Like this market might get him paid a little bit better than, than maybe we
40:45think.
40:46Yeah, exactly.
40:47I think, you know, he obviously deserves a pay raise from what he was making.
40:50He making peanuts this past year.
40:52But like, again, he's on it for one, one, uh, you know, one and a half million.
40:56That'd be great, but he's worth more than that, right?
40:58Like, I feel like he's going to get two and a half, two, seven, five,
41:01three, somewhere from some team.
41:03And again, like ideally you'd like to keep him cause he's so good that he can
41:06play in the top six on the spot role.
41:09He can be a great, you know, third line guy, a fourth line guy, ideally.
41:12But I think you look at where the Bruins have to allocate the money that they have.
41:17Um, and you look at like that bottom six right now where you do have, you know,
41:22the Brezos, the Beechers, uh, you know, the Loukos, the Geekies, the Fredericks,
41:29you know, is coiled in that mix this upcoming year.
41:32If they get another center, uh, you've got Potra.
41:35It does seem like they do have options in the bottom six where it's like, there's
41:39not as much of a, a major need there.
41:41Again, you'd love to have Heinen, like he does so many things well, but not
41:45at two and a half, 3 million.
41:48Right.
41:48I feel like he could be, I'd rather him go to a place where he's maybe a featured
41:52staple to the second or third line making 3 million off the year.
41:55He had like, dude had a rough off season and made the most of it, all the credit
41:59to him, but, um, I think he can go somewhere where he can actually carve out
42:03a pretty solid role and get paid accordingly for the year he had.
42:07Yeah.
42:07That's where I land with it.
42:08I just, I don't know if it makes a ton of sense for the Bruins to allocate
42:14him a bunch of money like that.
42:15And I also don't know if, if there's a scenario in which they do that and they
42:19don't have buyer's remorse when he's inevitably playing on the third or fourth
42:24line, because he hasn't scored in nine or 10 games because that's who he is.
42:27And, and so I think that that is sort of like, I'm down to run it back with him.
42:32It's just, the price has to make sense.
42:34And as we get closer and closer to July one, um, I know David Pagnotta from
42:39the fourth period had that report.
42:41I want to say a week, week and a half ago now that they were going to sit down and
42:44talk and nothing has really come out of that.
42:46That tells me that the price point between the sides just is the bridge a
42:50little bit too, too, uh, too, too vast there.
42:52So I, I don't, I don't see them coming to terms before July one and maybe they
42:56circle back on, maybe he's the guy that we're talking about on July 5th, who
43:00was looking for, you know, maybe that's how they sign them.
43:03Exactly.
43:03Yeah.
43:04So that's definitely someone worth keeping tabs on a useful player.
43:07They'd love to have them, but again, it just depends on what
43:09the overall contract is going to be.
43:11So, um, we'll see how that plays out there.
43:14Another guy hitting the market, James and Reeves, like veteran player
43:18performed pretty well before he kind of ran out of gas a little bit there.
43:21Um, dealt with an illness that had him drop a whole bunch of weight at the
43:26worst possible time for the playoffs.
43:28Um, where do you, where do you see him?
43:30Is he standard?
43:31Is he going, I think he's going, but I'm not a hard out on him.
43:35Um, and I only say that because if you lose to Brusque, you're going
43:39to need that net front guy, right?
43:41And before he, you know, got an alien inside of his body, uh, James van
43:46Riemsdijk was on pace for 20 goals, right?
43:48And he was one of the, you know, more, yeah, you know, more virus.
43:54The one from space balls that pops out and starts, hello, my baby.
43:57Hello, my darling.
43:58Um, it, it, it was, it was a, it was a rough ending to the year for him.
44:04But if you look at how he was at the bye week, you felt pretty
44:08good about that signing.
44:09So I'm not a hard out again.
44:12It's the money has to make sense, but what's his market?
44:16Like, where could he go?
44:18You know, and if you're going to lose Heinen who can play the left and the
44:22right side, and if you're going to lose to Brusque who can play the left and
44:26the right side, but also plays on the power play net front, like JVR, a guy
44:30who can play left and right wing, who's a net front guy, it makes sense to keep him
44:35around.
44:36It's just a matter of, can he make even less money?
44:39Could you give him, you know, he's 35.
44:42Could you give him that kind of contract where, Hey, we're going to pay you a base
44:45of 800,000, and then we're going to, we'll give you another, you know, we'll
44:50give you a million in bonuses.
44:51If you can hit 20 goals, like give us some something to work for, right.
44:55And it can be a pay raise, but if it's not, you feel better about it.
45:00And so my only concern though, he's slow and, and like he he's slow and watching
45:10this Florida and Edmonton series, the game is so fast.
45:13What, what the game, the pace at which the Bruins play feels almost alien, you
45:17know, compared to how the rest of the league has been moving speed-wise.
45:20So like most guys that bring them back, but it's a caveat and it's got to be on
45:24your terms and affordable.
45:26So, but so right now I'm going to say he's gone.
45:29Yeah, I agree.
45:30Uh, again, I think it just comes down to the overall fit.
45:32You look at, again, perfect world.
45:34You'd love to have them as a veteran pickup with not making a lot of money.
45:37Cause again, you put a guy with that net front capabilities in a spot to succeed.
45:42He'll probably produce, right.
45:43You can still get 15 ish goals, 30 points for a guy who's not making a whole lot of
45:47money, depends on how the Bruins are going to allocate the rest of that money.
45:50And whether it's just more of a identity shift that kind of augments
45:54how the Bruins change things.
45:55Like when, when Neely came out was, you know, instead of every year, it's
45:58usually been got to get to the hard ice, got to get bigger him, like saying like
46:02speed is a big thing, like is, is a bit of a change from how they've approached
46:06things.
46:06So if that's going to be their all in approach, it does seem like it's, it's
46:10not just the players themselves, but the identity of the team that they're trying
46:13to augment a little bit.
46:14And you look at how Florida skates, you can kind of see why.
46:18So I think I agree.
46:19Like ideally, not ideally, but a guy that you could have back for the right
46:24price, but just doesn't seem like, um, it makes a lot of sense right now.
46:29So I agree.
46:30I think he's another guy that, again, we're going through this list.
46:32A lot of these guys are not going to be back, but I think we kind of more or less
46:35saw that coming, but, um, I guess wrapping this one up in terms of a, another free
46:41agent, Pat Maroon, yay or nay, want him back or not?
46:46I want him back.
46:47I do.
46:48And I think that when, if you're going to reintroduce Matthew
46:53Patra to this lineup next year, I would like a guy that if you even touch him,
46:59you know, he's coming at you.
47:00And I do believe that there's something to be said for Pat Maroon's influence
47:06in his locker room intangibles.
47:09Um, I think that he's a cage rattler.
47:11Right.
47:12And I think at times this Bruins team, this organization, they need a guy who's
47:17going to walk in and say, Hey, no, this is bullshit.
47:19Like wake up, like, you know what I'm saying?
47:21And I think that guys like Pat Maroon, you know, him being that guy, it carries
47:27weight, he's a three times Stanley cup winner.
47:30Um, he's been through every scenario, humanly imaginable at this point in his
47:34career.
47:34And so I would like him back.
47:36And I think he does fit the model of their fourth line of having a big body who can
47:43win pucks along the walls, along with two speedsters.
47:46You know, if your fourth line is, is a combination of Beecher, Lauco or
47:49Boquist and Pat Maroon, like that's, that's, that checks that box.
47:54And so I, I don't think that the Bruins got the best version of him at the same
47:59time with the back injury.
48:01Um, so I just think it makes sense to bring him back.
48:03Like I w I would do it cause I think it's gonna be low money.
48:07He made 800,000 a year ago.
48:09Like, yeah, you know, I, he loves it here.
48:12I'm talking to him.
48:13He was very, he, he loved being a Bruin and he didn't feel like he got the full
48:18experience of being a Bruin.
48:20Um, he didn't get in a fight in his time here.
48:22Like, and that seems so silly to say, like, that's what he cares about.
48:25Like, no, but like, you're going to need that kind of guy at some
48:28point over an 82 game season.
48:30You just need those kinds of guys.
48:31And so I'd keep him around personally, I think for the low money factor and
48:35the leadership intangibles, all that.
48:37Yeah, no, I agree.
48:38And again, like we, we just went through talking about, uh, uh, James
48:43Andrews, like, and he's not very fast.
48:45Pat Maroon is also not very fast, but when you look at the money and what he
48:48brings outside of it, if he's not going to be playing 80 games a year, but he can
48:53chip in when needed at the physicality, I think just the value outside of the, off
48:58the ice is, you know, as you said, a cage rattler, right?
49:00Like a guy that, you know, people are talking about Maroon in the playoffs.
49:05Like, why isn't he fighting Bennett and him to be like, Hey, idiots, everyone
49:09get your fucking shit together.
49:10Like he's not going to fight me.
49:11Like, it's like, you kind of need some of these guys either, you know, be candid
49:16with us, use us to kind of send those messages out or anything like that.
49:20And just being like, listen, we know how the fucking game is played.
49:23This is the rule.
49:23This is what's going on.
49:24Like, I think you see why he's like, you know, a guy like that, who's really
49:29frank and kind of control the room and has that winning kind of pedigree has
49:34value, especially in a team that, you know, it's still anchored by guys who've
49:38been there a while, but I think having an outside presence who's fought through
49:42many playoff runs, um, has respect to the team.
49:46And when you've got so many other young guys that are, you know, on this team
49:49that are carving out roles, whether it's Patra or Beecher or Laurie or some of
49:53these other players, having someone else outside of the organization, that's not
49:57just Marchand, right.
49:59Um, or Pasternak or Carlo or someone else like that.
50:02I think there's value to be had there.
50:04And especially if he's signing for 800,000 or what have you, I
50:08think there's a lot to like there again.
50:09We'll see how his back is.
50:10That's kind of the first thing Sweeney mentioned where I'm like, uh, you know,
50:13we said they have to check how his health is.
50:15So I'm like, do they not like what the wild wrote on their, on his medical
50:18report before they got him?
50:20Right.
50:21I mean, this is a guy that, um, as much as you kind of view his, his career and
50:26where he is now is like, is he just like a physical winger?
50:29He was like on pace for like 35 points.
50:32I think last year for the wild, before he got hurt, like not to say that he can be
50:35that, but like, he's not a guy that if he plays 80 games, he's going to have three
50:39goals and four assists and that's kind of.
50:42Not his real value.
50:43Uh, is he going to be a 30 point guy?
50:45No, but he can give you a 15, 20 points if he's healthy and engaged in winning
50:50puck battles and doing those little things that may not look like much, but
50:53they can lead to a secondary assist or a greasy goal or something like that.
50:58So I do think he has value.
51:00And yes, for, I think what the price is, especially there's ever a guy that you
51:04want to sign that goes against.
51:06Neely's, you know, new approach in terms of speed.
51:09It's the three times Stanley cup winner who can beat the shit out of guys,
51:13commands the room and just adds a different element, uh, both on and
51:18especially off the ice.
51:19So I think the Bruins would like to have them back.
51:21And I think it'd make a lot of sense considering just what.
51:24The price tag is going to be.
51:25Yeah.
51:26And that's sort of the name of the game here, but as you can tell between us going
51:31through every guy, it's like the money has to make sense.
51:33So if the money's going to make sense and you're somewhat of a depressed asset in
51:37terms of your market or your age, whatever the case may be, like, I think your odds
51:42are coming back or greater.
51:43And so that's why, you know, I'm, I'm out on guys like Heinen and Nebraska, not
51:49because I don't like them as players.
51:50I think they have a tremendous value as players, but you don't want to get bogged
51:54down paying premiums or what you may view as premiums when you have so many glaring
51:59needs elsewhere, left shot D a high end center, a scoring wing somewhere in your
52:05top six, I don't care if it's left side or right side, you need another one.
52:08Like you can't kind of pay for guys that may be at their very best on the third
52:13line while also paying them substantial money.
52:16So like veteran guys, like, like Maroon, like JVR, like they just feel like they're
52:21more fits for what they want because they're going to be cheap, right?
52:24Like, like the Bruins are in that era of, we got to get veteran talent.
52:28That's cheap, but still effective.
52:31You know, Tampa was great at this.
52:32Um, Pittsburgh was great at this.
52:35Like, like you've got to bring in those kinds of guys.
52:37And so if you're older and you have some intangibles and you can be had for a
52:42million or less, I'd like your odds of coming back greater than a Heinen or
52:46Nebraska feels like.
52:47Yeah, no, I do agree.
52:49Yeah.
52:50And it's something where, again, we, we do look at, it does seem like a lot of
52:53these players are going to be, um, playing elsewhere, but it's all about finding
52:59where the money works, who's one of the one or two guys that are worth investing
53:02in.
53:02And again, ideally like to have a guy like the breast, it just doesn't seem
53:06feasible.
53:06So the onus now falls on Don Sweeney and the Bruins to find other players to, to
53:10kind of either replicate that production, change the identity of what they're
53:14looking for.
53:15Um, and we'll see how that kind of all plays out, uh, in the, the weeks ahead,
53:19but well, like, like real, like, like, sorry, like real quick, like, yeah.
53:23So like when you have posture, not making 11.5, right.
53:27That's what it is.
53:28Or is it, so you have to make 11.5.
53:32You have McAvoy make a 9.5.
53:34You're going to have swim and making probably eight, you know, somewhere
53:37thereabouts, like every time you sign a guy to one of those kinds of contracts,
53:42it, it stresses the need to hit a home run with your $800,000 signing or your
53:48900, your 1 million, you know, like that kind of threshold right there.
53:51Right.
53:52And Elias Lindholm in Vancouver, we think rejected a contract for what?
53:587 million per year, I think was reporting.
54:00So, yeah.
54:01So let's assume he's going to get eight.
54:03Let's say the Bruins are that team that gives him eight.
54:06Now you have to find even more of those guys who make league minimum or up to
54:11$1 million and they gotta be home runs.
54:14And so that's the part that the Bruins kind of have to nail.
54:18And we'll see if they can do that internally or externally.
54:21Um, but I think that's going to be the name of the game.
54:22Like when they have these high end sort of openings, like you're
54:27bobbing the roster, you gotta have the young players or the cheap veterans
54:32that are just, that are giving you value on value on value, which you got a year
54:35ago, now you got to see if you can either keep those guys or bring in new
54:39guys who can do the same thing.
54:40It's always, that's a difficult game really is.
54:43Yeah.
54:43We'll be fascinating to see how it all does kind of play out.
54:46It's not going to be easy.
54:47Again, you look at how much capitalist the Bruins have, but it's not an easy
54:51game in terms of picking the right players, balancing the books, and also
54:55leaving some room maybe for the upcoming years as well to, to build to this team.
54:58It's not, it's not really as fun as it is to now look at it.
55:01You look at like the actual work that needs to be done from the Bruins.
55:04It's tough to find the right guys and where they do fit.
55:06And it's also like that money can dry up quick.
55:10Like I think, I think people kind of got to be, got to temper it a little bit.
55:15If you make one big signing, well, there goes half of that almost, you know, like
55:19it's, it's not a ton of money.
55:21Like it's enough to make a, a good move here or there, but you're not getting
55:26three superstars for this cap space.
55:28Like you're just not doing it.
55:29It's one of those ones where even if, let's say they, they free up, Oh,
55:32Mark's contract and they have 26 million or what have you, and you have like,
55:36you know, Bruins cap space.
55:37Who's always on top of things like has the new updated number.
55:40And it's like 26.2 or something.
55:42They sent all Mark Swayment to an $8 million a year deal.
55:46It does feel like different when all of a sudden it bumps down to 18 million.
55:48You're like, Oh yeah.
55:49Oh shit.
55:51It does drive quick.
55:52Oh, you got Elias Lindholm.
55:54Oh, you're down to 9 million in cap space.
55:56Yeah.
55:5711 million in cap space.
55:59Oh, okay.
56:00And then you break it down by opening.
56:01You're like, Oh, you can spend two and a half million per opening.
56:04Oh, well that's not great.
56:06Like it can happen quick, man.
56:08Yeah.
56:09So we will see how it all plays out.
56:11Uh, Ty, this was fun.
56:13We'll talk more about, uh, free agents and targets and all that
56:17stuff, uh, next week that are outside of the Bruins organization.
56:20But, um, as we kind of get ready for, which actually be some thankfully
56:25tangible news the next couple of weeks, uh, where can we find all your
56:29stuff related to the Boston Bruins?
56:32Uh, you can find me on 95 sports hub.com.
56:34You can also find me on X at underscore Ty Anderson.
56:38And how about you?
56:40Yes.
56:40You can find me over at, uh, boston.com and the Boston global.
56:43I'd be covered every step of the way there this off season.
56:46You can also follow me on Twitter X, whatever it is at Conor Ryan underscore 93.
56:53So this was episode, uh, 239 of poke the bear.
56:57I'm a lot of episodes.
56:58That's a lot of episodes.
57:00So let's keep it going.
57:01Wait, wait till the episode 500 extravaganza.
57:04We have you and Evan on at the same time.
57:07You blast hell.
57:08Yeah.
57:08Talk about that.
57:09It'll be like episode 500.
57:11So that'll be like, we're one year into the Leon dry saddle era.
57:15Hell yeah.
57:15He's like, he only has 91 points and we'll say he's a bust or something like
57:19now we, we get too far ahead of ourselves.
57:21But anyway, this is episode 239 of poke the bear.
57:25I'm Conor Ryan.
57:26That is Ty Anderson.
57:27You fans have a great rest of your week.