Bruins Acquire Pavel Zacha

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
I think that's a real nice piece of business. Assuming Bergy and Krejci are back, Haula's kind of in no[mans land on the roster and didn't perform great when he was in the bottom 6 last year. Zacha can play LW but also has some upside as a possible center. Gives them a little cover for the future.

Evolving Hockey projects his AAV at around $4.5 million. He is arb eligible, so he could open up a new buyout window for Foligno.
 

TSC

SoSH's Doug Neidermeyer
SoSH Member
Oct 25, 2007
12,280
Between here and everywhere.
With this trade, this team now has way more questions than answers.

Where are they getting the cap space to bring back Bergy and Krejci (as reported) while signing Zacha?

Have to think this is the end for Studnicka, unless Montgomery is ok with a skilled/young 4th line vs a traditional grinder/tough 4th line.

Who fills the 3rd line LW spot now?
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
I love this move. $0 to acquire Haula, parlayed into an unsigned younger player with a higher likelihood of being a top 6 C. That's how UFA forays should work when using an asset as valuable as cap space.

$6.8m of Foligno / Forbort to move but gotta start somewhere
 

Maximus

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
5,774
Assuming Krejci and Bergy are back, who centers L3 and L4? Zacha and Coyle? Doubt either of those guys are going to L4.
Zacha to LW on Coyle's 3rd line when at full strength for this year. I like the move for Zacha.
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,209
South of North
Zacha to LW on Coyle's 3rd line when at full strength for this year. I like the move for Zacha.
You may be right, but Marshy, Hall, and JDB are all LH. Meanwhile for RHs it's Pasta, Smith, and flotsam. IOW, if Zacha and Coyle are both in the top 3 lines, might be more likely that Zacha centers L3, and Coyle moves to RW.

But I'm tired and I feel like JDB may play on his off wing (RW) some? Anywhere to check this stuff?
 

MiracleOfO2704

not AWOL
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
9,528
The Island
You may be right, but Marshy, Hall, and JDB are all LH. Meanwhile for RHs it's Pasta, Smith, and flotsam. IOW, if Zacha and Coyle are both in the top 3 lines, might be more likely that Zacha centers L3, and Coyle moves to RW.

But I'm tired and I feel like JDB may play on his off wing (RW) some? Anywhere to check this stuff?
That's exactly what he did after they went with Marchand-Bergeron-JdB/Hall-Haula-Pastrnak. He can certainly do it, it's a question of whether Monty will have the same hang-up with wingers and defencemen playing their off-side that Butch had or not.

So, with that possibility, when healthy, you can go:

Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk
Hall-Krejci-Pastrnak
Zacha-Coyle-Smith
Frederic-Nosek-Foligno/AHL filler

That is a decent little forward corps.
 
Last edited:

burstnbloom

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 12, 2005
2,761
This is a great move from a roster perspective. Zacha has been a bit of a disappointment but he's a skilled guy and he's equally effective at LW and C. He's a bigger, more skilled Eric Haula who is more expensive but also way younger. Maybe he can be unlocked in a more structured system.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
It's hard to really slot Zacha in until we know what the rest of the roster looks like.

If Bergy and/or Krejci don't return he probably plays center. IF those two are back, then he's probably a winger in the short term and there's also a lot of otther moving parts for cap purposes.
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
Zacha doing his intro. Lot's of connections to Boston and the team. He was already spending his summers here, which started when he would train with Brian Boyle and Jimmy Hayes. He even bought a place in Boston last year, so not much of a move. He and Zboril were best friends growing up, and he also has spent time playing with Pasta.

He too received the welcome aboard phone call from Patrice Bergeron yesterday, and is excited to have Bergy as captain (FWIW)
 

cshea

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 15, 2006
36,047
306, row 14
This one is kind of meh, but I understand it. I would've paid a bit higher AAV to buy a UFA year or two. I get it, they're in a cap jam this year with flexibility next year so they budged on term to get the lowest cap possible, but if he pops he's going to be expensive to retain. They also only gave up Erik Haula for him so they haven't made a huge investment if he ultimately walks after the year. So it nets out as a meh from me.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,238
This one is kind of meh, but I understand it. I would've paid a bit higher AAV to buy a UFA year or two. I get it, they're in a cap jam this year with flexibility next year so they budged on term to get the lowest cap possible, but if he pops he's going to be expensive to retain. They also only gave up Erik Haula for him so they haven't made a huge investment if he ultimately walks after the year. So it nets out as a meh from me.
Given what Krejci's and Bergeron's deals say about the future (it would appear to be *now*), I think they see maximum flexibility as the primary consideration and retention cost as not much of a consideration at all.
 

Ed Hillel

Wants to be startin somethin
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2007
43,559
Here
He has four of the same 5 letters from "Chara," so this is the best they could do on that end in getting the band back together.
 

Spelunker

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2005
11,862
Given what Krejci's and Bergeron's deals say about the future (it would appear to be *now*), I think they see maximum flexibility as the primary consideration and retention cost as not much of a consideration at all.
Right: it really feels (to my very untrained eye) like they're setting up for a run next year, and then it's getting blown the fuck up.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,425
I think Zacha's dad sounds like a complete psycho.
Holy shit what a colossal asshole
Not that I disagree, but...why?

Edit - to add more context, there's definitely some pieces in here that raise flags to me also. But he (thinks) he prioritized his kid above all else and dedicated 15 years of his life to that individual focus. There's something to be said for that.
 

wiffleballhero

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 28, 2009
4,529
In the simulacrum
Not that I disagree, but...why?

Edit - to add more context, there's definitely some pieces in here that raise flags to me also. But he (thinks) he prioritized his kid above all else and dedicated 15 years of his life to that individual focus. There's something to be said for that.
Well, what stuck out to me was that there is no guarantee that this plan is going to work and for every Pavel Zacha out there who makes the pros, there are countless completely messed up kids who have their entire sense of self worth, family stability and understanding of the world wrapped up in a sport they are not all that good at playing.

Parents who can't see this risk and plow forward with this singularity of purpose from literally before the kid is born are not rational people and are dangerously likely to really mess up their kid. Hell, even if they are successful they might still do plenty of damage (Andre Agassi has entered the chat).

Indeed, if Zacha had chosen tennis that is almost certainly the exact result that would have unfolded.

Also, I wonder how his sisters feel about all of this and their place and value as humans in this family?
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

posts way less than 18% useful shit
SoSH Member
Nov 17, 2010
14,425
Well, what stuck out to me was that there is no guarantee that this plan is going to work and for every Pavel Zacha out there who makes the pros, there are countless completely messed up kids who have their entire sense of self worth, family stability and understanding of the world wrapped up in a sport they are not all that good at playing.

Parents who can't see this risk and plow forward with this singularity of purpose from literally before the kid is born are not rational people and are dangerously likely to really mess up their kid. Hell, even if they are successful they might still do plenty of damage (Andre Agassi has entered the chat).

Indeed, if Zacha had chosen tennis that is almost certainly the exact result that would have unfolded.

Also, I wonder how his sisters feel about all of this and their place and value as humans in this family?
Yep. Agreed. Although, let's not pretend that high school is a guaranteed fallback for a lot of people, either. We all know plenty of people in our lives that went to high school and ended up in pretty poor spots.

The life he lived as a child (pre-teen) actually seems pretty fucking awesome. Tons of focus on music, art, sports, activities, healthy eating, spending time with his father. I think that's probably better than the majority of us ever get to experience.

The one thing that stood out to me - aside from the things you mentioned - was that he and his father lived 2.5 hours away from his mother. The only way Zacha could see her was if she drove to see him on the weekends. It was glossed over, but the implications seems to be that his parents were together, but the plans for Zacha moved he and his father away from the rest of his family. It's one thing to structure Zachas life the way his father did, but it feels like something different to put Pavels relationship with the rest of his family at risk to do it.
 

wiffleballhero

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 28, 2009
4,529
In the simulacrum
The life he lived as a child (pre-teen) actually seems pretty fucking awesome
It does and when I was a kid I would have loved this, I think. But I also don't have any actual talent at anything, so I would have been in the pile of flame-outs.

A huge part of what makes it awesome is that it worked. The story would feel very different if 9 year old Pavel had been just OK but is schlepping around Czechia, away from his mom and trapped with his tyrannical dad forcing him to hit 1000 backhands after he finishes two hours of edgework at the rink, only to ultimately lose out to kids who are simply more gifted athletes.
 

RIFan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
3,087
Rhode Island
I don’t know if his father is an asshole or just well intentioned but misguided. I will give him credit for at least allowing Pavel to pick the sports that were his favorite. Forcing him to focus on one he didn’t love would have had a different outcome. The 1st comparison that came to mind was Todd Marinovich. For every Zacha there are probably 10 guys with even worse outcomes than Marinovich.
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
It does and when I was a kid I would have loved this, I think. But I also don't have any actual talent at anything, so I would have been in the pile of flame-outs.

A huge part of what makes it awesome is that it worked. The story would feel very different if 9 year old Pavel had been just OK but is schlepping around Czechia, away from his mom and trapped with his tyrannical dad forcing him to hit 1000 backhands after he finishes two hours of edgework at the rink, only to ultimately lose out to kids who are simply more gifted athletes.
There are likely 99 other similar stories that NHL.com would have no reason to post.