It would make losing our first line center at the end of this year much more palatable, though.Silverdude2167 said:
Krejci's Contract is Expiring After This Year
- Thread starter Kenny F'ing Powers
- Start date
Not saying Krejci is on the same level in terms of talent or expected payday, but Toews got 8/$10.5m AAV. Hell, Paul Stastny got $7m AAV while posting worse numbers than Krejci 4 years running and without Krejci's playoff track record.
Krejci will be looking at at least $7.5m AAV on a long-term deal entering UFA. He's a big part of the Bruins' success, and his numbers are significantly hampered by not getting rolled out 20+ minutes/night like most #1 centers.
However, with what he stands to make and the Bruins' depth down the middle, it'd be foolish to not at least explore the trade market to see what kind of ELC and/or second contract talent they could get coming back. I don't think he gets moved, but with the potential haul from a team with cap breathing room it'd be a very interesting proposition. Especially with the option to go Bergeron - Söderberg - Spooner/Khokhlachev down the middle on the top 9, losing Krejci would be a hit I think this roster could absorb.
This would be an interesting one to break out
Krejci will be looking at at least $7.5m AAV on a long-term deal entering UFA. He's a big part of the Bruins' success, and his numbers are significantly hampered by not getting rolled out 20+ minutes/night like most #1 centers.
However, with what he stands to make and the Bruins' depth down the middle, it'd be foolish to not at least explore the trade market to see what kind of ELC and/or second contract talent they could get coming back. I don't think he gets moved, but with the potential haul from a team with cap breathing room it'd be a very interesting proposition. Especially with the option to go Bergeron - Söderberg - Spooner/Khokhlachev down the middle on the top 9, losing Krejci would be a hit I think this roster could absorb.
This would be an interesting one to break out
And, of course, it's likely the cap will go up next year as well, so that number will likely be nominally higher, though perhaps the same percentage of the Bs overall cap space.
PedroSpecialK said:
I think this nails my feeling pretty well.
I like Krejci as much as anyone else, but center is the one position we actually have some flexibility to work with. A 1-2 combo of Bergy-Soderberg is certainly a downgrade from Krejci-Bergy, but I'm not really seeing many other opportunities to add scoring punch besides, "Hey! The salary cap is supposed to go up!"
Campbell ($1.6), Paille ($1.3), Soderberg ($1mm), Caron ($600k), Boychuk ($3.3), McQuaid ($1.56), Bartkowski ($1.25), Hamilton ($900k) are all UFA or RFA next year. That doesn't include Reilly Smith / Torey Krug, who are RFA this year.
Soderberg/Boychuk/Hamilton are all lined up for big raises, which essentially wipes out the cap room you get from replacing Campbell/ Paille/ Caron/ McQuaid/ Bartkowski internally.
Hell, even squeezing Krejci under the salary cap is going to be a difficult proposition.
Ultimately, knowing the loyalty Chiarelli has towards his current players, I think he finds a way to get Krejci back and under contract, but I'm not entirely sure it's the right move. Being able to add a much needed RW and having a Bergeron-Soderberg-Spooner 1-3 sounds a little more intriguing to me.
A trade of Krejci is worth Czeching out, but the return would have to be nearly equal to the Seguin deal to make me comfortable with it.
I think Boychuk is gone either this season or next. Assuming he gets through injury free, he'd be an idiot to not test the market.Kenny F'ing Powers said:
kenneycb said:
And the Bruins would be idiots to prioritize him over Krejci, Hamilton, or Soderberg.
I still think it's 70/30 he is traded before October 1. Something has to give, and all signs point to Johnny Rocket in my book.
I try to keep Krejci, and I do it this summer. I basically offer him 6/36, give or take a couple million (in total), but honestly if he has his eyes set an order of magnitude above that, then I seriously look at the trade market for him.
Since it was mentioned, Krejci's NHL ranks the last few years in points per 60 min:
13-14: 24th all situations, 30th even strength
12-13: 77th all situations, 81st ES
11-12: 41st all situations, 16th ES
His possession numbers are very good considering the competition, but perhaps not elite. He will also be entering a likely decline phase in his next contract if he's not there already. He's 3 months older than Bergeron.
Tough choice but I think you have to let him go if he wants a deal that approaches what he could get on the market. I would much rather have the money to lock up Hamilton long-term.
13-14: 24th all situations, 30th even strength
12-13: 77th all situations, 81st ES
11-12: 41st all situations, 16th ES
His possession numbers are very good considering the competition, but perhaps not elite. He will also be entering a likely decline phase in his next contract if he's not there already. He's 3 months older than Bergeron.
Tough choice but I think you have to let him go if he wants a deal that approaches what he could get on the market. I would much rather have the money to lock up Hamilton long-term.
It's not a matter of liking or disliking Krejci - Chiarelli has come out and said that their priority is getting Krejci locked up.Kenny F'ing Powers said:
Unless something drastic happens, Krejci is in the Bruins long term plans. He's not going anywhere.
FL4WL3SS said:
And - just for the sake of discussion - say they offer him 6 year, $39mm contract ($6.5mm a year). Do you think that contract is a good one with the current formation of our roster?
But guys, it doesn't matter. Don't discuss things, because he's NOT GOING ANYWHERE!
It seems like that barring another dropping or stagnant cap, they should be able to afford him along with Soderberg and Hamilton. This is assuming Koko, Spooner and maybe Florek or Fraser have places in the bottom 6 for cheap. So maybe the choice is between Krejci and Boychuk, and in that case, I'd probably agree with the team and keep Krejci.
It seems like that barring another dropping or stagnant cap, they should be able to afford him along with Soderberg and Hamilton. This is assuming Koko, Spooner and maybe Florek or Fraser have places in the bottom 6 for cheap. So maybe the choice is between Krejci and Boychuk, and in that case, I'd probably agree with the team and keep Krejci.
Kenny F'ing Powers said:
Yeah, I think that's a fair deal for what he does, and he's only 28. The problem I have with letting him walk is thrusting Soderberg into a top 6 role, and Spooner into the top 9. We have an idea of what Carl can do, but we really don't know whether Spooner is physically ready to be a top 9 center. Krejci and Bergeron are what make the Bruins so deep at Center. Remove one of them, and suddenly it becomes very thin there unless you like the idea of Campbell or Kelly on that third line. The Bruins would have to have a tremendous amount of faith in Spooner to let Krejci walk, and I just don't see it.
Out of the guys they need to re-up, I think Boychuk is gone. Someone is going to offer him something around $5m, and the Bruins would be crazy to match that with the depth on defense they have. I love Johnny, but they can afford to lose him. I don't think they can afford to lose Krejci at this point.
TheRealness said:
I've had similar thoughts.
Do you think - with the way this roster is constructed - they should hold onto him for the year and push all the chips into the table for this season, or should they plan for the future and trade him for some cap space/propsects (if they won't be resigning him at the end of the season)?
My first instinct says "maximize your value and sell while you can", but with the uncertainty behind Seidenberg, the team probably limiting Chara's minutes, Krug's shaky defense, and the McQuaid/Miller/Bartkowski pu-pu platter, Boychuk may be more important to this seasons success than people think.
Well, good defensemen have high value at the deadline, so you have 'til then to see what you have with your party platter. If you think the team needs him, you can hold him; if not, you can move him to get some pieces that you can use to fill another need (likely winger).
They don't need to make these decisions right away and they can't anyway because of cap issues. By the deadline, you will know how Seidenberg has recovered and have a better picture of what Spooner can do going forward. More importantly, you'll have banked the cap space so that you can actually take on someone with a higher cap hit since you only have to pay them for the last month and a half. If you need offense and Seidenberg is looking like your #2, you can deal Boychuk. If you need him, you hold onto him.
Maybe you would save a little money by extending Krejci now but he's not likely to bolt either, so they can wait and see how Spooner and Soderberg do before signing him next offseason.
The team isn't going to be fighting for the playoffs barring multiple injuries (in which case, they may not go far in the playoffs anyway) so they have the luxury of banking the space for now and figuring out what they have for the playoffs at or near the deadline.
Maybe you would save a little money by extending Krejci now but he's not likely to bolt either, so they can wait and see how Spooner and Soderberg do before signing him next offseason.
The team isn't going to be fighting for the playoffs barring multiple injuries (in which case, they may not go far in the playoffs anyway) so they have the luxury of banking the space for now and figuring out what they have for the playoffs at or near the deadline.
Kenny F'ing Powers said:
They will hold onto him for the whole year and let him walk at the end of the season. The only way I see them trading Boychuk is if they need to add a top 9 forward, and with them right up against the cap he's a potential solid piece to trade. Still, given he's a FA, it would have to be a swap with a Western team still in contention, in need of defense, with a surplus of forwards. Not exactly easy to pull off. Ideally, they find a way to move Kelly, sign Smith and Krug, and then try to figure something out at the deadline if they need forward help. They also should really be trying to move McQuaid and possibly Campbell as well.
Tough situation for Chiarelli for sure. It will very interesting to see how it all plays out.