A Method To Chiarelli’s Madness
Monday, July 08, 2013
The ice at the TD Garden hadn't even melted when the Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins started wheeling and dealing.
In what has turned out to be a fascinating week for the National Hockey League, teams throughout the league have made a number of changes either via trade or through free agency. The Boston Bruins have been one of the more active teams in the process thus far.
In case you missed what happenned last week, let's recap.
Free agents Nathan Horton (Columbus), Andrew Ference (Edmonton) and Anton Khudobin (Carolina) all bolted for other teams. The B's also decided to let Jaromir Jagr walk.
Boston made a big free agent signing by grabbing Jarome Iginla for one year. But that wasn't their biggest move.
General Manager Peter Chiarelli decided to ship the young and talented Tyler Seguin along with Rich Peverly to the Dallas Stars in a multi-player deal that landed Boston talented winger Loui Eriksson along with prospects Joe Morrow, Reilly Smith and Matt Fraser.
Many Bruins fans were shocked by this move. Not this Bruins fan.
The organization's frustration with the 21-year old Seguin has been evident for quite some time and came to a head just days before he was traded.
At the NHL Draft in New Jersey, Chiarelli took a not-so-subbtle shot at Seguin who had a disappointing postseason for the B's. "He needs to focus all his mind and energy on hockey. He needs to be a better pro," Chiarelli said. "He's 21 and I expect big things from him. I wasn't satisfied with his year and he wasn't either. He's a helluva player and he'll be a helluva player. ... He's got to commit to being a professional and focusing on the game."
Give Chiarelli credit for one thing, it's not as if he was pulling a Larry Lucchino and smearing a player after he was sent packing. Chiarelli had the guts to call him out while he was still a member of the organization.
The question is, did Boston give up on Seguin to soon?
Tyler Seguin will try to reach his potential as a member of the Dallas Stars
The second overall pick in the 2010 draft, Seguin's production decreased dramatically from last season to this season culminating with a disappointing 1 goal, 7 assist performance in 22 playoff games this year.
To be fair, Seguin did have his moments this postseason and he did play a tougher brand of hockey in the Stanley Cup Finals showing a willingness to go into the corner and fight for the puck. Still, his production was subpar. So much, in fact, that he was demoted from the second to the third line midway through the playoffs.
There have been rumblings that Seguin likes to party a bit too much and that he doesn't take his job seriously enough. That may or may not be true.
What you have to wonder is if the organization is giving up on a potential franchise player like they did with Joe Thornton many years ago?
The short answer to that question is, "yes." The Bruins are rolling the dice here by giving up on an extremely skilled young player. But it's pretty easy to figure out why Chiarelli decided to make this move.
The Bruins GM obviously feels that he would rather have a very good two-way player who is a known commodity in the NHL as opposed to holding on to potential greatness.
Louis Eriksson is also relatively young (27 years of age). The Swedish star has averaged almost 30 goals and 72 points per season in his last three full campaigns. In addition to that, Eriksson is a battler and a grinder willing to do the dirty work required of him in the Claude Julien defensive-minded system. In short, he is a very solid 2-way player.
With Seguin, there is great skill and speed but it has yet to be matched by production. Will he someday be a prolific scorer in this league? Maybe. But Bruins management didn't feel like waiting for that answer while overpaying him an average of $5.75 million through the 2018-2019 season.
Loui Eriksson is now a Boston Bruin
In short, the B's would rather have a bird in hand as opposed to two in the bush.
Ironically, with some of the money saved by this deal, Boston was able to signed Iginla to a cap-friendly 1-year contract which is very team friendly in that it is laced with performance and playing time incentives.
As for where Iginla and Eriksson will play for Boston next season, the smart money says that one will play right wing on Boston's top line with Krejci and Lucic while the other plays right wing on the team's second line alongside Bergeron and Marchand.
However, don't rule out the possibility of Eriksson teamming up with fellow Swede Carl Soderberg who will have a full training camp under his belt next year and should be ready to roll come November. That duo could create a formidable line as well.
The Eastern Conference Champion Boston Bruins will have a different look on opening night less than 4 months from now, but they should still be one of the teams to beat once again.
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