Post by ds on Sept 25, 2009 16:14:59 GMT -5
The Art of the Quiet Rebuild
By Boston Bruins.
Sept 25th '09
When the Boston Bruins hit the off season, they were in a sore state of disrepair. Their former GM left them with barely enough players to ice a pro roster, 1 pick in 2005 (sadly not a first rounder) and no farm club to speak of. The new Boston interim GM set about a perilous task and drafted a 4 years plan based around a couple of key points:
- Build a roster that can compete.
During the traumatic 2004 offseason the Bruins took full advantage of the slow UFA period (most active teams being pushed close to the salary cap was to blame) and signed a record number 20 Unrestricted Free Agents. Brad Werenka, Michael Nylander, Sean O’Donnell, Turner Stevenson, Wayne Primeau, Andreas Johansson, Andreas Salomonsson, Andrei Nazarov, Derek Plante, Sean Haggerty, Shean Donovan, Sebastien Bordeleau, Chris McAllister, Jason Marshall, Jiri Slegr, Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexander Khavanov, Patrick Poulin, Frank Banham and Sergei Brylin.
While none of those signings were projected to be game breakers, they have yielded a few pleasant surprises. Nylander has developed a bit of second line chemistry with Oleg Kavasha and Derek Plante, he’s second on the team in goals - behind Fedorov - and second in assists.
Kavasha, Khavanov and Plante are also having respectable seasons that should translate into a larger role with the club if key players ahead of them on the depth chart don’t resign during the presigning period or off season. Chances are with the prospect of a change in scenery, Holik, Fedorov and Desjardins’ won’t be entirely sympathetic to the rebuilding cause and be eager to hit the market.
With a loose grip on 8th place in the NHL conference, the Bruins are poised to be a team to watch down the stretch.
- Put asses in the seats.
With an average attendance of 80%, things could be worse in the stands, the marketing department in Beantown is still trying to mirror the success that’s been occurring in St. Louis; the phenomenon of a last place team drawing an average attendance of 92%. Money is a big issue in Boston right now, with an estimated 15 million dollars in the come the off season, future UFA spending is going to need to be prudish at best.
- Carefully develop existing youth.
A lot of teams like to push their youth into starting roles, it’s a gamble, sometimes it works and sometimes you get Alexander Daigle. Boston doesn’t have the luxury of a large prospect pool. With a grand total of 4 players under the age of 25, the Bruins need to carefully nurture their youth to ensure the best yielded potential. It’ll be 2007 before Boston sees the first round of any draft. In the meantime, they want to ensure that those 2005 and 2006 first round picks aren’t going to go to good use.
The future face of the franchise right now is Sean Avery. Yes, you read that correct. Sean “wave my hands in the air like I just don’t care” Avery. He’s had a decent season on the top line, but realistically that top line spot should be reserved for a budding superstar, not a player better suited for the checking line.
- Plan trades carefully.
Hockey minds have frequently debated the merits of a slow rebuild. One theory for aggressive GMs is to trade all the top assets for a good spread of youth and watch those youth develop while taking advantage of a decent lottery pick. With funds getting tighter and tighter in Boston, an overall lack of picks and fans screaming for a competitive edge the aggressive trade/pick based rebuild isn’t the ideal solution. It’s a gamble that would become dependent on selling tickets and risks bankrupting the team.
Hopefully trim salary by trading off highly paid top line players for a bit of youth and competitive roster replacements. Make the playoffs to secure the lucrative playoff income and attack next season with fewer holes, one low level rookie and a greater depth throughout the roster. Recent rumours have been circulating of two trades that would bring a bit more scoring punch to Boston’s left side and add a bit more youth to the Boston system and that an upcoming unrestricted free agent may be on their way out of town. Speculation has Houston or Denver as one of the teams involved, if any trade with Denver is to occur, it would have to be unanimously agreed to by the league.
By Boston Bruins.
Sept 25th '09
When the Boston Bruins hit the off season, they were in a sore state of disrepair. Their former GM left them with barely enough players to ice a pro roster, 1 pick in 2005 (sadly not a first rounder) and no farm club to speak of. The new Boston interim GM set about a perilous task and drafted a 4 years plan based around a couple of key points:
- Build a roster that can compete.
During the traumatic 2004 offseason the Bruins took full advantage of the slow UFA period (most active teams being pushed close to the salary cap was to blame) and signed a record number 20 Unrestricted Free Agents. Brad Werenka, Michael Nylander, Sean O’Donnell, Turner Stevenson, Wayne Primeau, Andreas Johansson, Andreas Salomonsson, Andrei Nazarov, Derek Plante, Sean Haggerty, Shean Donovan, Sebastien Bordeleau, Chris McAllister, Jason Marshall, Jiri Slegr, Alexander Karpovtsev, Alexander Khavanov, Patrick Poulin, Frank Banham and Sergei Brylin.
While none of those signings were projected to be game breakers, they have yielded a few pleasant surprises. Nylander has developed a bit of second line chemistry with Oleg Kavasha and Derek Plante, he’s second on the team in goals - behind Fedorov - and second in assists.
Kavasha, Khavanov and Plante are also having respectable seasons that should translate into a larger role with the club if key players ahead of them on the depth chart don’t resign during the presigning period or off season. Chances are with the prospect of a change in scenery, Holik, Fedorov and Desjardins’ won’t be entirely sympathetic to the rebuilding cause and be eager to hit the market.
With a loose grip on 8th place in the NHL conference, the Bruins are poised to be a team to watch down the stretch.
- Put asses in the seats.
With an average attendance of 80%, things could be worse in the stands, the marketing department in Beantown is still trying to mirror the success that’s been occurring in St. Louis; the phenomenon of a last place team drawing an average attendance of 92%. Money is a big issue in Boston right now, with an estimated 15 million dollars in the come the off season, future UFA spending is going to need to be prudish at best.
- Carefully develop existing youth.
A lot of teams like to push their youth into starting roles, it’s a gamble, sometimes it works and sometimes you get Alexander Daigle. Boston doesn’t have the luxury of a large prospect pool. With a grand total of 4 players under the age of 25, the Bruins need to carefully nurture their youth to ensure the best yielded potential. It’ll be 2007 before Boston sees the first round of any draft. In the meantime, they want to ensure that those 2005 and 2006 first round picks aren’t going to go to good use.
The future face of the franchise right now is Sean Avery. Yes, you read that correct. Sean “wave my hands in the air like I just don’t care” Avery. He’s had a decent season on the top line, but realistically that top line spot should be reserved for a budding superstar, not a player better suited for the checking line.
- Plan trades carefully.
Hockey minds have frequently debated the merits of a slow rebuild. One theory for aggressive GMs is to trade all the top assets for a good spread of youth and watch those youth develop while taking advantage of a decent lottery pick. With funds getting tighter and tighter in Boston, an overall lack of picks and fans screaming for a competitive edge the aggressive trade/pick based rebuild isn’t the ideal solution. It’s a gamble that would become dependent on selling tickets and risks bankrupting the team.
Hopefully trim salary by trading off highly paid top line players for a bit of youth and competitive roster replacements. Make the playoffs to secure the lucrative playoff income and attack next season with fewer holes, one low level rookie and a greater depth throughout the roster. Recent rumours have been circulating of two trades that would bring a bit more scoring punch to Boston’s left side and add a bit more youth to the Boston system and that an upcoming unrestricted free agent may be on their way out of town. Speculation has Houston or Denver as one of the teams involved, if any trade with Denver is to occur, it would have to be unanimously agreed to by the league.