February 21, 2012, should the Boston Bruins cash out for Rick Nash column for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Cashing In or Cashing Out?

Columns

Written by Denis Gorman

Saturday, February 18, 2012 17:57

The Boston Bruins have the advantages of having a good salary cap situation. Does that mean one of the Eastern Conference's best teams is ready to engage in the high-stakes game of acquiring high end talent at the trade deadline? Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli found himself staring at a sea of reporters in the TD Garden Media Workroom at 6:45 on the evening of Valentine’s Day. The discussion in the early evening had nothing do with presents for his wife or that night’s match against Original Six rival, the New York Rangers. Rather it had to do with a long-term gift Chiarelli was able to give to his coach, Claude Julien. Chiarelli was announcing that the organization and defenseman Johnny Boychuk had agreed on a three-year extension worth $10.1 million and, per the GM, “a limited no-trade clause" in parts of the deal. “I won’t go into the details,” Chiarelli added about the no-trade provision. “It’s flexible for both sides. It’s basically providing a list of teams and certain terms.” Boychuk was in the final year of a two-year, $3.75 million deal and would have been an unrestricted free agent on July 1 had the two sides been unable to reach an agreement. Even with Boychuk’s deal, Boston will be $13.2 million under the cap on Feb. 27. Not coincidentally, that date coincides with the NHL Trade Deadline day. “It takes up some room but we’ve got a lot of cap space and (Long Term Injury) space, so that doesn’t worry me,” Chiarelli said. What will be fascinating to watch is how Chiarelli manages the Bruins’ cap. Boston has five players that are viewed as musts for the present and the future: goaltender Tuukka Rask; checking liners Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton; and top-nine forward Chris Kelly. “In additional talks and negotiations with all of them," Chiarelli said. "There’s no real time frame on anything. In an ideal world, it’d be nice to get stuff done before the trade deadline, to know what you’re going to plan for, for the future. But if not, we’ll look at it as the year progresses into the summer.” Outside of the quintet, there is the matter of adding personnel from the outside. The 2010-11 Bruins were bolstered by the deadline trades for Kelly and Rich Peverley. Kelly and Peverley were quality depth which allowed Julien the flexibility to manipulate his roster as game circumstances and player performance dictated. So is the second best team in the Eastern Conference looking to shop? Boston is just 6-6-1 in their its 13 games, having sandwiched the Valentine’s Day shutout loss to the Rangers and last Friday’s 4-2 loss in Winnipeg around a 4-3 shootout win over the moribund Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. The Bruins hold a four-point lead over the Ottawa Senators in the Northeast Division race. “There’s not a lot going on,” Chiarelli explained of the market. “There [are] a lot of teams still in it. It seems that every year there [are] more teams that are in it. It’s a closer race. There are teams that may be a ways out but they don’t want to disappoint their fan base—and I don’t blame them—by trading players, good players. There [are] a lot of players that are locked up.” Like, say, Rick Nash or Jeff Carter? As the league’s worst team — the Blue Jackets trail the Edmonton Oilers by 10 points with 25 games remaining in both teams’ seasons—it is believed that GM Scott Howson will listen to offers for two-thirds of Columbus’ top line. The cost for either will be substantial. It is believed that Howson wants a return of young NHL talent, high-end prospects and draft picks in order to rebuild the wayward franchise. Then there are the long term salary cap implications. Nash is in the second year of an eight-year contract worth $62.4 million. Carter is signed throught the 2021-22 season to a pact that is an average cap hit of $5.272 million. "We want to add, we don't want to subtract, so the players [currently on the Bruins] don't really have anything to fear," was Chiarelli's explanation of the Bruins' trade deadline philosophy. "But things could change. “If I feel I’m maybe not getting close to signing somebody I may look at a player that has future years left on his contract.” The first overall pick in the 2002 Draft, Nash is a six-time 30-goal scorer while Carter, in his seventh season, has scored 29 or more goals in the last four seasons. Either Nash or Carter would certainly add potency to the NHL’s second best offensive team. But at what cost to the league’s reigning champions? It is a question that executives of teams with Cup aspirations must ask. The cost for either Nash or Carter will be substantial. It is believed that Howson wants a return of young NHL talent, high-end prospects and draft picks in orter to rebuild the wayward franchise. Then there are the long term salary cap implications. Nash is in the second year of an eight-year contract worth $62.4 million. Carter is signed throught the 2021-22 season to a pact that is an average cap hit of $5.272 million. "We want to add, we don't want to subtract, so the players [currently on the Bruins] don't really have anything to fear," was Chiarelli's explanation of the Bruins' trade deadline philosophy. "But things could change." Chiarelli is being cautious because there is a concern about how an addition could affect intangibles. Just ask the 2009-10 New Jersey Devils. Lou Lamoriello acquired Ilya Kovalchuk from the then-Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 4, 2010, to be the final piece in what was viewed as a Cup contender. Kovalchuk recorded 10 goals and 17 assists in the final 27 games of the regular season but the Devils lost in five games to the seventh seeded Philadelphia Flyers in the first round. Over the course of his first 32 games as a Devil, Kovalchuk’s teammates watched their all-world wing instead of playing with him. Only now, in his second full season in New Jersey has player and team merged seamlessly. “That’s probably my priority when I look to add something,” Chiarelli acknowledged. “I do want to add something. I’d like to help the team. I’d like to add to our depth. That’s a priority. It’s a fine balance, chemistry, and you have to be careful.” It is a high-stakes game that Chiarelli is attempting to play. Whether he wins or loses will be determined by how the Bruins perform this spring. You can follow us on Twitter @HockeyPrimeTime (http://twitter.com/#!/hockeyprimetime) and @DenisGorman (http://twitter.com/#!/denisgorman)

Last Updated on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 12:03

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