Ah, a fire sale. For those who aren’t “in the know” with what a fire sale, it is basically where a sport’s franchise sells off most of its pieces and basically blows up the team. Today in our Facebook group, a reader brought up the term fire sale which brought on a whole rash of shit. Many equate the term “fire sale” to giving up. Most equate it to tanking. The thing is, a fire sale can be good for a team going through transition.
Let’s be honest here for a minute: the Boston Bruins are going through transition. Their older pieces are getting older. The guys they gave extensions to don’t necessarily looks like the same person who signed that extension. The pieces they’ve received in prior trades are streakier than a potty training toddler’s underwear. Sometimes you just have to look at what you put together and say “This isn’t right” and change it.
I think a fire sale could benefit the Bruins. At some point, Peter Chiarelli needs to look at his core and define who it is. If you asked average Billy McShitface who runs a terrible Bruins Facebook group who the Bruins core is, he would more than likely rattle off 10 or 11 names. A core group of players shouldn’t make up half or your roster, period. In hockey, a core group of players should be four or five. Any more than that and you’re limiting what you can and should do.
I am not here to play General Manager but if you are taking an objective look at the Bruins, the core should be: Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara, Dougie Hamilton and Tuukka Rask. You can build a legitimate team around those five players and I still include Chara because he is still one of the best at what he does.
Notice I left off the “big name” players. Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Dennis Seidenberg, Loui Eriksson. These aren’t core players, these are complimentary players. The problem is that Bruins media and fans are unwilling to allow some of these complimentary players to remain as complimentary players. They want them to be core players. They are paid like core players.
Milan Lucic is a pretty polarizing figure among Bruins fans. A lot remember the days when he scored 30 goals and put Mike Van Rym through the glass. NESN hopes that you remember that and you touch yourself at night thinking about while they roll video and that you forget that he came to camp out of shape after the lockout was over. They want you to forget that he is currently making $6,000,000 this year and next year. Shockingly, I am not here to bash on Lucic but at some point you have to look at him and his 12 goals and wonder why you’re keeping him around.
Lucic isn’t paid to chip in on assists, he’s paid to bury David Krejci’s passes. After his 30 goal season in 2010-2011, Lucic scored 26, 7 (which was the lockout season so if you divide 7/48 you get 0.145. Multiply that by 82 and you get 11.9 – or 12), 24 and is currently sitting at 12. If you want to take the same approach, you could project that Lucic will end up around 17 goals this season. If that remains in tact, what makes Lucic a $6,000,000 player in a salary cap that at worst is staying the same.
It isn’t just Milan Lucic, but no one wants to address the elephant in the room when things like this are said by people who get paid to write about hockey:
A 3rd line forward w/$4M+ cap hit is a problem RT @AndrewwParkerr Haggs, if you think Eriksson is the problem ur not watching the right game
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) February 19, 2015
The issue is that Loui Eriksson is more productive right now than Lucic or Marchand or Smith and Krejci (though Krejci has only played in 38 games this season). The only Bruins players who eclipse him in points is Bergeron and Hamilton. That isn’t to say that Loui Eriksson shouldn’t be considered an immovable piece. When your current space space is $2,024,666 and the trade deadline is days away, Peter Chiarelli should listen to what other GMs have to offer for Marchand or Lucic.
It is evident that Bruins management, media and fans are grasping onto what made them great in 2011. Grit, strength, size and a bit of luck won them a Stanley Cup. The problem is that while that won them a Cup in 2011 it also gave them a first round exit in 2012 and a monumental collapse in 2013. It also didn’t do much against the Canadiens in 2014. Let’s not forget, the Bruins were the President’s Trophy winners. They were the best team in the regular season and when the playoffs rolled around they caved to a Montreal team they could have beaten.
The Bruins should move pieces who still represent value. A guy like Reilly Smith could bring back a decent return because he is still young and has shown a bit of scoring touch. Here’s the thing with Smith, he’s too inconsistent. There have been two instances this year where Smith has gone 10+ without scoring a goal. Last season he went almost a quarter of the year without scoring a goal. Smith, who is going to become a restricted free agent at the end of the year, could net you something.
I guess I want to get back to my original point. A fire sale is not necessarily a team going into the shitter.
The term “fire sale” may even be the wrong term, but the Bruins need a massive shake up with this roster. A guy like Lucic or Marchand or Eriksson (or all three) could be extremely valuable on the market because they:
1. Have term left on their contract
2. Have a history of achievment
3. Have a scouting report that GMs believe is still legit
A fire sale could impact the Bruins positively. It is okay to shake up a roster every once and awhile. Ask the Chiacgo Blackhawks. They’ve had to retool their roster numerous times due to cap issues and they seem to be doing just ducky.
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