who on earth would they sign? there is nobody

after marchand gets his payday, chia will hold onto the cap space to use at the trade deadline.  also, i think savard thinks he's coming back this year. 

that money includes savard. without him they have 12 mill

They will keep the space and use it at the deadline for rentals if the young players don't pan out this year.  They will need the space next year when they have a number of important free agents.

The obsession with Cap Space drives me mental.  I would go so far as to say that if you are yearning for the Bruins to have cap space, you might as well cheer for them to lose.

In Response to Re: Cap Space:


The two most important free agents being Krejci and Rask ( RFA's ). Another RFA is Pouliot . After that there are a few to decide on whether they stay or go. UFA's Kelly , Peverly , Campbell , Paille , Corvo , Boychuk and Thornton. For me Thornton must be signed for no other reason then not being able to read about the bi - weekly thread regarding the hockey playing jester. I can't get enough of everybody's repetitive thoughts on this.

http://www.capgeek.com/charts.php?Team=5

Peverly, Campbell and Boychuk are guys that make significant contributions at very low cap hits.  When they are FA's it will present a significant challenge to replace them at the same cost, so having the cap space will be good.  Wanting your team to manage its cap well is hardly cheering against them.  Blowing money doesn't necessarily make you better.

What drives me mental are the ones who want to spend up to the cap maximum when it's July and the playoffs don't start till April. It's called wanting PC to be patient with the cap space not cheering for a team to lose.

The way I see it from my point is:

(1) Providence has some good depth
(2) If some one is injured give a Prov. player some ice to developed
(3) If Savard appears ready to come back it will be slow process 3rd and 4th line duties, eventually PP and PK, and it will take him one third of the season to be NHL ready and he may be in Providence for 20 gms. for conditioning purpose. It will be no sense to throw someone of his stature in with the lions without a sharp sword.
(4) Marchand will need a 3 yr. contract at least
(5) Sign Hnidy to a two contract
(6) Some one already posted who is left in FA
(7) The only RFA's worth trading for are Parise Callahan but it is very unlikely that these two will be unsigned. Marchand Bergy Callahan would make an interesting 2nd line. Parise a Bruin would be the cream of the crop.

But realistically overall it is time that the bruins mngt. start developing their prospects or trade them at deadline.

In Response to Re: Cap Space:


Cap space talk is sexy , not by me but it's all the rage among many fans.
Is your team really better if you spend to the cap ?
Bruins are in an ideal situation (as you mentioned above) and have most of their Stanley Cup winning team intact therefore why do they have to spend their cap space ?
Besides like dauber said there are no free agents worth going after right now.

I think Chiarelli has mentioned that good players may become available during the RFA process.  If the right fit comes along, I hope we add a good player to the team ala, MacArthur(?) in TOR.  Otherwise I have no problem with going into next season with capspace available.

In Response to Re: Cap Space:

It's all about next summer PC will have his hands full like the in 09' ans 10'. Entry level contracts will have to take over some veteran contracts. Kelly and Boychuk more than likely don't make the cut not necessarily because of there done but Chiarelli must infuse cheaper versions.

In Response to Re: Cap Space:


Yep, your post pretty well sums up my feelings in a nut shell.

many of the posts about the CAp have no foundation in a business scenario. The Bruins are a business, owned by Deleware North. Part of their strategy is to fill all the seats so that fans can gobble down all of the food and beverages that give DN much of their profits. Managing the CAP, which is one of Chiarelli's primary strengths, is key to managing the budget, approved by DN, for the Bruins business. There is no room for wishful thinking in managing the CAP, and unlike our Federal alphabet soup departments, and Congressional pork. there is no room for spending up to the CAP if it's not vital to the product that produces revenue.

At the trade deadline there usually is not much available and all is badly overpriced. I doubt Chia is saving it for that. What evidence is there of that anyway? Now that he has some room maybe he can pull off a trade. I'm guessing he'll wait until he sees what he has in camp or early season.

In Response to Re: Cap Space:


I have to agree with this. Some of the assets given up to acquire the rentals are way too expensive. Kaberle ?

Okay, so, everyone's missing my point.  See what happens when I write short posts?

Cap space is abso-freaking-lutely irrelevant in and of itself.  This is basically what you're saying when you say "well, why would they spend money on the available players - they don't need them."  Exactly.  The point is, are you happy with the roster options you have available?  Is there a player available who will make the roster better?  And by available, I also mean available by trade.  Cap only becomes a factor when you see an option available and you need to know if you have the resources to pursue the option.  In this, it's not different than draft choices, prospects, or a surplus of roster players who fit in into the same slot on the roster.  Unless you're blindingly incompetant, there are also ways to free up the resources you need in order to make the moves you want to make.  Brian Burke traded to reacquire the Leafs second rounder necessary to threaten an offer sheet for Kessel.  Chiarelli shuttled out Morris for Seidenberg.  He shuttled out Flake Wheeler and Stuart to create room for Peverley and Kelley.  All of these moves made the roster better, they were made with little or no cap space, there was little real cost required to grease the wheels (dropping a round or two on a draft pick, giving up two players who had peaked and so became superfluous).

I'll also quote one of the most sensible things Burke has ever said in response to the "keep the space for deadline acquisitions".  If you're a big player at the deadline, it's because you fundamentally scrooged the pooch when crafting your roster.  If you're saving cap space because you think the deadline will cure all ills, you're lost already.  And if you're just picking up some nice-to-have complimentary pieces, deadline acquisitions only count for about 1/4th of their salary against the team's cap.  If you have $1.5M available, you can add a guy who makes $6M annually.  The Cap is measured in real dollars available against commitments.  If you're acquiring a veteran rental to cover for a rookie who isn't performing well enough, you demote the rookie and create approximately half of the space you need.

Everyone remembers that the Bruins won the Cup last year, right?  Remember also that they were over the Cap by some $7M when the season began?  That they had to do some gymnastics to manage the cap hit in mid-season (by Marco)?  That they still made three separate deals to acquire players they felt improved the roster at or near the deadline?  All season, they supposedly had the cloud of impending cap doom hovering - and it had zero effect.  They won the Cup.

I've said it on other threads and I'll say it again - Chiarelli managed the cap like pro rather than a fan.  He manipulated all of the resources and easements and overages and protocols and free passes the NHL makes available so teams can develop the best possible roster within the bounds of the Cap rules.  As a result, he wasn't sitting there in the playoffs looking down at the bench thinking "boy, I hope Cap Space has a good game tonight.  Maybe Cap space will snipe one!"

There is no need to spend to the Cap at this point or tinker much with a team that has just won the CUP and has some good young players who should get better.  It will be nice to have the Cap room if the team does not play well and they need to make changes.

GM 1: I have $10M in cap space.  What can I do with it to improve the team?

In Response to Re: Cap Space:


Boy would he EVER. I think Zack's new contract & naming him the next Captain of the Devil's will be announced pretty soon.

Just wondering..Would it make sense to sign a player like Marchant he seems to

In Response to Re: Cap Space:


Actually, I'll take option 2 because option 2 involves having a plan to improve the team in which one consideration is figuring out how to remain cap compliant.  Option 1 is a guy with money burning a hole in his pocket.  It says nothing about whether real options exist that the money would help address, and that's the kind of thinking that leads to stupid, one off manouvers. 

If all things are equal prior to this statement and you're asking me only whether it's easier to make your planned moves and remain cap compliant if you have a $10M cushion, then yeah, option 1 sounds easier.  But only in rare circumstances - usually the result of terrible injury luck or the team's own mistakes - would I concede that option 1 necessarily leads to more success.  And I certainly wouldn't say it's the kind of necessary pre-condition of success that makes you want to cultivate the situation.

1. Have a plan, have a back up plan, have options.
2a. Look for realistic opportunities to upgrade your roster.  Consider the impact on your cap and the possible affect on the roster if you need to make moves to create space (i.e. see the whole picture).
2b. Make timely moves to upgrade the roster when the opportunities arise.
3. Ensure that you aren't over the Cap.

If you invert that order, you're putting the cart before the horse.  I think there are a lot of losing teams out there that are run this way.  And they will continue to be losing teams. That's why I say that if you're obsessed with Cap Space, you might as well cheer for them to lose.  It's just as bass-ackward.

All of the positives reinforce that Chiarelli knows what he is doing; he has had a plan all along, and had some disruptions[ Dave lewis]; He now has a bigger, faster, and younger core than a few years ago; He has an improved "farm" system in place; BUT, he still has problems to solve. Is Boychuck dependable? Does he really need Shawn Thornton? Are these his problems or Claude's ? Does he have the right team coaching staff ? Where should he focus to improve the existing roster ? How good is his scouting staff ? What does he want Mr. Jacobs to do to influence the next labor deal ?  Cap space really becomes a minor issue, although providing room for Savard to make his own decision is a major consideration. Anyone want these GM concerns ?

Marc Savard is done.  He was terrible last year.  If he comes back he would probably need a year to get his skill up to par, and at 35 up to par wouldn't be as good as DK or PB. There is no point in the Bruins committing a roster space to him at this point.  If he wants to play, the Bruins should send him to the minors.

I love Cap threads.
For no other reason than I enjoy watching Book work himself into a snit.