Quoting: BreKel
I don't know what it is about this deal, but I'm just not into it. Maybe it's the fact that Kevin is related to that slug Jimmy, and Vesey spurned us for the Rangers? I also think that Bjork has more upside than Vesey does. This just feels like a trade for the sake of making a trade. You're actually getting older throughout. I get Hayes is a pretty good player, but would he even want to come here and re-sign (seeing he's an RFA) after what his brother went through? Also, I'm pretty sure Donato has said he's not overly comfortable on the RW.
Also, not into Backes as the 4th line center. I really don't get the hate he's getting. He still is a good player and can play a 3rd line role. I'm not ready to demote him yet. Don't need Dominic Moore back.
Swap Heinen in for Bjork and drop Vesey, the 3rd rounder from NY and JFK from the deals and I would do that, but idk if that's enough to get Kevin. Kevin is a great player. His brother was not, and while sports talk shows and others went overboard in bashing him, he was absolutely deserving of a lot of criticism for the way he played. Why would Kevin Hayes want to come here? Because his family still lives here, he may not be enamored with the direction the Rangers are going in, and he's hopefully a professional who understands that his brother didn't play well here and in the end it just didn't work out. I've never heard reports that the Bruins ever treated him unprofessionally, and I remember many players on those teams going out of their way to comment on how well he was liked in the locker room. But in the end, what does it matter what Kevin wants? He's an RFA, and nobody in this league offer sheets anyone anymore ever. So he either signs or he doesn't play.
As for Backes, maybe you shouldn't look at it as "hate" so much as, "Are there other players that I would rather have playing on the top 3 lines than Backes?" For me, whenever I build my rosters, I think the answer is definitely yes, which is why Backes usually ends up on the 4th line. Unless you're building a "bruins do nothing" roster, in which case there is usually space for him on the 3rd line. But Heinen, JFK, Nash (if they re-sign him), Bjork, Fitzgerald - these are all players I would play in the top 9 over Backes (but I'm not an NHL coach).