Quoting: Propeller09
- Nobody really wants to play where they are not wanted. Most guys who have NTC's end up waiving. Some don't, most do. Plus you know the team trading for you wants you. So Ego, pride, call it what you will.
Yes, I agree, but this is somewhat different (certainly in Krejci's case) than telling a player "Hey, you suck, we hate you. Now waive your NTC so you can leave." Krejci doesn't suck, and the Bruins' message to him wouldn't be one of "We don't want you here." It's "We can't afford to have you here" which is ENTIRELY different. Why is it Krejci's responsibility to help the team out of cap mismanagement? He's spent more than a decade in this organization, and he'd be leaving to go to a team that likely wouldn't have nearly as good a chance of competing for the Cup as Boston would (if they sign JT).
Quoting: Propeller09
- Krejci's NMC goes to half the teams next off season. I am certain there are teams on that list he would not want to go to under any circumstance. Let's say there are 10 cities he would actually want to play in. From a very outside point of view The Original 6 and then 4 more of personal preference. That leaves 5 places he cannot eliminate, that he has no desire to go to. That might not be a risk he is willing to take. If they agree to deal him somewhere he wants to go opposed to somewhere he cannot eliminate.
So clearly this is all speculation on your part about where he would or wouldn't want to go. The idea that he would waive his NMC to go "where he wants" assumes that the team he'd want to go to would also actually want him, and would be able to make a deal for him.
The problem with all this is that Krejci has already said where he wants to go:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20140908/BLOGS/140907114
Twice.
https://www.masslive.com/bruins/index.ssf/2016/04/boston_bruins_injuries_david_krejci_to_have_hip_surgery_plans_to_return_to_czech_republic_after_cont.html
He wants to stay in Boston, and then when his contract is up he wants to go home to the Czech Republic. There is no way he is waiving his NMC to go anywhere and upset the comfortable life he's got in Boston. As for the following season, yes, he could block a trade to half the league. He could still really screw with the Bruins plans to trade him with that kind of power. He could announce to any team trying to trade him that he would retire if they did trade for him. You think teams would even dare risking assets in a trade for him at that point? Either way, spending 2 years vs 3 in a new city is a better proposition no matter how you slice it, so the Bruins will undoubtedly have to wait until next year to trade him.
Quoting: Propeller09
- Backes - Same deal, although his is more limited. He seems like a pride guy though & also has to know he would be a buyout candidate.
THE BRUINS CANNOT BUYOUT DAVID BACKES' CONTRACT. Please! Go and use the buyout calculator on this site and see what would happen if they did. They would get better relief from burying him in the minors at that rate.
And as unlikely a scenario it would be for Krejci to waive his NMC this year, it seems even more unlikely that Backes would waive his to leave a Stanley Cup favorite (if they sign JT) when he has never even competed for the Cup in his career! I don't actually believe he would waive his NMC to go back to St. Louis (or Minnesota, as others have suggested). And he certainly wouldn't be waiving it to go to some crapbag team that would take him on as a salary dump. I do agree that the "pride" thing plays a bigger role with Backes than Krejci, because it seems crystal clear Backes hasn't lived up to his contract with the Bruins. And there is more of an argument to be made that he "sucks" than there is with Krejci.
Quoting: Propeller09
IF they were to sign Tavares, Krejci would be gone next off season to clear money to sign kids. There is almost no scenario which he wouldn't be gone.
I generally agree, although I would rather they make that decision a year from now instead of right this very moment. Maybe one of Donato, Heinen, McAvoy, Carlo etc have a really bad season that tanks their value and the Bruins come away with a cheaper contract than we are thinking right now. If they sign Tavares, keep Krejci this year, and do the Backes trade I suggested, they would have 15M in cap space going into the 2019 offseason. That also assumes the cap stays where it, which is highly unlikely. The Bruins also have leverage with all of those players in that they are all RFAs, none of whom have arbitration rights. Look at what the Lightning did with Kucherov in his last contract. They force fed him an AAV that made him end up being a real steal, only because they literally had no more money left to give after re-signing Stamkos. But nobody talks about Kucherov being a malcontent because of it. He's just looking to maximize his value on his next contract. So why wouldn't the Bruins be able to do something like that? The way people talk, it's like they think the Bruins will be obligated to pay Donato and Heinen 5M each or something. I'd be shocked if they got more than 3M AAV in their next contracts, and even that would be generous for a guy like Donato who would have only had 1.25 years in the league.
If the Bruins do find themselves in the 2019 offseason still with Krejci on the books and needing cap space, they could buyout Krejci's contract. When you're done looking at the Backes scenario, check that one out too. That is way more financially feasible.