I wanted to pose the question to the Bruins group, because although I have my own thoughts, I would love to get a consensus as to whom the Bruins should focus on.

As we all know, Chara is past the big-4-0 and it's entirely likely that within the next two seasons, he will cease to be a top four defenseman, or retire. This would leave our defense like this:

??? - McAvoy
Krug - Carlo
Grzelcyk - K. Miller

There are plenty of LHD prospects in the pipeline (Lauzon, Zboril, and Urho in particular) but it's probably ridiculous to expect that they will develop into a top two defenseman, capable of playing on a level with McAvoy.

Additionally, with an aging forward core (Bergeron, Krecji, Marchand, and Backes are all close to or above 30), we really should aim to keep this window open to the extent we can. The players will eventually get replaced, but cap dynamics could be tricky, the players might fall off in skill, or the prospects won't develop to their same skill level.

This leaves the Bruins with a few options:

1) Wait for prospects to develop, and hope one of them can step in there
2) Pair Krug or Grzelcyk with McAvoy, and fill in the second/third pair
3) Trade for an established No. 2-quality defenseman
- Obvious trade candidates include, but are not limited to: Ekman-Larsson, McDonagh

What do you think we should do?

I personally think they should trade for a top 2 defenseman. They have 4 ld prospects that even if they all pan out won't all be able to play. Not interested in OEL as I personally dont see all the hype behind him but McDonagh or even Jake Muzzin could be good options long term. If the price is too high, just wait. They dont need to force anything at the moment

So are we all on the same page that McAvoy is really the "heir to the throne," and this thread is a discussion to find his potential partner? McAvoy is the team's #1 defenseman, going forward. It doesn't really matter what side the #1 guy plays.

Yes, McAvoy is the true heir, and this is a discussion to find his partner. Sorry for not being clear.

I would argue that players generally play better on their standard side. I also don't really see a big reason to move McAvoy to the left unless you can find a really quality RHD, either through trade or free agency. If there's a position the Bruins lack prospect depth, it's RHD.

I wasn't suggesting moving McAvoy to the left side. Bruins seem to like their LHD on the left side and their RHD on the right side.

Ah I misunderstood. Gotcha now. So then what do you think they should to fill the top-left spot?

I guess I'd pose the question: Do we really need a legit top pairing guy to play w/ McAvoy?

Don't get me wrong it'd be great, but for years Chara was given fridge 2nd pairing guys and more times than not was given 3rd pairing talent or rookies. So why couldn't McAvoy make it work w/ someone that plays a similar style to Chara? A defensive minded guy that doesn't need to be a major offensive threat, but can cover the backend so McAvoy can get engaged offensively.

I personally think that guy is in house and when Chara is set to retire he'll move up with McAvoy. That guy is Lauzon. If everyone develops the way that I'm hope they do, I think the following top 4 could be interesting 3-4 years from now.

Lauzon - McAvoy
Zboril - Carlo

I know Chara is 40, but I think he plays another season. So by then, Zboril and Lauzon would have close to two full seasons at the AHL level, assuming that they don't make the team going into next season (which as of right now, I don't know see a spot, assuming Grzelcyk is here. Chara will be back and Krug is already under contract). Vaakanainen may be young, but he's been playing professional in Liiga 16-17 years old. He currently leads his Liiga team in TOI for defenseman as a 19 year old. playing 22 minutes a night. His game would compliment McAvoy's well. He's a great skater and sound in his own end.

Unless Chara retires after this season, or the Bruins go out and acquire a McDonagh, it's hard to really predict an outside signing/trade right now for the future. By the time we really need to worry about a partner for McAvoy, he'll have, at least, 2 seasons of NHL experience under his belt. By then, he may be able to carry a 'rookie' or a guy with limited experience.

I guess my concern with that is that if you pair up an elite player with McAvoy, then you can kill the other team in whatever minutes that pair plays. Giving McAvoy a weaker partner (say, a #4) means that they won't be as effective in the minutes he plays, and you need a better group on the second pair. Maybe it's just me, but I don't think Carlo is going to get a whole lot better than he is now, and I'm not sure I bank on Zboril to be that kinda player on the second pair. Is Krug-Carlo really a plus or a double-plus second pair? I'm not sure the answer is yes.

There's also the separate issue of everyone developing as expected, but I digress.



That's a good point. I didn't really consider that. I only watched Urho at the World Juniors: wasn't too impressed but that's not really his game anyway. I can't remember him getting walked.

There might also be an interesting discussion to be had (potentially this season, if Chara rests a few games) of pairing Grzelcyk with McAvoy. Grzelcyk plays a very different game from Chara, so it would be an adjustment for McAvoy, but Grzelcyk's numbers in a bottom pairing role have been excellent. Is there a legitimate conversation to be had about him being a good partner for McAvoy?

It would be interesting to see Grzelcyk with McAvoy, but before that happens, I'd want to see how Grzelcyk handles better competition for a long stretch before getting put on a 1st pairing. Chara/McAvoy handle, usually, the other team's top lines. Grzelcyk/McQuaid, as a 3rd pairing, usually handle the lesser lines. Granted, there are times that you just can't get those match ups.

That said, if a guy like Jared Spurgeon, who is 5'9'' 165lbs. can play top pairing minutes (25+ minute average this season) in Minnesota and be an asset in the defensive/offensive zone (he's a very good two way guy), then Grzelcyk is proving he potentially could.

So a 21yr old in his 2nd season playing the hardest position and he's already hit his ceiling? I have to call BS on this as most d-men his age are not even playing in the NHL. People seem to use McAvoy as a measuring stick now and he's the exception not the norm.

This isn't really a new take. People were saying this last year as the Duchene rumors swirled. Carlo was a second round pick, and even going back to junior he was never a big scorer. Sure, he could develop into a Hjalmersson or a Vlasic, but even Vlasic has a year where he was at a point-per-game with the Quebec Ramparts.

I'm not saying he isn't serviceable, but expecting him to be anything more that a second-paring guy (even Hjalmarsson is a #3) just isn't right.

And I'm more than fine if hes' nothing more than a shutdown 2nd pairing guy lol

Keep the price tag nice and low since this is a league that points pay. Alzner, for example, is one of the better shutdown defenseman in the league (granted he was better in Washington), and he was on a 2.8M contract and is on a 4.6M contract.

Exactly. It's just as important to keep pucks out of your own net than it is putting pucks in your opponents.

Yup. And if you put him with a guy who's a bit more offensive and push that pace, it works out well...Krug for example works well.

Side point: It's a thought funny thought but if Carlo was a LHD, he'd be the perfect compliment to McAvoy, in my opinion.

As stated before in this thread, I too believe Vaakanainen will probably be McAvoys eventual D partner a few years down the road. I cant see why the Bruins wouldve drafted him that high and in a position where they have a fair amount of depth, unless they really had a plan behind it. Yea we can talk about some iffy picks with Senyshyn and Zboril in the past, but they are obviously really high on Vaakanainen who’s been playing 23 mins a night in La Liiga and proving he can be a shutdown defenseman, playing against men. Reminds me of 2011 Seidenberg with Chara.

I'm not trying to go off topic here, and I guess if you want to discuss this further, we can always go to the prospect thread, but Zboril wasn't an iffy pick in 2015. He was the consensus best defenseman available.

I’m not arguing that he wasn’t the best defenseman available or that it was a waste of a pick, what Im saying is that there is argument out there that they couldve picked someone else as there usually is with any pick in the draft when lookig back on it. The point I was making is that when looking back at Zboril and Senyshyn, the motive seemed a little bit panicked and rushed by Bruins management when making those selections as their original goal was to move up in the draft and select Hanifin. With Vaakanainen, the Bruins were going into the draft with a pretty decent depth of LHD and upon making the selection seemed like they had a more clear idea of what their plan was with the pick and I believe they see him as a fit to partner with McAvoy

When he comes over from Liiga, I honestly don't think he'll need a long time in the AHL. This will be his 3rd season there (2.5, if you don't feel his 25 games back in 2015-2016 is a full season), and he's not even 20 yet. He comes over, gets acclimated to the smaller ice, and he could be close to ready.

All reports I've read on him say he also has some offensive potential. I really feel that the bigger ice can slow point production for young players. For example, defenseman under 20, his 8 points puts him 4th out of 26 other defenseman.

So it seems like most people here think the solution is to wait on Urho and one of Zboril/Lauzon. That makes sense to me, even though I think it's still a good idea to consider swapping one or two of them for something really good now.

2019-20 Defense
Vaakanainen - McAvoy
Grzelcyk - Carlo
Krug - Miller

I’d sign Calvin De Haan if I were the Bruins. Solid option as a top four LHD, doesn’t have to be a long term contract. No need to trade for a guy like McDonagh or OEL

As of right now, all 3 LHD are expected to be back next season, unless the Bruins deal Krug/Grzelcyk. De Haan wouldn’t be a bad grab if he came cheap but I’m not sure Boston wants to lock themselves into a contract with a guy like him. I could see McDonagh because he’s a top pairing guy.

This really is a tough spot for Boston. Grzelcyk’s play has really changed things. I’m not sure anyone expected him to make this kind of impact on the backend.

There are so few players like Chara, it may not be possible for Boston to "replace" him. All the Bruins can do is sign the right dmen and have them play up to their potential.

Definitely not replacing a player like Chara. he's a first ballot HOF'er and one of the most unique defenseman that will ever play this game. He's not replaceable, like you said. However, what is replaceable is finding that next #1 defenseman, which is McAvoy. This discussion seems to be more on his next partner, after Chara retires. Now, Chara wants to continue playing, so I see him as a top 4 option here for at least 2018-2019. I think Chara is going to be a year-to-year guy from here on out. He's still playing at a high level, and until he slows down, I will view him as what he is.

Bruins have plenty of potential in-house guys that could fit nicely with McAvoy (a bunch listed above). They can trade for him, if they see a fit and with their depth in the prospect pool, have plenty of ammunition to acquire one, or they could sign one, like you said. I'm not overly impressed with LHD for free agency for this season, but in 2018-2019, OEL and McDonagh hit the market. There's actually a very good crop in 2018-2019. OEL, McDonagh, Gardiner, Schmidt just to name the guys who stand out.

Bruins have time to figure this out, so long as Chara continues to play well.