U have the extra money. Why not resign Rick Nash (He’ll only b about 3-4M) and throw him with Riley for fun?

It would need to be a 1 year deal for Nash IMO because Boston has 8 RFA's due up for new contract and they can't tie that up in Nash. I'd give Nash a 1yr $4 mill, but I'm sure someone else goes more.

Sure, it’d have to b if Nash is interested in resigning in Boston.

"Wow Sweeney is pretty good." A year or so ago, Boston fans wanted to throw him in the Boston Harbour like a bag of tea.

Well im not a bruins fan

That was really when he first took over. I think the last few seasons most B's fan saw what he was trying to do with the roster and understood. It tough though when you come in and trade away Lucic and Hamilton with a return that is futures. The thing with Sweeney is he's really a "rookie GM" and so he's learning on the fly. He's going to make mistakes (and has), but as a B's fans you just accept that those mistakes happen to ever team.

The Bruins have show it should be a "a team of envy" by many. Good/very good team, nice cap going forward, NHL or near NHL ready prospects. And Boston the team/city continues to place where players want to come to which helps in signing UFAs or retaining your current players.

Not sure I'd call it "team of envy" vs showing other teams that you can retool in 2-3 years with the right drafting. I think the downfall for most successful teams is they hit a point where they are not developing enough talent and instead spend picks at the TDL to try and keep a team a contender.

To do it without getting the #1 overall pick is certainly impressive. You look at all the successful teams in the league and, for the most part, they're built thru the draft (or trades for prospects whom they develop). UFA's and deadline deals only work to enhance an already solid core.

I think the Rangers are a good example of a team that just kept trying to keep it together for too long. 2017 was the first year they made a 1st round selection since 2012. Not to mention from 2012 to 2016 only two guys have become Ranger regulars and that's Skjei and Buchnevich. I think now though the Rangers are in a great spot and they could re-tool even faster. They'll have 3 first rounders next season and roughly $30 million in cap space. It sounds like Nash wants to come back, Kovy is a guy that could join the Rangers. Maybe you package some of those first to get a guy like OEL into the mix or go after a Hoffman, someone whose young, but still an impact player. I still wouldn't rule out them signing JT as well.

Ranger fans should be excited for the direction their franchise is going.

Agreed. The Rangers have been in the mix for a cup most years tho, so can't fault them too much for trying to hang in there. It's tough too when you have some free agents or trade targets specifically say they want to come play in NY...so I can see why they'd make a move for some of those players.

Good on them, tho, for taking a step back, realizing how much other teams have passed them by, and starting a re-build. I still wouldn't put it past them to overpay in free agency this off season or trade their picks away

For the right deals, why not. If you can move some picks for a Hoffman or a Stone, guys that will be long-term assets then do it. Hanks window is only open for so much longer so if all the pieces fall into place, maybe you take another shot. If the Rangers go out and add JT and Kovy while using 0 picks, I think you almost have to use 1 or 2 of those picks for a now player. Those two alone change how good the Rangers could be with the pieces already in place. The biggest obstacle IMO is getting Staal off the books.

Valid points. I personally wouldn't want any part of Kovulchuk. Just don't think he'll be worth the price/length it will cost to bring him back over unless he's willing to do a 1yr deal.

Regarding Kovi. I really wonder about the KHL. Yea, Kovi is the leader scorer, and see folks wanting to throw 8m at him. # 3 scorer in KHL, Nigel Dawes. Don't know if he even gets an. NHL offer. I know scoring points isn't really an indication of of whether a player might be a good NHLer, but geez, I agree with you, stay away from Kovi and spend money on players you really know.