Initial Creation Date: May 13, 2022

Published: May 13, 2022

Team: 2022-23 Boston Bruins

I think Bergeron stays one more year unless the B's win the Cup. If he stays, you bring back a similar roster and then try to replace Bergy through free agency in 2023 with Horvat, Miller, or O'Reilly. If he leaves though, you can't waste a whole year waiting. A trade is superior to a signing, as the UFA options are not great but will be paid like they are. Scheifele has a nice contract for the next two years and I think his extension AAV is probably around $7.5-$8MM which is doable for a No. 1 center scoring 70+ points.

Marchand may be an all-world player, but he's been skating on a line with Bergeron his whole career and is a creature of habit. Once Bergy leaves, Pastrnak needs to go back up to the top line to give Marchand some familiarity. Hall and Haula have built that connection and just need a Pastrnak-style player on the right side. It would be outstanding if Lysell can be that, but the B's can try to mix and match. Third line sticks and fourth line replaces Foligno with McLaughlin/Steen/Wagner, which is a net gain. Blue line stays largely the same though I think Zboril could push Clifton for starting job. I think you can sneak Brown through waivers.

The $2MM cushion will create enough cap space by the deadline to add a middle-six rental if Lysell, Haula, Frederic, etc. aren't working out. McLaughlin and Lysell are also waiver exempt and paper demotions will add even more space.

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