While I was outside with my pooch it dawned on me: what are the plans going forward with the Bruins two defenseman? The Bruins have a stacked defense throughout their organization right now, but what happens when they return? We are getting closer to the cut-off point with Clifton, before he would have to clear waivers in the event of a healthy defenseman returning. There is virtually no way he makes it through if that is the case.
With Kevan Miller being the most likely candidate, you instantly have an issue with Clifton and Kampfer. The most talked about scenario is trading Miller. He is an UFA at seasons end, but don’t you think teams would want to see him in action before saying ok? We know what he bring to the table as far as physicality goes. But does that give him the nod over Clifton? There are a lot of teams out there who would like this problem.
Tale of the tape:
Kevan Miller: 6-foot-2, 210 pounds.
Nicolas Deslauriers: 6-foot-1, 221 pounds.What a fight. pic.twitter.com/KL4sDujA2v
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) January 15, 2019
The Bruins sorely missed Kevan last season in the Cup finals, (oh, what could have been! Ugh!), but this is a new season folks. Time to put last year behind us. When I looked up Millers’ contract on Cap Friendly, he will be making $2.5 million this season. That doesn’t seem like it would be a hard contract to move, but again you aren’t making that deal without seeing him play. What I’m trying to say is that this is a sticky situation for Don. When you consider Steven Kampfer makes $800,000 dollars, that is nothing in the NHL world. There is always the possibility he gets released, freeing up a spot, but his contract is so cheap you could use it almost as a throw-in for a move.
John Moore the first guy out on the ice for the #Bruins in their optional skate. pic.twitter.com/1mldm1XgbE
— Raul Martinez (@RaulNBCBoston) June 12, 2019
The other player I need to touch on is John Moore. With his contract situation being $2.7 million for four years, the Bruins will need to come to a solution on him when he is ready. There are players in Providence right now who are ready to make the jump (Lauzon, for example) but they are being blocked by players already in Boston. What I personally would do? Try and move him at all costs. With the left side already set in stone, how can you justify keeping him around? There is that problem though, like I touched on earlier: the other teams are going to want to see him in action.
The Bruins brass have some hard decisions to be made here in the not-so-distant future. How they decide to go will have ramifications for all players involved. We can speculate what needs to be done, but that really isn’t going to change the Bruins landscape here. Who knows? Maybe they find a trade partner and get some help on that second line. The Bruins aren’t exactly a weak product out here, but if you can make a move to bolster your line up you do it. There is always cap situations that need to be considered when doing anything, I’m sorry, but there’s a vast majority of fans who forget about that daily.
What they decide will go a long way into this young and promising season. We will all be watching with wonder as they go for the Cup again. We gotta put our collective trust in management that the outcome is satisfying on the ice. We aren’t in the front lines here, but we are passionate fans who want our team to win before this core is gone. I will be watching and hoping for the best outcome possible.
That is all for now, Thank you very much for the kind words I have received on Twitter – it means a lot to me. There is one thing though I wanna really say before I go: my man Krejci – get better please? This Bruins team needs you back out there. Also – I need a Bjork-Coyle-Heinen third line like we need oxygen. Well folks enjoy your day and as always Go Bruins!
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