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Poll: How should Boston handle its cap crunch?

marchboy

At this point, Boston Bruins fans following offseason headlines are probably tired of hearing about the team’s salary cap struggles.

Apologies for that, but there are reasons why such issues are festering: they’re the reigning Presidents Trophy winners who’ve experienced some tough losses and still need to lock up a key player or two. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is expected to answer that question/those questions soon enough, yet the conundrum remains as of today.

Washing away Marc Savard’s $4.027 million cap hit makes a -$800K cap more digestible, but new deals for RFAs Torey Krug and Reilly Smith would likely nullify or even exceed the remainder. So, the question is, what would you do if you were in Chiarelli’s shoes?

Rather than listing every player who could be traded, let’s roll out a few ideas to avoid hundreds of poll choices (note: “try to ...” indicates when an option seems more difficult to pull off):


  • Trade Brad Marchand - Despite his willingness to croon in video game commercials, the pest has actually ruffled feathers at times in the organization (rather than just getting under opponents’ skin). He’d likely command a healthy return as a talented-but-affordable player ($4.5 million cap hit through 2016-17) who is still in his prime at 26.
  • Trade Johnny Boychuk - The most-cited option, who most recently discussed and dismissed the possibility on Thursday. As valuable as he is to this team, younger defensemen like Krug and Dougie Hamilton might be able to dull the loss of his production. Besides, his $3.67 million cap hit will expire after this season and he might prove too costly when extension talks arise.
  • Try to trade Dennis Seidenberg - The heart-and-soul defenseman draws more than a little criticism for his possession numbers, at least in some quarters. His $4 million cap hit would mean relief, but the Bruins would probably really struggle to move him following that injury, unless they sugarcoat the deal in a way that might be difficult to stomach. (Of course, you never know in the NHL ...)
  • Try to trade Chris Kelly - He’s making $3 million, which is a little much at this point. He’s sort of like the forward version of Seidenberg, though he’s probably a little less marketable on the trade market.
  • Combine lesser/cheaper assets to make room - Perhaps the Bruins could package Gregory Campbell ($1.6 million), Daniel Paille ($1.3 million) and/or Adam McQuaid ($1.57 million) to open up space and room for younger players? It might be easier to pull off than moving Seidenberg and/or Kelly ...
  • Stay put and play hardball with Krug/Smith - The Bruins would go more than $3 million under the cap if you do the math with Savard’s LTIR-nullified cap hit, so the B’s could hand Krug and Smith “take it or leave it” deals while opting to move no one at all. This would be much easier said than done, mind you.
  • Other - There are any number of alternate possibilities here, so have at it.

(Seriously, feel free to use that “other” category if needed. If that means something wild like “trade Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask and Patrice Bergeron” ... it’s a free country. You can expand on such options in the comments, too.)

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Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins