Sweeney bolsters B’s depth
Lands scoring and size in duo of deals
As far as proven talent goes, Bruins’ GM Don Sweeney may not have made the same splash that he did two years ago when he landed Rick Nash. He didn’t pull off the same roster-transforming moves he did last year when he solidified the middle of the ice with the acquisition of Charlie Coyle and added wing Marcus Johansson.
But considering some of the big fish linked to the B’s never went anywhere, Sweeney had himself another pretty good NHL trade deadline in what he was able to accomplish, both for the present and the future. Chris Kreider re-signed with the Rangers. Kyle Palmieri stayed put in New Jersey. Even sentimental favorite Joe Thornton chose to stay home in San Jose.
Meanwhile, Sweeney was able to address a couple needs — at least in theory. On Friday, he got the right-shooting, shoot-first type of wing they’ve been looking for seemingly forever in Ondrej Kase. It may require a lot of finger- and toe-crossing so that he stays healthy, but Kase has the potential — we repeat, potential — to be a home run with his skill level. At Monday’s trade deadline, Sweeney addressed the team’s size-and-snarl deficiency by obtaining 6-2, 230pound Nick Ritchie. On top of that, Sweeney was able to give himself a little leeway in cap space moving forward by jettisoning the contracts of Danton Heinen in the Ritchie deal and 75% of David Backes’ deal in the Kase trade that also cost them a first round pick and mid-level prospect Axel Andersson.
That they are better today than they were on Friday morning is hard to deny. Backes had been in “purgatory” (his term) for the past month while the B’s searched for a trade partner and Danton Heinen, who had so much promise as a rookie two years ago and is still a versatile puzzle piece that could be missed down the road, was struggling and trending toward being a healthy scratch after the Kase deal.
Just how much better is something we’ll just have to see.
Sweeney feels he bolstered a first-place team that has shown him a lot this year.
“I’ve been proud of our group. Where they were in losing a Game 7 last year and where they are today, I think they should be proud of themselves. But I do believe at this time of year, if you have the opportunity to look at areas to improve your hockey club and add depth, you have to do that,” said Sweeney. “As of today, we’re a fairly healthy group and hopefully it remains as such and we’ve maintained our depth, addressing some areas we felt we needed to. Secondary scoring is always so important and it was valuable to us in the playoffs last year and we believe that Ondrej will provide some of that with the speed element to his game. And now Nick on the other side to be able to complement, hopefully, if he goes in plays with Charlie
Coyle, those are two big guys that are hard to contain. Anders (Bjork) will flip over to the other side. Karson (Kuhlman) is a part of that. And we have players in Providence that are playing very well who could come up and provide depth.”
While there was money saved (a little over $3 million), presumably with an eye toward re-signing some of his own free agent class headed by Torey Krug, these moves were made because of what’s in front of them this season, Sweeney stressed.
“They’re all variables, but I don’t think that’s our intention. We’re a cap team and we’re likely to have overages based on being a cap team and some of the injuries we’ve had during the course of the season,” said Sweeney, who is still hoping Kevan Miller will come off long-term injured reserve at some point this season, though there’s no timeline. “We’re trying to address the needs of our hockey club, first and foremost, and we tried to do that with these two acquisitions.”
As for the Krug negotiations, Sweeney did not tip his hand, but a deal didn’t sound imminent.
“We’ve had talks. They’ve been very cordial. Both sides understand where they are. Whether or not we can bridge something along those lines is to be determined,” said Sweeney.
Though Heinen was not having a good year, he has been able to play up in the lineup and on both sides. But with Bjork and Kuhlman still in the fold, there was some redundancy with similar third line-type players. Ritchie is a different kind of player. While he hasn’t fought in almost two years, he is capable. And whether it’s a coincidence or not, he’s tangled with some of tough customers who’ve recently gone to Eastern Conference contenders, including Kyle Clifford (Toronto), Zach Bogosian (Tampa) and Brenden Dillon (Washington). Nick, of course, is the younger brother of Brett, who was given the opportunity to be the same kind of presence with the B’s and wound up in Providence.
“I knew I’d get asked the question, Did I get the right Ritchie this time?” said Sweeney with a smile. “We do believe he adds an element to our hockey club that we didn’t have prior to today and we’re happy about it. There’s some big-bodied hockey that’s going to be played going forward.”
And now the B’s are better equipped to play that kind of hockey. Again, in theory.