Boston Bruins Trade Rumors

Written by PuckMe    Last Updated ( Monday, 01 November 2010 08:24 ) PDF Print E-mail

Marc Savard and Marco Sturm are close to returning to the hockey team.... so GM Peter Chiarelli has to make some trades or demotions soon to fit the players coming back under the salary cap.

The following article was taken from the Boston Globe...

Savard’s progress, in part, has Chiarelli looking to trim the club’s payroll, be it by trades or other means. Chiarelli boldly stated he would not shy away from placing a current roster player in the minor leagues — perhaps sooner than anyone might expect — to save or relax payroll dollars.

“If we have to warehouse someone in the minors, we’ll do that,’’ said Chiarelli. “I don’t want to do it, but I will do it, if it becomes necessary.’’

 

Demoting a player sooner rather than later could have implications late in the season, if, say, the Bruins are looking to add a role player to secure a playoff spot or make a serious postseason run. In the salary-capped NHL, bad deals are always bad deals in terms of how they impact a club’s payroll — and what room is left against the cap come March and April.

Speculation began months ago, when it became apparent the Bruins would face significant cap issues, that veteran winger Michael Ryder could be ditched to Providence (AHL). On the books for $4 million, Ryder has been playing right wing on a line with Mark Recchi and slick rookie Tyler Seguin and has collected two goals and five points in seven games. That’s a pace approaching 60 points over an 82-game season, a significant uptick from his lackluster (18-15—33) production last season.

But given the cap pressures on Chiarelli, who soon will need to find room for Savard ($4 million) and Marco Sturm ($3.5 million), Ryder could be gone no matter what his production. If his numbers plummet, then he’ll likely be assigned to Providence. If he remains at least offensively viable (he scored a career-high 63 points with Montreal in 2003-04), then Chiarelli will be able to trade him and ostensibly swap in Savard or Sturm.

Even with Ryder’s $4 million off the books, there isn’t enough cap space for both Savard and Sturm, both of whom have no-trade deals. Chiarelli will have to pare elsewhere, which could mean trading Blake Wheeler ($2.2 million) and either dealing or demoting Daniel Paille ($1.075 million). Paille would have to clear waivers to be demoted, and his relatively low cap hit probably makes him easy to move.

Tags: Boston Bruins Trade Rumors Boston Bruins Hockey Trade Rumours
NHL Trade Rumor Created on Monday, 01 November 2010 08:10
 

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