The one thing we know for a certainty is that the Bruins are keeping all options open with Loui Eriksson as the Monday trade deadline looms.
The free agent is on pace for 30 plus goals and 70 points in the final season of his contract with the Bruins and Eriksson has been on fire offensively as all of these potential distractions lurk around him. Cam Neely confirmed to the Felger and Mazz show on Thursday that the Bruins had made an offer within the last couple of days to Eriksson’s camp and it’s believed the Bruins didn’t go beyond the 3-4 year comfort zone for a right wing who will be 31 this summer.
“There have been recent discussions. Don [Sweeney] had sent something their way the other day. We haven’t got a response yet. There are ongoing discussions,” said Neely. “I know Don is talking to a number of teams about things, not specifically Loui. But it’s ‘how are we going to improve our club today or tomorrow.”
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Eriksson negotiations are expected to continue between Sweeney and J.P. Barry on Friday. If they can't bridge the significant gap in both money and term in short order, then the trade talks should begin in earnest this weekend.
The Bruins haven’t yet signaled to other teams Eriksson will definitely be traded by the Monday afternoon deadline and Sweeney is weighing what to do with Eriksson in a decision with significant long-term implications for the Black and Gold.
Almost 2,000 fans voted and 80 percent want Eriksson gone.
If the Bruins could get a deal done in the four-year, $20-24 million range, they might be tempted to go there for a smart, reliable player who’s trusted by the coaching staff in all situations. Still, that would be “hometown discount” territory for a player who will easily rate a 5-6 year deal for $30-36 million once unrestricted free agency comes around July 1. This will be Eriksson’s last chance at a big payday in his NHL career, so nobody begrudges him the desire to maximize his earning power on the free market.
Essentially, the Bruins have now done just enough to say “Hey, we tried to sign him” when Eriksson walks away in the summertime.
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But the Bruins shouldn’t, and won’t, go there leading up to the trade deadline for a player entering hockey middle age with a concussion history in his past. So, that leaves an extremely difficult decision on Sweeney’s plate in his first year running the Black and Gold: whether to ride things out with Eriksson on a team destined for the playoffs, or maximize their asset on a trade market to bring them back a first-round pick and prospect for Eriksson at minimum.
Once the Chicago Blackhawks forked over a first-round pick and prospect Marko Dano to Winnipeg for Andrew Ladd, that gave the Bruins a bare minimum return on Eriksson, should they deal him to the highest bidder. Even better, Western Conference teams such as the Kings, Blues, Ducks and Stars are now under significant pressure to answer Chicago with big deadline moves of their own headed down the stretch.
The Wild are also a wild card in any Eriksson trade discussions with no pun intended.
The Blues, Ducks and Wild all need the kind of scoring that Eriksson can provide, and all three teams have a surplus of defensemen (Matthew Dumba, Kevin Shattenkirk, Sami Vatanen) who would make for good fits in Boston. Those kinds of deals may also be revisited by the Bruins and their multiple first-round picks, in the summertime.
An Eriksson trade would undoubtedly challenge the morale inside the Bruins dressing room in the final 20 regular-season games this season, but there should also be a reality check for the B’s organization.
The harsh truth that the Bruins talent evaluators should be fully aware of by now: they’re not a serious playoff contender this season even in a mediocre Eastern Conference.
While wins such as Wednesday night over the Penguins show the B’s can pull things together at certain moments, the roster is far too flawed defensively and lacking overall depth, to do much of anything in the postseason. So, the Bruins should either A) fully maximize their asset by dealing Eriksson for significant future returns such as a first-round pick and a prospect or B) use Eriksson for an old-fashioned hockey trade to improve their defense.
That’s the smart, cold-blooded move for the Bruins, who have already done enough to get into the postseason and will get there barring a collapse that sees them play well below .500 hockey the rest of the way. An Eriksson deal could also open up a top-six spot on the wing for an explosive player in Frank Vatrano, who has 23 goals and 34 points in 22 AHL games for the Providence Bruins. The experience of playoff-level intensity NHL games for Vatrano down the stretch would pay dividends for this Bruins team short term and long term.
Still, don’t underestimate the Bruins’ desire to return to the playoffs after missing out last year for the first time in eight seasons. That circumstance might eventually sway Sweeney and Neely from trading an asset in Eriksson now at his highest possible value and thereby not do what’s best long term for an organization that’s still in retooling mode.
It will be interesting to see what the Bruins do with Eriksson with the clock ticking toward Monday afternoon and it will reveal plenty about the master plan in place behind closed doors.