By: Chad Smith
Northeast Division Checklist
With the draft over and free agency right underway here is a
checklist for the Northeast Division.
Boston Bruins
1.
Trade Tim Thomas. Never in the history of sports
has an athlete gone from no name, to king of a city, to a villain as quickly as
this guy. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Bruins on his back he rose to
fame. He used that fame as a platform to project his thoughts, which made
people look at him funny. Now he is taking the year off and being a typical arrogant
athlete. So with that said the Bruins need to trade him for a puck and get rid
of his $5 million cap hit. This should be fairly easy as teams near the bottom
of the salary floor will want the cap hit but not have to pay him.
2.
Lock Tuukka Rask up long term. I say this with a
grain of salt because I have a massive man crush on Tuukka. As the old saying
goes, two U’s two K’s two points. This kid is the real deal and is solid in
net. He will be a top 5 goalie in the NHL within the next 3 years and he’s only
25 years old. Once Thomas is off the books you shift some of that money over to
Rask. Rask has been waiting years to be the number one guy in Boston and now
the crease is going to be all his for the next 10-15 years.
3.
Add a top 6 forward. This is a bit of a stretch
but put Savard on long term injury (this will happen) then go after Zach
Parise. With Horton uncertain for the start of the season the Bruins might as
well go after the biggest prize on the free agency market. If this doesn’t
happen the Bruins will have some cap room so they need to sign a top 6 forward
to replace Horton.
Ottawa Senators
1.
Add a top 6 forward. After making the playoffs
and losing to the Rangers in the first round the Senators are in a good place
but need to add a top 6 forward to help out with the scoring up front. The
Senators have a solid defense core which helped them take the Rangers to a
seventh game.
2.
Get a goalie. Craig Anderson is a good goalie,
but I do not think he will lead a team to the cup. Roberto Luongo is available
via trade and the Senators should kick the tires on him along with what else is
out there on the trade market.
3.
Look into trading Daniel Alferdsson. I know it
sounds a bit crazy to trade the captain but the guy is 39 years old and the
Senators are not close to winning a Cup. The Senators should trade him for a
few prospects and give him a chance to win a Cup. The Senators have been in
rebuild/stay the course mode. The Sens need to load up or start rebuilding
around their young defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Buffalo Sabres
1.
Get a top 6 forward. They might even need to get
two but this has to get done immediately. They can’t win games 0-0 and rely on
Ryan Miller to bail them out every game. He has been one of the best goalies in
the NHL for the past few years but he gets no help from his offense. The Sabres
need to get some scoring. They wasted Hasak’s career by not putting guys around
him. You’re supposed to learn from your mistakes, not repeat them and that’s
what they are doing with Miller. Please don’t waste another great goalie’s
career.
2.
Get a top 4 defenseman. Tyler Myers is a great
young defenseman but they need to put someone around him. The Sabres need
someone who can make defensive plays and get the puck out of the zone away from
Miller.
3.
Add role players. If the Sabres can add some
depth along with the two points mentioned above they can be a contender for the
Cup. The Sabres need guys on their 3rd and 4th lines who
can get hot and pop a couple goals and not turn the puck over. They have one of
the best goalies in the world and he can carry a team on his back, he just
needs a team to carry.
Toronto Maple Leafs
1.
Get a goalie. Roberto Luongo is an overrated
goalie but he is better than anything the Leafs have. They need to make this
trade happen. It’s rumored that Luongo wants to stay in Canada and would be
willing to go to the Leafs.
2.
Get a defenseman. After trading Luke Schenn to
the Flyers for JVR the Leafs need to get a defenseman who can move the puck.
The Leafs are stacked up front and are going to light up the score board, but
that won’t matter much if your defensemen are turnstiles who can’t get the puck
out of their zone.
3.
Progress the young guys. This team is young and
if they can come together they are going to be fun to watch. Since Brian Burke
took over as GM the Leafs have been in rebuilding mode and have brought in some
talented guys. If this team doesn’t make the playoffs this season Burke could
be out of a job and Toronto could be going through some more years in the
hockey cellar.
Montreal
1.
Give Carry Price a long term deal. Carry Price
is slightly a head case so why not give the guy a long term contract? Then
that’s one thing that’s not in his head while he’s trying to stop pucks. He
proved he can take a team into the playoffs and go shot for shot with the other
goalie 2 years ago against Boston.
2.
Get their heads on straight. This team had a
serious case of Cranius Rectus (heads up their asses) last season and was never
able to get it going. Maybe new coach Michael Therrien can get this team to
move in the right direction. If he can do that they have a talented team who
can make a run.
3.
Stop signing and taking on bad contracts. The
Canadiens for years have been the Yankees of hockey. They need stop spending on
overrated players and start making hockey moves. Marc Bergevin can change that
culture this off season by making smart hockey decisions.
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