The Czech colony in hockey Boston is a bit narrower. Before the transfer deadline, the Bruins traded Jakub Zbořil, who could not get out of the farm this season. In return, they received a startling consideration.
Despite the year-over-year deterioration, Boston remains among the Stanley Cup contenders.
However, unlike some competitors in the NHL, he did not add much before Friday’s transfer deadline, for which he is drawing criticism.
“The Bruins needed a center to help them with a significant deterioration on the bullpen compared to last season. It didn’t happen. They needed to increase the competition on the left side of the defense, ideally with an experienced defender to weaken. It didn’t happen. They needed a forward on the second third line to take away some of the loads of the team’s best players. That didn’t happen either,” summed up all the failures from the station’s Nick Goss NBC Sports.
According to him, the Massachusetts club is among the losers of the transfer deadline, which more or less corresponds to the view of other overseas media.
Online diary The Athletic gave Boston general manager Don Sweeney three points out of ten. Only three clubs, Arizona, Los Angeles and St. Louis, they got worse.
Let us remind you that last week, the Bruins caught in exchange just the experienced veteran in the fourth formation Pat Maroon and the strong defensive back Andrew Peeke.
While the first-named’s weight gain was still met with understanding, according to experts, Boston overshot with Peek.
“The Bruins gave up Jakub Zbořil and a 2027 third-round draft pick for a player who was just a healthy replacement several times this season, on quite possibly the worst team in the league,” Goss marveled.
Twenty-five-year-old Peeke comes from weak Columbus, where in 23 games of the current regular season he achieved a modest record of 1+7. On average, he only spent about 15 and a half minutes on the ice.
At the same time, he occupies $2.75 million under the salary cap, roughly two and a half times more than Zbořil, and has a contract for two more years.
He also ideally plays on the right side of the defense, where the Bruins have regulars Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carl and Kevin Shattenkirk.
They needed to strengthen on the left side, where Derek Forbort’s season is almost completely over due to protracted health problems and a necessary operation, and where the defenders rotate more this year.
The 27-year-old Zbořil could also start on the left, but the Bruins preferred others.
His era with the club that made him the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft is coming to an inglorious end. The giant potential was never fulfilled. He ended up playing just 76 games for Boston and scored a single goal.
His take-off was complicated by injuries, one of which he paid for even in the last preparatory camp, after which he fell on the farm.
He didn’t get an invitation back, he wasn’t even approached by the competition when the Bruins accommodated him by placing him on the list of unprotected players at the end of last year.
Now the change of workplace worked. However, the consideration in the form of Peeke, worth almost three million, causes embarrassed reactions, especially because of the sacrifice of a third-round draft pick.
Sean Gentille of The Athletic called Sweeney’s move a “strange choice” and a “bizarre handling of the salary cap.” To the manager awarded a grade of Dwhile Columbus earned an A.
However, Sweeney believes Peeke will come alive in Boston and pointed to his past strong performances.
“Two years ago, he mostly started with Zach Werenski (by an elite American running back – editor’s note), played 20 minutes per game. Later, however, the coach and the system changed. Some players react well to it, others don’t,” he pointed out.
