The Boston Bruins and Loui Eriksson are at a crossroads. Eriksson is coming to the end of a contract with a very reasonable cap hit of $4.25 million per year. For a former 70 point player that's a bargain on any team. However, with Eriksson now entering his 30's, what's to come of his relationship with the Bruins? Will they part ways or live happily ever after?
What does Eriksson bring?
Loui is in his third year with the Bruins after being a key cog in the trade of Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars. While Eriksson isn't scoring at a blazing pace, or lighting up the highlight reels, he is doing exactly what he was expected to do: play good 200 feet of hockey, be consistent and be a great mentor to the young kids of how to buy into a system. With his best hockey behind him and a raise in pay looming, can the Boston Bruins afford to commit five to six million per year likely in the range of five years? How would his raise look compared to Patrice Bergeron's $6.875 million?
The Bruins have to take into account that their whole defense corps, minus Adam McQuaid, Dennis Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara, need new contracts. Boston also has $47 million committed to only 12 players for the next season. Another big question is how much longer captain Chara will be a useful body on the blue line. There could be a lot of moving parts on the Bruins roster that go far past just Loui. They're at the end of their Stanley Cup window and need to decide when to part ways with some players in order to garner top prospects and develop some new talent.
The Eriksson Movement
What are some possible moves or teams that could give the Bruins what they would be looking in return for number 21?
- Nashville Predators - Darren Dreger linked these two up if the Bruins don't have the stomach for that kind of deal. There are a number of things the Bruins could want from Nashville, specifically a forward, draft picks, or defense depth. After trading away Dougie Hamilton, they will be in search of an heir to the Chara throne.
- Minnesota Wild - They were reportedly in on Ryan Johansen and are constantly tied to forwards to help put the puck in the net. Four seasons removed from his last 70+ point campaign doesn't mean Loui can't help an offense; he has 38 points in 46 games this season, signaling a bit of a resurgence. He could be a good pick up for the Wild, but it will cost them.
- Edmonton Oilers - If any of the Jordan Eberle rumors regarding his availability are true, then why not? It would help the Oilers defense and won't take a whole lot out of their offense. Boston needs young, dynamic talent. This trade would be bigger than a player-for-player deal, but has all the makings of a good rumour.
- St. Louis Blues - With lots of talk about Kevin Shattenkirk available, this seems like the ideal move for Boston. Not so much for St. Louis as Shattenkirk still has one year left on a darling of a deal. If they can figure out some kind of sign and trade situation this could be the making of something beautiful.
Eriksson has a partial no-trade clause and can nix any trade to a list of 14 teams just to make things a little more interesting. If the Bruins had it their way, he would be sent to the Western Conference. That is the route most teams take but not always a viable option when you're looking for the best value for your own team first.
The Problems
- Nashville - To get Loui they will have to deal from their greatest strength: defense. The deal for Ryan Johansen was a good one but with Pekka Rinne playing mediocre at best, they can't afford to lose any defensemen.
- Minnesota - Still a good landing spot but their cap issues aren't a breeze and renting a player like Eriksson isn't going to make them a cup contender.
- Edmonton - Well, they are a lot more than a rental player away from any kind of success, so this would be more of a sign and trade destination, but they do have pieces Boston would like and vice versa.
- St. Louis - This again would have to be a sign and trade type of deal. It'd be awfully hard to give up the likes of Shattenkirk for a few months of Eriksson, no matter how good he is. If signed, this trade has some potential but again, in a battle zone like the Central Division, they need more than a 30 year old winger to make a solid run at Lord Stanley.
Keep in mind that Boston has some bait. They have four picks within the first two rounds: their own and the San Jose Sharks' first round picks. They also have the New York Islanders' second rounder and maybe the Edmonton Oilers (they get to pick either this year or next and with their place in the standings you can bank on next year's). They could toss any of these picks into a package deal and come out with something shiny and new.
If this writer was to make a guess right now, he would say Boston moves on from Loui. They package him off with a pick and a prospect to make a blockbuster deal to speed up a "soft" rebuild to get back in contention.