Pete Blackburn’s Top Free Agent Targets For Bruins

Pete Blackburn’s Top Free Agent Targets For Bruins

I really want to talk about free agency. You already know the notable UFAs, but I’m just going to name them really quick for people listening. Mitch Marner, Nikolai Eers, John Tvaris, Sam Bennett, Brock Besser, Aaron Ecklad, and Brad Marian. Uh, let’s start with Marshy and Bennett. How wild would that be if they came back to the Bruins? Am I in La La Land right now or do you think there’s a possibility? I think it’s unlikely. I think that when you open the door for uh players to experience something new and it turns out to be something very palatable and enjoyable, which it seems like Brad Marshian’s enjoying his experience in the Florida Panthers right now and who can blame him. I think you’re opening the door. Like we the Red Sox fans saw it with John Lester. Um and so I wouldn’t bank on it. I also wouldn’t say it’s not a possibility because I do know Brad Marshian loves it here. I don’t know how how much he has a desire to spend his the twilight of his career on a team that’s either struggling or rebuilding or or what whatever you want to call it. Does it help if he can bring a guy like Sam Bennett with him? Maybe. And I think the Bruins front office could count that as a big old win in their book is that they, you know, they get a first round pick for this guy, assuming the Panthers uh wrap up against the the Maple Leafs. They get a first round pick and he goes on a little recruiting trip for half a year and brings back Sam Bennett in free agency. I think they could call that a big win for themselves. Do I think it’s a it’s a foregone conclusion? Certainly not. Yeah, that would be wild. The two of them together, especially. Yeah. Yeah. And and to your point, you know, at the beginning it’s like a breakup. You know, you’re like, “Oh, this stinks.” But then when you start dating other people sometimes like, “Wait, this isn’t so bad.” Um, so Brad’s kind of, I guess, dating the Florida Panthers. But just watching the antics that they have together and hearing about how the guys on the Panthers talk about him, uh, Paul Maurice included, but obviously his teammates, it’s like for me I’m like, “Oh, this hurts so much still.” I’m like, “Yeah, of course he’s the best.” Yeah, I know. He’s hilarious. He brings, you know, obviously his agame professionalism, but he just makes the room a better place. And just seeing what he’s got there, he looks pretty happy. So, we will, you know, have to see. I think that’s the selling point, though. Both of y’all’s opinion on this really fast. We’re trying to figure out coaching here in Boston. You’ve got Paul Maurice as your head coach down in Hockey Paradise and he’s honestly one of the funniest guys. Like Paul Maurice is a tremendous coach and like human. So like knowing what you’re going to get in a coach and also kind of having that relationship and tie and being able to build that like could that be more of a selling point to stay down south? I don’t know. I mean Pete, you can take that one. I think it’s going to be up to like I think a huge portion is going to be Katrina and the kids. It’s like do they want to go on an adventure and check out another city and move cuz they have it now. Why would they right now? Um or do they want to keep their roots in Boston? And I think that’s a bigger selling point of what like his family wants. But I don’t know to Casey’s question, what do you think about just like having established the last 3, four months in Florida? Is that a bigger selling point to stay? Yeah, I mean I think they’re going to have a compelling case, especially if they go on a deep cup run like um you know, and again like when we talked about the timing for the Bruins head coaching search, like maybe the point where it does matter is if you’re trying to bring guys in in free agency, it’s harder to sell guys if they don’t know who they’re playing for. Yeah. Like that’s going to be a tough sell for for some marquee free agents is, hey, come on over here. We don’t know what our roster is going to look like and we don’t know who’s going to be coaching, but trust us, you’re going to have a good time. So, like that might be a harder sell, especially for guys like Brad who’s towards the end of his career and and doesn’t really have a lot of time to waste if he wants to to make more pushes for a cup. Are you willing to pay Mitch Martin or whatever the hell he’s going to get? Yeah. No. Yeah. Agreed. Um it’s and I think he’s a great player. I think he’s a really really great player, but I have concerns about how he disappears when games get hard. Um and we’ve seen that in these playoffs. We’ve seen it in previous playoffs like when the game gets nasty and the Panthers have started to turn that series into a pretty nasty fight. When the game gets nasty, Mitch Martyr tends to disappear. He’s had zero shots in each of his last two games for the Leafs. And that’s just not good enough. Like he’s a 100point player, but and he’s a great playmaker in terms of seeing the ice and passing, but he’s also a 100point player because he scores a good amount, too, and he’s just not shooting the puck. And that’s a that’s a trend that’s continued for years at this point. And I just think if you’re trying you’re trying to go out there and you’re trying to command $14 million or whatever it is, you got to have no gaps in your game. And unfortunately Mitch Mner does have gaps in his game when they matter the most. Yeah. And you know what, just to wrap that point, I used to say because obviously I have all my friends and family in Toronto and chat about hockey. I used to say to them like Mitch Mner 5 years ago or let’s say now but on a team on the Bruins team that existed 5 years ago. I was like Charara Berseron Marshy throw Nick Felino in there like they would I wouldn’t say like whip him into shape cuz I know he’s matured and he’s grown up but I was like whatever and trust me I’ve worked in the Toronto system. Uh it’s changed it’s changing but when I was there it stinks. Like it was just so like individualistic superstars. I’m the best. Don’t talk to me. The media is way tougher there than it is in Boston, believe that or not. Um, but that also feeds into like the ego of a young player and XYZ. And I was like, this guy needs uh this guy needs to be like I don’t want to say trained, whatever the word I’m looking for, but groomed, like groomed into like culture, being a team player. And I’m not saying that he isn’t, but he comes from the OHL where he was like a superstar and like this like little, you know, god with the London Knights and then goes into the Toronto Maple Leafs where even that quote which was like blown out of proportion where do you remember the quote when he was like we’re kind of like gods around here. Do you remember that from Yeah. So anyway, that like Mitch Mner with the culture that existed with the Bruins uh when I started and and long before that I think would have been a good fit. Right now I don’t know about that. Um who would you want? Who would you want on this team? Uh, I like Nick Eers. I think they’re going to need a couple top six wingers. And I think that Eers is, you know, not as well-rounded or talented or skilled a player as Mitch Mner, but at the price point, he’ll likely command, I think, might be a better investment for the Bruins than Mner. Um, you know, they’re obviously going to need some help down the middle, too. I I I don’t love the uh the free agents that are out there down the middle. Like you mentioned Sam Bennett. Like I understand why Sam Bennett would be appealing, but I feel like Sam Bennett is more appealing to a team that needs like that final piece or that final edge to push for a Stanley Cup. Not he’s not a piece that you build around in the early stages of trying to assemble a group. And so I do worry about like how that contract, whatever contract he gets, might age over time given the way that he plays and kind of the nastiness that he brings. But uh maybe they maybe they’ll be a little bit more creative outside of free agency. Uh or perhaps like offer sheets. We saw offer sheets play a big role in last offseason. There were a number of RFAS this year that could be intriguing. Matthew N is a guy that I would love to poach from the Maple Leafs. I know that it would cost a pretty penny, but I mean, the joy of being able to pluck one of their better young players while also securing one for yourself would be pretty good. Um, I I think that they’re going to have to think and operate a little bit outside of the box this off season uh in order to fill all of their needs and fill all their gaps on this roster because there are plenty. If there’s a world where N could be on this roster, I’d honestly lose my mind. Um, but so what are your thoughts on Besser? because I was kind of trying to figure out if they could find a guy that can match pace or at least kind of like polish off anything that Pastor Knox’s got going on for one for two. He’s ruined my hopes and dreams going against the Lightning a number of times because he just has a tendency of batting in pucks no matter what they look like and how they’re ricocheting. So, I just kind of thought like that netfront presence I was hoping that Mitten will grow into that because you’re right, it’s not really that attractive when it comes to some of the center options out there and you might just want to stick with developing what’s here. Yeah, I mean Besser is an interesting one because like they obviously need goal scoring and he’s a goal scorer. Uh unfortunately I think he’s he’s a bit one-dimensional so it would be kind of buyer beware there. Um and you know to Sophia’s point like when you’re shopping on this free agent list you also have to consider guys that are going to contribute to the identity and the culture of your team because you’re kind of rebuilding that forward group. And much like a guy like Mner, I I worry about what Besser would contribute towards the identity of this team in terms of being one-dimensional and and being uh, you know, a team that goes quiet when when things, you know, get tough or they get nasty. And so I I think they need to shop around for different sort of looks and different sort of elements that are going to bring identity to this forward group and well and kind of round it out. And you know given what the market might be for Besser, I don’t know if that’s where you your money would be best well spent. Casey. Oh yeah. I was say ideal world top six. What does your top six look like for the Bruins or who do you bring in? It’s a good question. I I I would say the easiest answer is different. It has to look different because this year’s was certainly not good enough. You know, I think that most likely I’d like to see them have a big ticket signing, at least one, um, that is going to help them offensively, whether that’s Eers or somebody else. I think you have to inject a a big ticket signing into that that front six and then sort of improve via trade somewhere else whether it’s on draft day whether it’s on uh just kind of on the open market where you know teams are selling like you look at what the Washington Capitals did last year and I know that that was kind of a uh an exception more than you know a common occurrence but like they really thought outside the box and They perused the league and they identified guys that teams were willing to part with that were good players and they went out and they made these swings and it worked out for them. Do I think that the Bruins are going to have that kind of luck this summer? No. But I think that you might be able to identify a player who is either kind of off the board or is a, you know, a harder cell to go out and acquire. And uh that I think is is something that they’re going to have to look

The Bruins have an important offseason ahead if they want to get back to contending anytime soon. With free agents like Mitch Marner, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Sam Bennett, there are plenty of forward options on the market that can help the Bruins rejuvenate their offense for next season. Pete Blackburn joins Sophia Jurksztowicz and Kasey Hudson to talk about who he thinks the Bruins should target!

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