Boston Bruins rumors: A closer look at John Tavares
By Paul Doran
The Pitch
How do you get a player like John Tavares to pick you in this Sadie Hawkins dance style charade?
History and Tradition should – and with a guy like Cam Neely in the front office absolutely will – be at the forefront of the conversation.
More from Chowder and Champions
- 3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox
- 10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline
- MLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return
- 3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season
- Red Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win
This is the Boston Bruins: an Original Six franchise. Not to mention they’re one of the only Original six teams not to be in desperate need of a rebuild. How much of the conversation is focused on the youth of the team?
For argument and pipedream’s sake, let’s say he does like the Boston Bruins pitch the best. How quickly can you trade players like David Krejci and David Backes to make room for him on the team? Do either of those players have value around the league? Or do their contracts make them undesirable?
While the Bruins do have close to $12M to maneuver this offseason, Tavares will likely cost between $11-$11.5M annually.
Does his signing get in the way of going after a left shot defenseman? Can the Bruins resign Anton Khudobin to an extension? Because Zane McIntyre is nowhere near ready to get even backup playing time in the NHL. Do they lose the ability to sign all of Jake DeBrusk, Ryan Donato and Charlie McAvoy to long-term, Pastrnak style extensions?
Again, the caveat here is the fact that all three of these players aren’t up for market-breaking contracts.
However, the Tavares contract could prove detrimental to the operation in Boston when compounded with the other contracts on the team.