Comments for Bruins Acquire Chris Kelly at http://hockey.dobbersports.com , comment 1 to 4 out of 4 comments http://hockey.dobbersports.com Wed, 22 May 2013 19:32:45 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/19-nhl-deals/3464-bruins-acquire-chris-kelly#comment-11948 Im not a big fan of this trade from a bruins perspective. Kelly is a slight upgrade over Campbell IMO, the only thing i Havent looked at would be face-off %, if that was a need-and if Kelly really fills that. Now if they had already gotten another dman then fine-but why move a good asset (the pick)for a slightly overpriced center that you effectivly have in Campbell? From an Ottawa perspective I think they did well - sold high, and got good returns on both Fisher and Kelly. Phillips would be next- but his value may go up as we get closer to the deadline just because of the dearth of good dmen available.Someone is bound to overpay. If they can move Gonchar too- that would be a huge bonus-not sure where his game went,but he doesnt look like the same player as he did in PIT. Kovalev should also get them something- maybe LA could use him on their top 2 lines- and they have plenty of prospects to entice the Sens. - Larry Wed, 16 Feb 2011 06:42:14 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/19-nhl-deals/3464-bruins-acquire-chris-kelly#comment-11938 I know we'd all really enjoy reading more of fzusher's commentary. Come on man, join the Dobber team and let's hear more of what truly is quality work! - Kesler17 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 02:29:39 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/19-nhl-deals/3464-bruins-acquire-chris-kelly#comment-11935 Again, fzusher, I extend the invitation to write for me. Your stuff is quality - Dobber Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:51:03 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/19-nhl-deals/3464-bruins-acquire-chris-kelly#comment-11934 Another immediate beneficiary in Ottawa is Eric Condra, who got called up and assisted on the Karlsson game tier. Played only 8 minutes, but he now has the ball and needs to get rolling with it. Point per game guy in the USHL and career in 4 college years, and after a year of seasoning last year has something like 46 points in 54 games in the A this year. 5'11/186, so smallish, but not tiny. All I'm saying is he's got a shot ... With Kelly's contract the Bruins now have 50.9M committed next year to 10 forwards, 5 Ds, and 2 goalies (I am not counting Kampfer, hence the discrepancy with capgeek). With the 5 Ds being Chara, Seidenberg, Ference, Boychuk, and McQuaid, you gotta think a top-4 puck moving D is a priority for next year, and that'd eat up a big chunk of cap, meaning one more roster defenseman will have to come real cheap, likely from within. Kampfer seems to have the leg up right now, but I think in camp he'll have competition from Bartkowski and Alexandrov. All three should be kept an I on, but personally I like Alexandrov, whom I own in one league. Bartkowski probably has the highest offensive potential of the three, and Kampfer will have the edge of experience, but he's smaller than Bartkowski and Alexandrov, and I think Alexandrov is the more rounded out of the three, which matters more when filling in effectively the no. 6 position. Up front, the 10 Fs include 6 top-niners (Bergeron, Lucic, Savard, Horton, Krejci, Seguin) and 4 bottomers (Kelly, Campbell, Paille, Thornton). I think Brad Marchand has earned a spot for next year, but he's RFA and will get a bump in salary. I wouldn't roule out one more season for UFA Recchi, but I equally wouldn't rule out retirement. Wheeler is also RFA but I am expecting him to be dealt at the deadline. Which opens up 1-2 top-9 spots, which again cap will force them to look to fill from within (cheap players on UFA are usually bottomers, and they're set there). Who gets these positions is hard to sort out right now, as it depends on (1) how well Seguin and/or Colborne adapt to wing; (2) if someone's moved at the deadline (Hammill may be on Leafs radar); (3) who they draft with the Leafs pick, if they don't move it (this could be a D, of course). But I'd keep an eye on Colborne, Caron, Hammill, and Sauve. And on who they pick at the draft. Of course, if Savard retires or is shut down for another season, that's 4M off the cap, though the spot would need to be filled. If both Recchi and Savard retire, you could see something like: Lucic-Krejci-Horton (most frequent combo this season) Colborne/Seguin-Bergeron-Marchand Caron-Seguin/Colborne/Kelly/Sauve/Hammill-Seguin/UFA/draftee Bottom line here - even without Savard, middle is clogged up, and wing needs filling next year. - fzusher Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:39:07 +0100