Could be worse...Hamilton Traded

[Roy H.]

The Bruins are like that girl you keep falling madly in love with, but keeps breaking your heart every time you give her another chance.   You know it will end badly, but you're just so in love with her you fool yourself into thinking everything will be different this time.

So even though they have had a great run, and finally won a Cup, here I am with a broken heart yet again. The Bruins do it every single time. Sadly, I know they'll woo me back again eventually.

And break my heart again too.

The Bruins remind me of the 1985 Bears (my favorite team). The championship was amazing and unforgettable, but they were set up so well that they should have won multiple titles.

[Vermont Green]

The NBA equivalent would be trading DeMarcus Cousins for draft picks, and then selecting Jordan Mickey with a lottery pick.

I think you are being too tough on the Bruins.  Trading Hamilton is more like trading Victor Oladipo or Ben McLemore.  Hamilton has not done anything to put himself into the Cousins comparable territory.  As far as who they picked, I know nothing about them.  If you are right and they all turn out to be Jordan Mickey, that will be sad but I have my doubts that it is that dire.

[Roy H.]

The NBA equivalent would be trading DeMarcus Cousins for draft picks, and then selecting Jordan Mickey with a lottery pick.

I think you are being too tough on the Bruins.  Trading Hamilton is more like trading Victor Oladipo or Ben McLemore.  Hamilton has not done anything to put himself into the Cousins comparable territory.  As far as who they picked, I know nothing about them.  If you are right and they all turn out to be Jordan Mickey, that will be sad but I have my doubts that it is that dire.

The experts who grade these things gave the Bruins an "F" for the draft pick they acquired in the Hamilton grade.  That's about the equivalent of taking Jordan Mickey in the lottery, or maybe even worse.

Is Hamilton the equivalent of DeMarcus Cousins?  No, because one player in hockey doesn't have the impact a basketball player does.  However, He's a 22 year old #1 defenseman with a superstar skill set.  He's been projected as a potential future Norris Trophy winner.  Even though he won't reach his full potential for two or three more seasons, he's already producing like a #1 defender in all three zones.

The trade is unjustifiable, and wasting the draft pick on a guy with a mid-second round grade makes it even worse.

[Smokeeye123]

Bruins are making me sad...They had the best record in the NHL 2 seasons ago and look how far theyve fallen.

Just horrible management and contracts given out. I read that they gave Mquaid a 2.75mil a year contract yesterday!? That guy is easily replaceable! It's these kind of back of the roster deals that kill your cap space.

[PhoSita]

Seems like the Bruins are tanking.  Intentionally or not.

[BringToughnessBack]

Unfortunately, the Bruins remind me of the Athletics but worse management. It is criminal how they butchered that championship team.

[Vermont Green]

The NBA equivalent would be trading DeMarcus Cousins for draft picks, and then selecting Jordan Mickey with a lottery pick.

I think you are being too tough on the Bruins.  Trading Hamilton is more like trading Victor Oladipo or Ben McLemore.  Hamilton has not done anything to put himself into the Cousins comparable territory.  As far as who they picked, I know nothing about them.  If you are right and they all turn out to be Jordan Mickey, that will be sad but I have my doubts that it is that dire.

The experts who grade these things gave the Bruins an "F" for the draft pick they acquired in the Hamilton grade.  That's about the equivalent of taking Jordan Mickey in the lottery, or maybe even worse.

Is Hamilton the equivalent of DeMarcus Cousins?  No, because one player in hockey doesn't have the impact a basketball player does.  However, He's a 22 year old #1 defenseman with a superstar skill set.  He's been projected as a potential future Norris Trophy winner.   Even though he won't reach his full potential for two or three more seasons, he's already producing like a #1 defender in all three zones.

The trade is unjustifiable, and wasting the draft pick on a guy with a mid-second round grade makes it even worse.

As far as the draft picks, I don't know as I said but even if one of them turns out to be a bust, they have 3 picks in the top 52.  Hockey has 7 rounds, basketball 2 (ratio 3.5).  That means #15, #45, and #52 are the hockey equivalent of #4, #12, and #15 in basketball.  I still say what the Bruins did is the hockey equivalent of trading Victor Oladipo (with a worse contract situation) for #4, #12, and #15.

Now if the Bruins screw up the picks, that is a different issue altogether.  Of those 3 picks, I predict one will surprise, one will bust, and one will be about what you expect.  Now the Flames may lose Hamilton in FA, they may have a star for several years, or Hamilton may level off and never fulfill his promise.

[Roy H.]

I still say what the Bruins did is the hockey equivalent of trading Victor Oladipo (with a worse contract situation) for #4, #12, and #15.

I don't think there's any validity to this argument at all.  If there were, Sweeney should be named Executive Of The Year immediately.

But, by that logic, the Bs already had the equivalent of the #4 pick, and they traded Lucic for the same equivalent.  So, three top-4 picks, #12, and #15.  The Bruins are clearly building a dynasty.

[Roy H.]

Hamilton signs in Calgary for 6 years, $34.5 million.

Unreal.  That's extremely reasonable.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Hamilton signs in Calgary for 6 years, $34.5 million.

Unreal.  That's extremely reasonable.

Less than $6mil a year for a franchise defenseman? Heck, yes.

Don't worry, though, Adam McQuaid will be locking guys down. 

[Jonny CC]

Hamilton signs in Calgary for 6 years, $34.5 million.

Unreal.  That's extremely reasonable.

It was reported that the B's offered $5.5 per year.  Hamilton signs for $5.75 per year.  What a kick in the balls.

Funny how the spin machine is now reporting that Hamilton wasn't liked by his teammates.  Garbage.  Can't wait to watch him and Seguin at the All Star games.

[Donoghus]

Hamilton signs in Calgary for 6 years, $34.5 million.

Unreal.  That's extremely reasonable.

It was reported that the B's offered $5.5 per year.  Hamilton signs for $5.75 per year.  What a kick in the balls.

Funny how the spin machine is now reporting that Hamilton wasn't liked by his teammates.  Garbage.  Can't wait to watch him and Seguin at the All Star games.

Yeah, gotta love the smearing campaigns the NESN teams (Bruins & Red Sox) tend to do when guys that leave town.   

Chiarelli certainly helped dig the hole they were in (overpaid role players) and the such but I can't say I'm exactly seeing the light that Sweeney is trying to get to, either. 

It's a shame because they really did have a decent run that, unfortunately, will be remembered for the failures as much as that one cup. 

[slamtheking]

reading this, I'm so glad I'm a Kings fan.  thank you for Lucic by the way.  torn as to whether he'll have a typical Ex-Bruin year and tear things up or have a typical new-King year and underwhelm.

sometimes it's better to be lucky than good and thankfully the Kings have been lucky for 2 postseasons runs recently so I can't really complain.  I'd be slitting my wrists if I was a B's fan. 

as to what someone said earlier about the B's being the worst run franchise  in all of sports, I can offer 2 other more pathetic examples -- my Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Redskins.  now those franchises are just bringing me to tears and make the Bruins look like geniuses.

[Vermont Green]

Less than $6mil a year for a franchise defenseman? Heck, yes.

I agree that a "franchise" defenseman such as Chara is very valuable; like a very good #1 starter makes the whole pitching staff better or a shutdown corner makes the whole secondary better, a franchise defenseman makes the entire defensive rotation better.

I am just not sure it is a given that Hamilton is going to be that kind of a defenseman.  To me, he certainly showed flashes of skill and speed but lacked the kind of gritty consistency that a defenseman needs.  Mistakes can end up in the back of the net so that consistency or discipline or whatever you call it, is very important.  I did not see that in Hamilton and I am guessing that the talent evaluation team with the Bruins came to a similar conclusion.

I can't rule out that the Bruins did this more based on attitude send a message or some other more political aspect over pure talent.  They get to see him everyday in practice so I hope this is about their projection of his talent and trading him for 3 really good picks (think of this as trading one player for a first and 2 seconds in football, that is a lot of value) to build team depth.  Either way, it is not an absolute that the Bruins just traded the equivalent of Keith or Suppan.

(seems like I am a lone voice here)

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Less than $6mil a year for a franchise defenseman? Heck, yes.

I agree that a "franchise" defenseman such as Chara is very valuable; like a very good #1 starter makes the whole pitching staff better or a shutdown corner makes the whole secondary better, a franchise defenseman makes the entire defensive rotation better.

I am just not sure it is a given that Hamilton is going to be that kind of a defenseman.  To me, he certainly showed flashes of skill and speed but lacked the kind of gritty consistency that a defenseman needs.  Mistakes can end up in the back of the net so that consistency or discipline or whatever you call it, is very important.  I did not see that in Hamilton and I am guessing that the talent evaluation team with the Bruins came to a similar conclusion.

I can't rule out that the Bruins did this more based on attitude send a message or some other more political aspect over pure talent.  They get to see him everyday in practice so I hope this is about their projection of his talent and trading him for 3 really good picks (think of this as trading one player for a first and 2 seconds in football, that is a lot of value) to build team depth.  Either way, it is not an absolute that the Bruins just traded the equivalent of Keith or Suppan.

(seems like I am a lone voice here)

No, you very well could be right. Only time will tell.