So that’s the return for the 27-year-old Lucic, a player who at his best is a two-way monster capable of dominating games, but whose career also has been marked by lengthy downturns, as when he scored just six goals in the first 40 games past year.
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Tallon said Smith, 24, brings the Panthers speed and versatility he had been looking for and comes at an affordable price as he is signed for the next two seasons at around $7 million. Thornton has 189 goals and 616 assists in 753 regular season games with the Sharks, and 18 goals and 64 assists in 97 playoff games.
Boston’s first move of free agency was to retain one of their top performers down the stretch. But new general manager Don Sweeney has proven once again that he is unpredicatble, by trading Smith and Marc Savard’s contract away to the Florida Panthers.
Some ex- Bruins found new homes today, too, as Gregory Campbell inked a two-year deal worth $3 million with the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Matt Bartkowski landed in Vancouver on an affordable one-year contract.
Though Hayes creates space for his linemates due to his size, he doesn’t have the puck skills that the ex- Boston Bruin does, and doesn’t do as much for his teammates offensively.
Hayes was coming off of his best season as an NHL’er as he netted 19 goals and added 16 assists.
“It’s a dream come true for me”, Hayes said Wednesday.
It was a very sensible deal for both sides, which is not often said amongst the “free agent frenzy”.
Regardless of their final decision – the B’s will be taking a step back defensively and offensively if they choose the free agent route. Given that both were in top six roles for their teams (based on ice time per game), it’s a good bet that Smith is better-suited to play on the second line than Hayes.
“I don’t know if anybody picks their team per se in July”, he said.
Hayes was traded to the Bruins on Wednesday in exchange for forward Reilly Smith and the contract of Marc Savard, ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun reports.
Hamilton was a big loss, and the B’s defense remains a question mark, but the changes up front should make goals easier to come by next season. His play improved last season, and the Bruins are hoping that carries over next year. So we take a dive and grade how well Sweeney did in his first real week on the job.
Chiarelli’s tenure ended shortly after the Bruins failed to make the playoffs in the 2014-15 season, and Don Sweeney replaced him. They received a package of players that would go on to have a varying degree of impact for the Bruins.
“Well there was a lot of sordid twists and turns to get to this position”.
Sweeney bolstered his top-nine forward group with this well-executed deal and cleared valuable cap space the club could use going forward. 922 save percentage were relative bright spots on a team that featured few last season. That’s what this was all about. “We’re at that crossroads to allow those players to have that opportunity”.
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Sweeney spoke with ownership and explained his course of action, describing it as a “twisted” way to accomplish that plan. “They’re two great players, premier centers in the National Hockey League and they both move the puck extremely well”.
