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Originally Posted by devo22
I still can't wrap my head around what happened yesterday. Treliving really managed to get a 22 year old stud defenseman without giving up roster players and blue chip prospects ... how is that even possible? It defies any logic and I still have to pinch myself.
Plus, Hamilton really checks all the boxes. If you laid out the criteria for the "missing" defenseman on the Flames blueline, you'd get Dougie Hamilton. Adding him to the already fantastic D corps just feels unreal. A blueline of Giordano-Hamilton, Brodie-Wideman and Russell-Engelland ... wow. Lots of balance (even L-R!) and options for Bob to spread out the minutes.
In all of this, I still don't get what Sweeney was trying to do. Even if we ignore the obviously flawed process (better pick offers etc), I don't understand the idea of trading him in the first place. Re-signing Hamilton had to be their offseason priority, period. I don't buy the cash-strapped argument - you can go over the cap during the offseason, no problem. And if you need to make cap room to get it done, you ship out a couple of the older players ... you know, like Milan Lucic. Trading him after trading Hamilton made even less sense because that trade would have helped re-sign Hamilton. It's a head scratcher, really. What are they doing? Is this a rebuild? Can you call it a rebuild when you trade your 22 year old stud defenseman?
Yesterday, the stars aligned for the Flames and the hockey gods wore Flames jerseys. I have no other explanation.
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Growing up, I followed the Bruins but stopped watching them and hockey all together in the '90s due to frustration and demoralization brought upon by their ownership/management. I was always convinced that the Bruins existed only to be a losing venture for Jacobs and Delaware North... never to make money.
Someone on the HF Bruins forum reiterated this perfectly today:
"I see a pattern emerging but I don't like to admit it. The pattern reminds me of the Sinden/MOC days of the late 90's where they absolutely detested when players had the leverage to ask for more than they wanted to give. The Dougie situation feels quite similar to the days when Jason Allison was shipped out for asking to be paid market value. I have a feeling over the next few years any time there's a tough contract negotiation the Bruins will end up moving on rather than let the player "win".
Under Sinden and MOC it felt like the Bruins had a contentious relationship with all their top players. Chia worked really hard to make players feel welcome here, but it seems like that's all over now. The old guard is back and they're not going to let the players dictate their finances."