The Bruins shocked the hockey world when they opted to use the 24th overall pick to nab goaltender
Malcolm Subban. For an organization that's prided themselves on going with smart, responsible skaters early and often, taking a goaltender with their first pick in the top 60 came as an understandable surprise. Yet, despite being ranked as the best North American goalie by Central Scouting, Malcolm's best known to fans in the Hub as being the younger brother of the villainous
P.K. Subban.
Yup, you heard that one right. It's not Malcolm's .923 save-percentage last year that's left an imprint on the brain of your average B's fan, nor was it his six shutouts last year, or his perfect save percentage (12 of 12) in the shootout. It's still, understandably, all about the brother that's established himself in the show. Even on the heels of the 19-year-old Malcolm signing an entry level with the Bruins earlier this afternoon, the Belleville Bulls goaltender is a mere second fiddle to the elder Subban on almost any discussion forum.
Consider this to be another one of those posts.
It was an idea that was floated out in a half-kidding sort of way; Tongue in cheek humor at its finest, and something purely said to enrage everybody in Quebec, even if for just a moment. But then it gained a bit of traction, made sense, and seemed to become a logical thought. Somehow, someway, it just seemed to make perfect sense.
The idea, simple, but (admittedly) risky: Send a pretty offer sheet P.K.'s way.
Reportedly offered no better than the Habs' (latest) two-year deal worth $5.5 million -- a deal that'd keep Subban under Montreal control at its end (restricted free agency yet again versus unrestricted free agency) -- I can't help but legitimately ask myself "Why not?"
Now, now, that's not a statement that hasn't come without an acknowledgement of the facts regarding Subban's game and persona, at least to the Bostonian's eye. Beyond the on-ice skill, Subban's considered to be Boston's biggest enemy in terms of individual players, with boos cascading down from the balcony onto him anytime he even comes within five feet of the puck on Garden ice, making the thought attempting to add the controversial blue-liner to the fold seem like a bold and undoubtedly "out there" move.
But when it comes to his talent, it's something that worth at more than just the negative 'nonsense' you've convinced yourself of. Subban, a 23-year-old puck-mover with a shot that can put a hole in your net, is everything the Bruins seek both in the now and in the future, and any Bruins fan that denies such is an absolute goof and thinking with their Black-and-Gold heart.
Over time, Boston fans have learned to fall in love with the "He's a diving Hab!" argument anytime the thought of P.K. the Bruin is brought up, apparently turning a blind eye to the acts we've seen from guys like agitating forward
Brad Marchand and even 6-foot-9
Zdeno Chara (Yes, I said it and you know it, too). However, at the end you're hard pressed to find a defensemen with as much potential as No. 76, and it's that potential, and lack of movement from the Habs in contractual regards to what many have considered to be the club's new face of the point moving forward, that's left me confused. You, of course, have to take my opinion on this issue as that of an outsider, without any real
ties to Subban's standing in Montreal, but I can't help but find it befuddling given an abundance teams in need of a top notch, top four defensemen.
On that latter point, the Bruins are no exception, and it's
Peter Chiarelli's unabashed loved for blue-liners that's made this one of rumor mills easier ones to drum up. And in a summer that's been headlined with talk of the Coyotes'
Keith Yandle and Calgary's
Jay Bouwmeester (supposedly) popping up on Boston's radar, again, why not Subban? Hell, strike that, why anyone but Subban?!
Bringing Jay-Bo on board would require two things for Chiarelli and the B's: You'd have to not only part with valuable pieces of your NHL roster and/or prospect pool, but you'd have to take on his particularly unfriendly $6.68 million cap-hit from now 'til 2014. Giving you a solid, and dependable option on your top-four at a not so friendly price, the obvious choice would be to instead go with hometown boy Keith Yandle. But that's not comin' easily. At all. Despite years of rumors that suggest that the Yotes' powerplay quarterback would 'happily welcome' an opportunity to play for the hometown club, you're talking about dealing for a 25-year-old defensemen that's tallied 143 points in the last 246 games. That'll cost you a top-six forward (Like a
David Krejci), a top tier prospect, and probably even more.
Then there's P.K., the unsigned defensemen from your Northeast rivals. Following just his second full season in the NHL, Subban finished 18th among NHL defensemen with 24:18 of ice-time a night, and "struggled" on the way to a year that saw him post seven goals and 36 points, numbers that'd put Subban just five goals and 16 points away from Chara for the team lead among d-men. On top of his impressive offensive totals of 21 goals and 76 points in just two years of NHL play, the 6-foot-tall defensemen boasts a playoff resume headlined by a stellar three goals and 12 points in just 21 career postseason contests.
And the price for acquiring such a talent? Draft picks. Strictly draft picks! An undeniably valuable commodity to any team, it's the Bruins' pool of prospects coupled with the NHL talent that's put them in the rare position to potentially deal away picks without too much skin off their future's back. It's a club with a big league roster that's set for the foreseeable future -- with six forwards and four defensemen signed for at least the next three seasons -- and an organization that'll continue to integrate the youth of names like
Jared Knight,
Ryan Spooner, and
Alexander Khokhlachev into the equation over the next couple of seasons. Factor all of this in with Boston's likelihood to be a contender for the next couple of years (at least) and it's clear that the time to deal picks (even to the Habs) is more than right, it's downright perfect.
As is the case with any transaction made to obtain a restricted free agent, the CBA dictates what picks would be compensated to the club based on the cap-hit the player would come with, which goes as follows...
$1,110,249 or below - No draft pick compensation.
$1,110,250 to $1,682,194 - One third round pick.
$1,682,195 to $3,364,391 - One second round pick.
$3,364,392 to $5,046,585 - One first round pick, one third.
$5,046,586 to $6,728,781 - One first round pick, one second, and one third.
$6,728,782 To $8,410,976 - Two first round picks, a 2nd, and one third.
$8,410,977 - Four first round picks.
So, just where would any hypothetical offer from the B's fit into on this scale?
If I were a betting man, the fourth highest option, one that'll pay Subban $3.36 - $5.046 million seems to be right based on the cap-hit on its way to the books and draft picks that'd be on the move. Barring a match (we'll get to that in a second), the move would see the Bruins acquire a budding blue-line stud for the price of a first and a third rounder in 2013, a price that'd likely hit the Bruins no harder than the 16th overall in round one based on their projections heading into 2012-13. But most importantly, would Montreal match the offer sheet, especially if it's thrown from the TD Garden? You'd have to assume so, but it'd add at least $3.36 million to a defense that's already accounting for $19.475 million (27.8%) of Montreal's $70 million cap. Adding Subban at $3.36 million would bump it up to $22.835 million (32.6%), while pushing it to the $5.046 limit would bump the defense's chunk of the cap all the way up to $24.521 million, accounting for over 35 percent of the Habs' cap.
Oh, and did I mention Boston could by all means throw in the third or fourth year necessary to get Subban to sign the dotted line and join his brother in the Hub? Just a bonus, huh?
For Boston, this is an idea that goes beyond putting yourself in a position to steal a star in the making away from your bitter rivals or put 'em in some form of minor cap-hell. It has far greater implications for the Bruins than just that. This would be a move that's all about locking down the potential to make a Black-and-Gold defense (that's not getting any younger by the way) elite for a long, long time.
Just imagine adding Subban's skill-set to a blue-line that already features three-time Norris nominee Zdeno Chara, the 31-year-old
Dennis Seidenberg, and the up-and-coming
Dougie Hamilton? It's absolutely terrifying! Naturally, this is a (hypothetical) move that'd seemingly have to come with a cap-crunching trade that'd see somebody such as a
Johnny Boychuk or
Adam McQuaid move out of town, which would be noticeable but not damning losses.
Point blank, B's fans, would you do it? Given the facts, and what'd it mean going forward, it's pretty damn hard to say no, don't you think?
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