According to Joe Haggerty of CSN, the Boston Bruins have signed defenseman Mark Stuart to a 1-year contract worth $1.675 million. This news is not yet officially confirmed by the Boston Bruins.
Good signing for the Bruins, though, completing their core of defensemen. They are now solidified along the blue line for next season. I also like the 1-year aspect to this deal. The Bruins have several terrific young players coming up through the system, so shorter contracts for your mediocre players such as 26-year-old Stuart seem to be safer options right now for the B's.
The Bruins are reportedly close to agreeing on terms with center Patrice Bergeron regarding a contract extension. They are also working with captain Zdeno Chara.
mediocre? are you on crackk???
ReplyDeleteHaha I'm not on crack actually. But yes, I'd group a defenseman who probably won't be top 4 on the team as "mediocre," if you broke the team into its top tier players and then its middle, or mediocre, players. Unless you have some crazy stats to show me otherwise.
ReplyDeletei wud agree that he is much better than mediocre. hes one of the leagues better shut-down defenseman and he logs serious ice time. he's good on the pk, brings consistency, physicality, and leadership to the b's. i would even expect him as a possibility to become the next captain, among bergeron and lucic.
ReplyDeleteI like Stuart and I'm glad we signed him. And I think he's got a bright future. My point, though, was that RIGHT NOW, he's undoubtedly behind Chara, Boychuk, and Seidenberg on the depth chart. Ference, Hunwick, and McQuaid if we re-sign him, along with any rookie defensemen, will be in an open competition with Stuart for the 4th d-man spot. Stuart will probably win that, because he's probably the best player. But the point is, signing him to a short term contract without dishing out a ton of money is the best option, because like I said, he's not one of our top tier players right now. You jump to conclusions and give big contracts like Lucic, Thomas, Ryder.... all of a sudden you're shooting yourself in the foot because that guy doesn't deserve that much money, and it prevents you from re-signing your most important players. Simply put, 2 goals and 5 assists with a +1 rating in 60 games isn't anything better than a mid-level player on our team. Regardless of how you break it down. Great penalty killer, but penalty killers don't make big salaries.
ReplyDeleteI would definitely classify him as mediocre thus far in his career with Boston. I'm a fan, I like his style, his effort, etc. but he has been mediocre thus far and will fight to be the 4th defenseman. It's not a shot at him, but let's not overrate him. I'm glad the B's signed him and I hope he steps it up this year
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, Jack. I think he could become a great player and I'm a fan of his style, but with a team so cramped salary cap wise, we can't keep giving out big salaries to players who might not pan out. Lucic isn't worth 4.1 million the way he played last year. Ryder's not worth anything the way he played, let alone another 4 million. Thomas is our backup goalie... 5 million. You can't just dish out contracts and salaries like candy. So I'm glad they held up on Stuart, because Boychuk, Seidenberg, and likely Chara will be around a few years. It keeps their options open, because a lot of young guys are coming up, and you may not want to give Stuart a lot of money if he doesn't pan out. Chiarelli said their plan is to evaluate Stuart and then potentially work on an extension. The right move. Because RIGHT NOW, he's not worthy of a big contract.
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