That would be a great price for BOS. Matches Gaudreau contract. His goal scoring might give him an edge towards the Tarasenko deal. He hasn't put those numbers up *yet*, so maybe his camp is partial to a 3-year deal so he can try for $8+ on the next one? Could see him doing well financially with a $5M x 2-3 year bridge leading into a big payday.

That said, how about:

Pastrnak + 2nd
for
Gaudreau + Rittich

No. Don't want Gaudreau.

I'd take Gaudreau + Monahan for Pasta + Spooner. That'd be about what it'd take for me to listen to a deal that includes our only good RW. (I rate Backes as above average, but not quite in the good category.) Heinen and Bjork don't get rated yet because of a lack of NHL experience.

If Monahan isn't in the deal theres no reason for us to consider it. We'd get much more somewhere else "IF" we had to trade him, which we don't. Pasta's just trying to get a little extra money and Don Sweeney isn't budging yet. I've heard of no major problems in this negotiation so the thought of us trading him yet is pure fantasy as of now.

Theres a very high chance we lock him in long term on a contract that's fair to both parties.

As for this mock: It's pretty good.

It does have the major folly of putting McQuaid and Miller together though, so it could be a lot better. McQuaid + Miller or McAvoy + Krug really get me going. I apologize. It just seems foolish to consider such pairings with the obvious weakness that both have as of now. Miller + McQuaid would be horrendous in the O zone and McAvoy + Krug would certainly have struggles in the D zone. Using either of those pairings is almost conceding the area of the ice in which these players together would not be good. "setting them up for failure" would be a good quote to use about this, although I don't know who it was originated by. I like the pairings of Chara / Carlo (or McAvoy based on camp) Krug / McQuaid and Kevan Miller / McAvoy (or Carlo if McAvoy shines in camp and beats him out). I think those pairings are much healthier for the team going forward and would give us the best chance to earn a W.

For the Forwards, I'd really like to find a way to get Beleskey in the top 9 to start the season. Plugging him in on the 4th line is almost like admitting failure at this point. It would completely prove that signing Beleskey was a major slip up. If he plays on the 2nd line with Krejci and Pasta, he's sure to score his 35 points again and that would open more doors if we were to consider moving him. Right now I think we'd have to give up a 2nd rounder for someone to take him. That is a fair price and wouldn't harm us too much, but I think the Bruins front office still believes in him and will be letting him compete for a top 9 position. Even if he has great success in the role of a 4th liner, he still couldn't be moved without retention or another asset that's better than him going to the other trade party. Matt Martin is a really high paid 4th liner and he's making over 1M less than Beleskey and impacts the game more with his physicality. I have very high hopes that Matt Beleskey will get his ass moving in camp and fight for a bigger role then that of a 4th liner.