Jon Lester, Johnny Gomes traded to Oakland: Sox get Yoenis Cespedes in return...Lackey to Cardinals as well

It was been a story line that was long ago written. Early Thursday morning, Jon Lester was traded out of Boston because of the Red Sox' inability to pay him the money his play had demanded. On this day, midway through a season that as seen the Red Sox flirt with glory but always sink back into the doldrums of baseball's standings, they have lost the only piece of their roster that would have had any chance of dragging them into contention in the last quarter of the season. Lester is gone. 

Two days ago, John Farrell made the announcement that Jon Lester would be scratched from his scheduled start on Wednesday night in Toronto to give the team more freedom to trade him. The move was one completed out of respect allowing Lester to get a full rotations rest before any trade that would likely also result in a start the next day for whichever team he was dealt to. But what Farrell's polite move also did was strike down any final hopes within Red Sox nation that Lester would ever play another game for Boston. 

Jon Lester will become a free agent at the end of this season and after the way that he played at the end of last season, resigning him even during Spring Training was a highly financially taxing task. So the Red Sox waited, stringing their all-star along indefinitely half hoping he would play poorly enough in 2014 to allow the team to resign him at a lesser price. That did not happen. 

In 21 starts for Boston this season, Jon Lester went 10-7 losing only due to poor run support not any fault in his on the mound performance. He whipped an ERA of 2.52 in a total of 143 innings pitched solidifying his work horse qualities and providing the team with on average a 7 inning start. Jon was a true ace of aces for qualities embodied by all those statistics and those statistics were only made better by his play to start this season. To sum up, Jon Lester played perhaps the greatest season of his career and that made it seem like a deal with him in free agency this winter would be impossible. So, in order to gain the best return for such a great player, the Sox went to the trade market, dealing their longtime pitching stud to Oakland for Yoenis Cespedes. Johnny Gomes also went with Lester to Oakland clearing left field space for Cespedes to play a starting role in the position. 

But today the story was not about Cespedes coming to town. It was about Lester leaving it and the media and the fans knew that very well. 

After he was groomed well by Triple A Pawtuket, Lester came to the big club in 2006 where he started 15 games. He impressed in those game earning a decision 9 of those 15 games winning 7 of them. Lester seemed to have a future in Boston after his glamorous start to his career but soon realized he would have to overcome more than competition within the system to earn a spot in the MLB. After feeling ill, midway through a midsummer game of that 2006 season, Lester flew to a Boston medical facility where he was tested and diagnosed with a treatable form of Lymphatic Cancer. He would miss the rest of the season and the first half of the successive one while he underwent intensive chemotherapy but eventually returned to baseball better than ever. 

Though Josh Beckett captained the team to a championship in 2007, it was Lester who started and was credited with the win in the series clenching game four of that year's World Series. When Beckett left town roughly four years later it was an underrated Lester who became the ace. Starting 33 games in 2013, Jon went 15-8, tearing it up in the second half of the year and guiding Boston to their second championship with him on the roster.  

Then, as has already been profiled, Lester played complete shutdown baseball in a 2014 season that saw very few moments of glory in Boston. 

All and all, the 2014 trade deadline completely revamped and reworked the Boston Red Sox in a completely unexpected way. But though the departures of John Lackey, Johnny Gomes and Stephan Drew were definitely notable, it was the end of he Jon Lester era in Boston that stole the show. 

Through all these years of dominance, the Sox been a team that has won not because of big money contracts but rather an evolution of talent gained through trades and draft picks. The loss of Lester will hurt but as he leaves, Bostonians must remember that huge players left the team after the 2004 and 2007 championships and yet the team always found a way to charter through the fog and come out on top. Let us hope that the same can one day be said for 2013. 

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Red Sox wreck Jays in possible season changing win: 14-1 final

Let me just throw some of these numbers out for you. Four RBI's and a home run for Stephan Drew, two long balls for David Ortiz, 3 hits each for Xander Bogarts and Mike Napoli, and above all, 14 runs for the previously offensively challenged Boston Red Sox. 

After the Red Sox closed out the first half with an abysmal last few weeks, the team has come out of the break with something to prove. In winning all four games since the break, the Sox have combined to score 27 runs. That statistic is a huge improvement upon the pathetic numbers turned out by the same players in the first half of the season. 

Regardless though, Monday was just that much better than even the three games before that that took place on it. 

Beginning early, the Sox chased Jays starter, Drew Hutchinson from the game after he recorded just 8 outs against them. In just that two and two thirds inning span of time though, the Sox were able to nurse 9 hits, a home run and 6 scores out of the under matched Hutchinson. A true measure of the Sox easy exploitation of Hutchinson's incapability to throw a ball past the Sox bats was thus: in less than 3 innings, Boston sent 17 batters to the plate forcing a total of 68 pitches by Hutchinson. When he was finally pulled in the third inning it evoked that feeling among Red Sox fans that went somewhere along the lines of "oh come on leave him in, we were having ALOT of fun!" For Jays fans, it was merciful none the less. 

But as the game resumed, things prove to get no better for the Jays and thus, no worse for the Red Sox. After Brad Mills managed to draw Christian Vasquez into a fly out situation, John Lackey worked past back to back doubles given up to start the bottom half of the 3rd inning with just one run against his name. Over the course of the night, things like this were commonplace for Lackey who though lackluster at some points (only three strikeouts) more than made up for such shortcomings by walking nobody and allowing just 1 earned run.

Therefore, with their defense playing a strong game, the bats came out even harder in the middle innings than they had in the first 3. After Brock Holt hit a lead-off double, David Ortiz came in to rake a 4th inning two run home run deep into straightaway center field. By that point the Red Sox held a whopping 8-1 lead over the sputtering Blue Jays and the game seemed out of reach. 

The weight of these statements were amplified one inning later when Boston nearly doubled its lead. Rattling off 5 straight hits to lead off the 5th inning, the Sox sent their power trio of, Dustin Pedroia, Ortiz and Mike Napoli to the plate having already scored 3 times in the inning. That should have been enough. But no, like that one really great kid in the youth soccer leagues, the Sox continued to shell the outfield stands with souvenirs. With a runner on at second base, Ortiz cracked his second home run in as many innings. Napoli made it double when he came up next in the order, placing his 12th home run of the season just over the right field wall. Reliever Brad Mills was pulled following the back to back homes runs and left the game having allowed 8 runs. Finally the Sox quit their bombardment notching just 2 more hits before the end of the game. 

Nonetheless, when they walked off the field Monday night, the Red Sox did so knowing that they had played their best ball of the year in the game. They plated 14 runners and tallied 18 hits. They chewed through a substantial chunk of the Rays pitching staff and drew within 5 games of .500 for the first time since May. 

Overall, the team was buzzing after the game.

"We're getting good offensive approaches over the past 10 games or so," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "There's been good energy throughout and when David [Ortiz] is doing what he's capable of, it's the hub of what our offensive is."

John Lackey admired the ease with which the team scored and won Monday as well.

 "The guys swung the bats great tonight. it was a fun night, kind of fun to have them every now and then. The season can be a grind at times and it's nice to have a little fun," Lackey said. "The way they were swinging, I was trying to get quick outs and get our guys back in there, keep them in a rhythm."

Overall, this win was convincing. It proved that the Sox still have the DNA within them that won the World Series last year. As of now, they sit in 4th place in the AL East 7.5 games out of first and 6 out of the second wild card. The hole is deep but with 63 games left to dig out of it, so is the mountain of possibilities. 

Who knows, the Boston Red Sox could surprise us once again.

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The differences between 2013 and 2014: Red Sox minor league team possibly producing more riveting play than big club

The Red Sox opened second half play Friday night at Fenway. It was the first game in five days and the first in a second half that had been presumably doomed to end badly by the cataclysmic collapse in the first portion of the 2014 summer. Devoid of stars like Shane Victorino and pitching great Clay Buchholz, the team was wallowing in a hole they dug for themselves and as fans watched their team they were treated to less than stellar showings by many of the Red Sox veterans.

When you look at the differences between this season and the remarkable summer than was last, what made the 2013 Sox World Series winners was the fact that they were youthful in their drive to win and never gave up on themselves. That belief, that never quit attitude made it possible for the 2013 Sox to erase a 5 run 9th inning deficit on August 1st, 2013 against the Mariners. That belief made it possible for the Sox to walk off in 11 games and for Johnny Gomes to log a whopping 4 pinch hit home runs. The youthful attitude also let Koji Uehara turn from a fringe bull pen body to the greatest closer in baseball once going 33 innings without allowing a run to be scored as well as bowing down 29 straight batters in August.

The 2013 Red Sox were a thrilling revival of old school baseball where every game and every pitch mattered. They made summer nights baseball nights for 6 whole months and possibly gave the struggling MLB its greatest selling point in years. Worst to first was perhaps the greatest thing that ever happened to the Red Sox and in turn the league as a whole.

And yet since that day, the Sox have given up and lost that youthful drive that made them great. 2014 has been a season for one reason or another lacking the kind of fireworks displays by power threats up and down the line up. It has seen the Sox defense crumble at times and refuse to make key plays at key times and yet there is still one more aspect of the current Boston baseball team that makes them inferior to last season's version. The 2014 Red Sox are at times harshly unlikable.  

The man who last season warned of becoming the MLB's greatest ambassador, David Ortiz, has punctuated his 2014 season not with home runs but instead childish remarks complaining about various trivial aspects of the game (complaints about scheduling and official scoring seem to stand out). Johnny Gomes' teenage bravado and comedic cockyness that last year won him praise has manifested this year as simply obnoxious. His faux defense of the team was fun last year but when he fails to perform at all it is annoying. 

All and all, when you watch a Red Sox game and you see Gomes attacking Yneual Escobar for pointing at his dugout you do not cheer. You turn the game off. Because once there is no thrill of being a great team and once there is nothing to play for, these players seem to tone down their effort substantially and players not playing as hard as they can almost always translates to boring, fake baseball. 

This fact coupled with that that even a good game is brutally hard to watch due to its length is starting to take a huge toll on the MLB's longevity in the tight battle for ratings that rages between the nation’s top sports leagues.  

Nonetheless, baseball remains something fun and irresistible when played right. And while baseball and frankly, every other one of the big four sports has since been chewed up by commercial obligations, minor league baseball has managed to retain the attention of millions across the United States.

No matter the age, players in triple-A baseball are fighting brutally with each other and their own statistics to climb even higher on the ladder of professional baseball excellence and will play hard even past the point when their club is eliminated from postseason play simply because they are still trying to impress scouts. These minor league games are often higher scoring than the MLB. Furthermore the strikeout pandemic is less prevalent in this level as highlighted by the fact that it has been over 15 years since a perfect game has been thrown. 

All and all, minor league baseball goes beyond just that fabled team from Durham and though it still holds a harsh reputation for calming the dreams of many prospects, it also attracts millions of people per year to its ballparks. 

But beyond that, in the opinion of this particular writer, it is now churning out a better product than its parent league (the MLB).

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Cost per goal is changing the landscape of the NHL: Colorado Avalanche is the team of the future

Since the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011, their core that was once renowned as an archaic foundation for a dynastic reign similar to those enjoyed across the NHL in the 70's and 80's. And yet, as the salary cap as sliced down on the team's roster like a butchers knife does a flank of beef, there remains hope. Now devoid of guys like Michael Ryder, Mark Recchi, Andrew Ference, Shawn Thornton, Nathan Hornton, Tyler Seguin, Tim Thomas and now Jarome Iginla, the Bruins have been shown that veteran talent is beginning to become something that no team can win a Stanley Cup off of. 

More and more often now, cup champions have been winning via homegrown and or young talent. In both LA Kings victories, guys like Dwight King, Kyle Clifford and Jordan Nolan have made great, sustained contributions to the team at very little cost. The same could be said for some of the Blackhawks key role players like Dave Bolland, Viktor Stallberg and Nick Leddy who also contributed to the team 2013 Cup win at minimal cost to the team. 

Among many other trends that are all becoming more and more evident in the evolving NHL, rookies are now the way to win. Small figure deals to young players with not enough experience to command any more money allow for teams to get the best bang for their buck. Or more simply, if you are able to base your team around rookie deals and rookies goals you end of paying much less money per goal than you would if you based your team around the Jaromir Jager's and the Jarome Iginla's of the league. 

To solidify that assumption, I point towards the Tampa Bay Lightning. By the end of the year, the Colorado Avalanche had produced a Calder Trophy winning player in Nathan McKinnon. McKinnon scored 24 goals for Colorado last season but cost the team a cap hit of just $925,000. When you divide those two numbers, you are given a cost per goal total of $38,541. When you compare him to Johnathan Tavares who scored the same number of goals in 2014 as McKinnon, the $229,000 the Islanders paid per Tavares goal was nearly 6 times more than that that the Avs paid for McKinnon's goals.  

Now an argument could be made that Tavares had an off year in 2014 that was obviously cut 20 games short by an MCL tear suffered in Sochi and so therefore the stunning rip off that the Islanders suffered was a onetime thing. However, if you look at an player with much less of an offensive reputation than Tavares, the veteran vs rookie cost per goal trend still stays true and says the same thing. The Bruin's Milan Lucic who was not even the top scorer on the team scored 24 goals in 2014 just like McKinnon. But unlike McKinnon, Lucic made 6 million dollars thus inflating his cost per goal to a whopping $250,000 per goal.  

Furthermore, beyond the pay checks handed out to individual players, one could also look to overall team payroll to judge the truth behind this trend. Looking at a veteran heavy team like the Bruins, the overall payroll is whopping. Last season the Bruins paid out over 73 million dollars to a total of 26 players. Those 26 players scored a total of 258 goals in repayment of their team. But much like the sheer rights to name those players on their roster, the Bruins had to pay dearly for all those goals. They had to pay $282,945 for each of those goals. That is an astounding number but some believe that it is a necessary sacrifice because to win a Stanley Cup a team needs veterans.

Nathan McKinnon's Avalanche however, do not agree. As of now, the average age of players listed as Avalanche starters is 25.6 years old. The average age of the players listed as Bruins starters is 27. While almost a year and a half difference is not a very big difference in the spectrum of life, when you take into account the quirks of contract negotiations it is substantial. Most great players start their careers by signing a 3 year rookie deal worth 3 million dollars paid when a player is 19 years old. That deal concludes when a player is 22 at which point a player, if he is good enough, then signs a longer generally 5 yearlong deal that can at times cost a team 20+ million dollars. Obviously the more players under the age of 22 a team has the lower their payroll will be. As of now the Bruins have just 1 such player while the Avalanche have 3.

As a result of that that they paid their players a total of only $54,799,000 last season which amounts to a cost per goal of $239,995. That is $42,949 fewer dollars than those paid per goal by the Bruins.  

So what does this all mean? This means that unless teams like the Bruins, Penguins and Blackhawks ditch their veteran hungry ways, they will quickly run out of money. Looking forward if the NHL continues to turn towards this rookie driven future than we could be treated to a nearly constant turnover of NHL dominant teams as the worst teams one year nab top picks the next and run away with the league for a few years before loosing their stars and falling back to the bottom. 

*** Please note ***

All salary statistics for this report were gathered from Capgeek.com and Sportscity.com. 

All ages of players discussed were gathered from Bostonbruins.com and Coloradoavalance.com.

All goals scored statistics discussed in this report were gathered from NHL.com

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Thoughts on AJ Pierzynski designated for assignment by Red Sox: Interesting move shows Sox have changed plan for 2014

During a weekly interview between WEEI and Red Sox manager John Farrell, the Boston skipper announced that his starting catcher, AJ Pierzynski had been designated for assignment. The decision was not without reason as Pierzynski has tailed off offensively in the past few months but nevertheless, it does tear down a solid plan that was set forth going into this season. 

After the tumultuous defensive collapse suffered by former starting catcher, Jarrod Saltalamaccia last season, the three year veteran of the system was not offered a qualifying offer prior to free agency. Looking for a catcher with better defense than that given by Saltalamaccia, coupled with the same average offence he brought to the table, the Sox went south as they were intrigued by current Rangers catcher: AJ Pierzynski. 

Pierzynski, a 37 year old left handed hitter had logged 15 years of MLB experience playing extensively for the Twins and White Sox and briefly for the Giants and Rangers. In that time, AJ had employed a strong powerful swing to clock an average of more than 60 RBI's a season and assemble a batting average of .282. While those numbers may not be all that impressive when compared to some of the other power hitters the Sox already had, compared to the catcher Pierzynski would eventually replace in Boston, he was not half bad. 

For example, in the 2013 season where AJ played a whopping 119 games, Pierzynski clocked 17 home runs and 77 RBI's for a batting average of .271. Those numbers were actually partially better than those assembled by Saltalamaccia. Playing in 2 more games than AJ, Salty hit 14 home runs, 66 RBI's and assembled a batting average of .273. With nearly identical statistical seasons at the plate, the Sox looked to defense where they quickly saw the subordinate nature of a Saltalamaccia/Pierzynski comparison. 

As good as Salty was for Boston in his few years with the team, Saltalamaccia was never one to gun potential base theifs down at second and in the few times he tried, errors were of commonplace. In 332 games with Boston, Saltalamaccia committed 20 errors, the most infamous of which being the historic botched throw to third base in game three of last year’s World Series that cost the Red Sox a chance for a series lead.  

After the realization that the Sox needed a defensive catcher, Pierzynski was signed. In the same span of time that Saltalamaccia played for the Sox, Pierzynski amassed a caught stealing percentage of .265 as opposed to the 24.7% of runner Saltalamaccia gunned down. For reasons like these, the Sox inked a 1 year 8.25 million dollar deal with AJ that would help them bridge the gap between Saltalamaccia and the barrage of prospects that the teams was developing down in Pawtuket.  

Pierzynski had hit .254 this year in Boston with 4 home runs and just 31 RBI's making 2014 one of his worst offensive seasons on record. While the Sox insisted that Pierzynski's dismissal had more to do with the play of the guys behind him on the depth chart than his, it is no secret that had AJ put up some of the offensive numbers that even a few years ago were normal for him he would still be a Red Sox. 

But what did the Sox have to say about the decision? John Farrell defended the move in the interview with WEEI

"It's an opportunity for us to invest in players that are going to be here beyond 2014," Farrell said "and while there may be other decisions that are forthcoming, we felt like the place we were going to start was behind the plate."  

The Red Sox have gone the route of younger players of late, bumping Brock Holt up full time earlier in the year and then moving Mookie Betts up behind him and will follow the same path as they fill the hole left by Pierzynski. 

For a few years now, the Sox have been eyeing a player who was climbing through their system with grace and great intrigue. That player, Christian Vasquez was promoted today and logged his first start in the MLB Wednesday night against the White Sox. 

"That brings Christian to us, a guy we are high on his abilities, particularly as a defender and his ability to shut down the running game, and someone who continues to develop as an offensive player."

Also, in contrast to the general tension that almost every MLB player had with the fiery AJ Piersynski, much of the team has nothing but good things to say about the young Vasquez. Backup catcher David Ross praised his play back in Spring Training today. 

"I think he's a great young prospect. Love his attitude. He's got a cannon for an arm; you're going to see a kid that can really throw. I'm anxious to be a part of the catching corps with him. I think he's got the mentality. Talking to him in spring training, he cares a lot. He wants to help the pitchers. He's not just about hitting, he's not just about catching, he's about both. I think he's going to be a good bright spot for us."

So what does this all mean? 

Let’s face it, the Sox will not repeat as World Champions this year and we have known that for a long time now. And yet prior to today, it seemed that the Sox were still trying to hold on to the last shreds of their preseason plan for this year. Today they gave it all up by dropping AJ Pierzynski. All and all, the Sox are using the rest of this season to test out their very deep prospect pool. With 5 rookies starting in Wednesday's game, there was no argument in regards to statements like that.

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Thrilling double header Saturday whispers of good and bad: Drew homers twice, Lackey dominates in loss

After Hurricane Arthur decided that we in Boston would rather get soaked in 10 inches of rain than watch a baseball game, the wallowing Red Sox compensated with a thrilling double header Saturday. Coming into the two game set with a win loss record of 38 and 47, the Sox saw Saturday as a chance to close the gap between themselves and the division leaders ahead of next weeks All Star break. 

The double header could help the Red Sox reverse some of the bad energy that has plagued the team for the better part of the first half by infusing the team with pride and a bit of momentum. 

At the end of the day the Sox had not done everything they wanted to. At the same time though, they had done things that no one expected prior to the double header. In winning game one with a score of 3-2 and loosing game two by a margin of 4-7, guys like Stephan Drew, John Lackey and Jon Lester played for contracts, statistical mediocrity instead of failure and reassertion as solid pieces of the Red Sox lineup. 

Beginning with Lester in game one, the Sox pitching pushed the limits of what defined a grey area in pitch count volume. Lester started the day with a win loss record of 9-7 going into his 18th game of the year. In a season marred by mediocrity and underperformance by men who were supposed pitching aces, Lester had remained a lonely bright spot for Boston, hurling a team high 122 innings pitched and an ERA of 2.73. Furthermore, in games that Lester lost, his shortcomings really had not been his fault. Much like John Lackey last year, Lester has often been given very little run support and seen his record suffer as a result of that.  

Though that was true once again in game one of the double header, Lester played good enough to not need such a petty thing as run support. Pitching 8 full innings with a hefty pitch count of 118 tosses, Lester allowed 5 hits and 0 earned runs striking out 7 and setting the stage for a stunning finish in the afternoon. 

With the game tied at 2-2 and 1 out in the 9th inning, Johnny Gomes stood on second base and took off running for 3rd as pinch hitter Johnathan Herrera cracked a broken bat single into shallow center field. Before the ball was even played, Gomes had rounded 3rd and by the time a wild through was caught about 10 feet to the left of the plate, Gomes had got there. Herrera logged his first career walk off to cap off a great performance by Lester and for once, the Sox fielders. 

Catcher David Ross praised his pitcher's pitch control. 

"He was really sharp today, throwing the ball to both sides of the plate [with a] down angle, great cutter, great breaking ball, had some phenomenal two-seam fastballs to get ground balls," Ross said. "Sometimes for me, Johnny can get a little rattled, but today he really kept his poise. We didn't really play well behind him, but he kept his poise, it was a very mature start for him today with great stuff."

Johnny Gomes hailed the fact that the team failed Lester again Saturday and yet as true aces do, he bailed them out.

"I really can't imagine the pressure of that along with the pressure of just trying to pitch your game and help your team win. If there's a book to be written, he's definitely writing about how to deal with it."

But beyond the thrill of game one, the Sox had to run back out onto the feild a few hours later. That game while ending with a different victor followed many of the same story lines. With a win loss record of 9 and 6, John Lackey pitched a strong quality start for the Sox but felt no run support and eventually fell apart late. Regardless though, Lackey hurled a very strong statistical outing 120 pitches, striking out 11 and allowing just 1 walk.  

Another similarity between game one and game two was the long balls lofted off the bat of Stephan Drew. Having spent his first 20 games as a 2014 Red Sox completely incapable of hitting baseballs, Drew came alive in both ends of the double header. With a batting average of .141, 2 RBI's and 0 home runs, Drew cast it all aside July 5th and lit up some fireworks of his own.  

Hitting balls out of the yard in both games, Drew finally married his fielding success with at least a measurable amount of power and offence. 

"It's a work in progress," Drew said. "Putting good swings on some pitches and getting some more results. That's a good feeling." 

His coach shared similar feelings about Drew's improvement.

"He's been working at some things, trying to get some timing. Good to see him get a couple of balls that he squares up to the pull side. It's not been a lack of work. It's not been a lack of effort by any means. Good to see him be in the mix here tonight and today." 

Now Drew's dominance was great, Lester and Lackey's strike out assaults were both admirable but the day was not without low lights. After the conclusion of game two John Lackey managed to stir up the emotions of the media. In reference to O's power threat Nelson Cruz's recent 50 game PED suspension, Lackey lashed out with pretty wild accusations.

“I’m not even going to comment on him,” Lackey said. “I’ve got nothing to say about him. There are things I’d like to say, but I’m not going to. You guys forget pretty conveniently about stuff.”

After those comments surface, O's manager Buck Showalter fired back in kind.

"There's so many insinuations, quite frankly, about people in every club. You usually don't hear those comments after a shutout or something," Showalter said. "I mean [Lackey's] doing really well. He's up throwing 93, 95 again and he's got one of the top ERAs in the American League, which with the DH means all of baseball. He's a good pitcher, so God bless him. He was good yesterday. Considering the timing of things, it's one of those things that you keep quiet about it and it reflects poorly upon the person who said it."

But perhaps the most stinging comment Showalter made in an interview with ESPN's Mike Lupica Show was that directed at the Sox other long ball hitters. 

"He might want to be more careful who he accuses of PED use. Just make sure he had no users on his team." 

But regardless, the Sox salvaged a promising performance Saturday at Fenway and that is a good thing.

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Thoughts on Jarome Iginla signing 16 million dollar 3 year deal with Colorado: Iginla's priorities mixed up by deal

When free agency began early on the first day of July, the Bruins watched as three key players were hacked off their roster. The first of those was backup goalie Chad Johnson who signed a 2 year 2.6 million dollar deal with the Islanders. The second was the beloved 4th line anchor, Shawn Thornton who signed an identical deal with the Florida Panthers. But neither of those two losses were the most painful nor the most surprising.

Chad Johnson was widely known to be a short term fix in goal while the Bruins prime young prospects like Niklas Svedberg and Malcom Subban for an NHL job and especially after the Bruins upped Svedberg's contract last month this move was expected. The Shawn Thornton loss, though crippling to the Bruins' forth line was also expected. We were told almost 2 weeks ago that Thornton would not be resigned by the team.

All of these were expected. The loss of Jarome Iginla especially to the Colorado Avalanche was almost bizarre. After toughing it out in a city that never won anything for over a decade, Iginla decided last season that it was time to win the Stanley Cup. He shortlisted 4 teams he would accept a trade too. Those teams were the Chicago Blackhawks, the LA Kings, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins and they all had one thing in common. They were all recent cup winners with the personnel and coaching styles that could help them win again. When Iginla was traded to the Penguins they were on a 15 game win streak and were poised to win the cup. When he was signed a year later by the Bruins they were a team in defense of the Eastern Conference Title and were really just one step away from winning in 2014. The point of all of these travels made by Jarome Iginla was to find a place where he could win a Stanley Cup and now suddenly, he breaks the mold. 

Contrary to the perennial, state of dynastic success that Iginla jumped into in Pittsburgh and Boston, Colorado lacks any established core. Their goaltender, Semyon Varlomov is a man riddled with off ice issues, while their captain, Gabrial Landaskog is just 21 years old. They are a young team that can score on breakouts but lacks any physicality, chemistry or therefore, passing skill. What does that all translate out to in regards to playoff success? Not much. If you look at the past 4 Stanley Cup Champions ('11 Bruins, '12 Kings, '13 Blackhawks, '14 Kings) all of them have played hardball hockey and used established veterans to groom a few young speedsters to greatness. The Avalanche do no have that, meaning that in the time that Iginla is there,  they will really only be able to get him through a series or two before they meet a real champion like the Kings or Blackhawks and get bounced.

His decisions seems bizzare and almost hypocritical as it undermines his reasoning for getting out of Calgary. Choosing Colorado over Boston? What the heck? In this season and many in the past, Boston was a better team and it will stay that way for many years to come. 

But regardless, Iginla did have reasons to leave and both he and his former Bruins GM tried to explain the deal the best they could. Iginla told TSN after the deal with Colorado was signed that,  "It was a tougher decision than I thought. On one hand, it was very, very difficult. I loved playing there, my family loved it, I got a great opportunity and it's a great organization. Their team is, on the ice, a great team and they're going to be contenders for year, but their team off the ice is a great group of guys, too. I love playing with them, but that's on the one hand, it was a tough decision. But on the other, it wasn't, because there wasn't really an opportunity there in a tough position with the cap." 

Frankly, there was an opportunity just not one that allowed the Bruins to pay Iginla 5 million dollars a year for any length of time. If Iginla really wanted to stay in Boston the team would have loved to have him and may have been able to deal him as much as two or three million dollars as well as giving him a much better chance to win a title than he will ever get in Colorado.  But that was not enough.

You see, when we compare this deal and all the others that were drafted by the Bruins before free agency began, they are different in two fundamental categories. Money and skill. The Avalanche offered more money, the Bruins offered much better chances at winning the Stanley Cup. What did Iginla choose? Money. 

Honestly though, what could we expect, this is professional sports. 

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