Don Sweeney Says "How Do You Like Them Apples?"; Signs Beleskey, Trades For Dot's Jimmy Hayes, Dumps Smith And Savard Contracts

After a rough weekend at his first draft, Don Sweeney came out firing on the first day of free agency and he shut a lotta mofos up. The GM signed coveted Anaheim Ducks free agent Matt Beleskey, dumped Reilly Smith (and his, for now, odious deal) and Marc Savard’s contract to Florida for Dot Rat Jimmy Hayes, and inked Ryan Spooner to a deal that could make him one of the NHL’s best bargains this year.

That ought to cleanse the skunked Heineken taste from the palate that was the return for Dougie Hamilton (which, essentially, was an invisible salary dump that wasn’t going to take any contracts back in return).

After a good season where he potted 22 goals and eight more in the playoffs, it was assumed that Beleskey was going to get a ridiculous, David Clarksonian deal. But the pundits were mostly wrong and the Bruins are essentially replacing Milan Lucic’s production (18 goals, 38 nights off) for much less money with a five year/$19M deal ($3.8M per year and a NMC for first two years).

Beleskey is a 27-year-old, six-foot LW that showed a real nose for the net in this year’s playoffs and had pretty decent possession numbers in the regular season and playoffs. And yeah, he did play with madman Corey Perry and the Vesuvio proprietor which will make anybody better. But David Krejci, in case you forgot, is a damn fine passer himself. And if wunderkind David Pastrnak is on the RW, this has the potential to be a hell of a line. This is a damn good signing for the Bs.

Reilly Smith made a good early impression, plateaued for a bit, then just kind of did nothing. Which made the decision (on Chiarelli’s watch) to give him a two-year extension at $3.425 per a baffling decision that further turned the fan base against him. So getting rid of that deal and bringing back RFA Hayes not only created more cap space, it got rid of a bad deal (and likely fan whipping boy) and brought in a big, local kid who is ecstatic about coming home. Add in the fact Florida took on Marc Savard’s deal and it was a coup for Sweeney, dumping almost $7.5M in salary in the deal. Hayes scored 19 goals last year and will be getting a raise from last year’s $925K. Smith may well turn out to earn that money in Florida. But I think the front office read the tea leaves and pulled the trigger.

Earlier in the day, the Bs inked budding center Ryan Spooner to a team-friendly two-year, $1.9M deal. If he can produce at the level he did last season, that price could be a steal. However, it’ll be interesting to see how the offense-oriented pivot fares as the third center (assuming he plays there). Regardless, that’s another good deal by the team.

Lots of people did a 180 on Don Sweeney today and, as expected, he has already put his stamp on this year’s squad. He needs to still sign RFA Brett Connolly but that shouldn’t be an issue. More importably, he effectively waved good bye to Mephistopheles and pulled the Bruins out of cap hell.

So all and all, it’s been the polar opposite of Friday and Saturday. And should put a smile on Bruins faces for Fourth of July Weekend almost as much as Beleskey’s Twitter profile

belestwit

*Awesome dog? Check.

*Classy thanks to Ducks fans and organization? Check.

*Fired up about coming to Boston? Check

*Old-school sans serif spoked-B? Checkmate.

One other note, Greg Campbell, who will forever be a part of Bruins playoff lore, scored a nice deal in Columbus as well so good for him. Little belated here but he and Dan Paille were great Bruins and classy guys during their stay. Bs fans should appreciate everything they gave. The did everything asked of them and never bitched. Thanks fellas, it was truly much appreciated and I wish you guys well in your respective futures.

This also officially marks the end of Savard’s star-crossed Bruins career and it will always make me feel sad when I hear his name (not unlike Cam Neely) because his career was ruined by that piece of shit scumbag Matt Cooke. The Bs signed him to a deal that likely would’ve made the crafty pivot the lowest paid playmaker in the league by now ($4M/yr for the elusive and durable center). Alas, a real asshole prematurely ended what could and should’ve been a great Boston run. I just wish the man nothing but good health going forward and am thankful for him helping return the Bs to prominence starting nine years ago today when the Bs shocked everyone by inking he and Chara to then-monster deals. Be well, Marc. And know you’re always a Bruin.

Analyzing that ‘Kessel to Toronto’ deal now?

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