Felger & Mazz

Felger & Mazz

Felger & Mazz

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA - JUNE 21: (L-R) Don Sweeney and Cam Neely of the Boston Bruins attend the 2019 NHL Draft at the Rogers Arena on June 21, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Ty Anderson joined Jim Murray and Joe Murray to talk about where the Bruins stand with acquiring Vladislav Gavrikov from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

  • Vladislav Gavrikov

    Feb 12, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (44) during the warm-up session before the game against Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

  • TRANSCRIPT:

    Jim Murray: The talk with the Bruins right now feels like it’s as we get close to the trade deadline it feels like this trade for this Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov is imminent, right? The report is it’s a first and a third round pick is what the Blue Jackets will receive in return. Reading from David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period. What’s preventing the confirmation of the trade as a salary cap Bruins have to move in are looking to trade Craig Smith. Like of course you know he was put on waivers before, and we know you want to move Craig Smith but what do you know about Vladislav Gavrikov? A little bit in what you a watch read about this guy because I’ll just tell you on the surface this feels like too high considering what his skill set is like. If you’re going to go all in, you’re going to give around a first-round pick. And from what I read about this upcoming draft, it’s deep. Some of these teams are going to be unwilling to give up their first-round picks. If you’re going to give a first round pick for a guy, a free defenseman, go with the guy. It’s more of a two-way player. Go with Jakob Chychrun of Arizona, I would think.

    Ty Anderson: Yeah. I think,  personally, I think a first-round pick or a first-round pick plus is a little too high for me. You know when I highlighted Vladislav Gavrikov when we spoke I want to say about a month ago, I want to say I was into it because I didn’t think it would cost you a first-round pick. And he was almost like the consolation prize for you not getting a Jakob Chychrun or, you know, not getting a Ryan O’Reilly or Jonathan Toews, who is off the market now because of his illness. You know, I looked at that and said, ‘Okay, well, that’s kind of like your backup plan is going to cost you a third and a high-end prospect and maybe more. A first and a third for a guy who I don’t know if he’s substantially better than Matt Grzelcyk or Derek Forbert? He’s not better than Hampus Lindholm. We know that, but it seems like a steep price to pay for what I would think is more depth than, say, transformative piece of your defensive core.

    Joe Murray: I’ll just ask you, when the since the Bruins are so good, this first round pick, is it really as much of a value as maybe some other years because of their record?

    Ty Anderson: No, no. So that’s kind of how I feel about it, right? That if you’re going to trade a pick, trade it when you’re projected to be 30 or 31st or 32nd, you know what I mean? That’s kind of where they are. You know, you go back to even when they lost the Cup final, they were the 30th overall pick that year. It’s going to be trading a late first-round pick. This isn’t going to be Charlie McAvoy at 16. It’s going to be totally different because of where they are in the standings. So I’m okay trading it. It’s just a matter of trading it for the right piece. Now, the latest reporting or there’s been some theories out there that Columbus is going to use these picks that they acquire from the Bruins to then flip and make a move for Jakob Chychrun which I would say, okay, if you’re the Bruins just go get Chychrun. Don’t help someone else get him. You just do it. So that’s where I’m kind of out with it. And, you know, with Vladislav Gavrikov, he’s a guy on a bad team, right? So his numbers are going to be bad. It’s just how it is. But his microstats are heinous. Microstats are more advanced analytics, but it’s like zone entries, it’s clean entries, it’s retrievals, things of that nature. Like there’s a lot of things now that I’m like, I don’t know if that fits with this team wants to do, especially with Jim Montgomery running things behind the bench.

  • VLADISLAV GAVRIKOV

    Jan 21, 2021; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov (44) skates against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

  • Jim Murray: So is he just too slow? Like what are certain things you look at and just see? Like he’s what? He’s kind of a big stiff.

    Ty Anderson: He struggles on break out passes, I believe is one thing that I was looking at. If I’m reading the formulas in the numbers correctly, he ops for safe plays more than creative plays, which I guess there’s value in that. But this team has sort of encouraged creative, you know, creativity from their defensemen. And who is he going to be playing with? If he’s going to be playing with Brandon Carlo, someone’s going to have to create in that pairing, right?

    Joe Murray: Right. Really, if you think about it.

    Ty Anderson: So he’s really close to Derek Forbort if you look at his numbers, raw data and analytics. Like, they are very similar players and Forbort’s been really good. I’m not trying to sit him. So what is his role? And I’m sure we’ll talk about this more, but a guy that people keep highlighting and saying, ‘No, no, you can’t have him’ is Grzelcyk. I was looking up some numbers last night and I wrote about this on the website, but you know that Matt Grzelcyk has been just as good without Charlie McAvoy this year as he has been with him, which is something that a lot of people don’t really know. They think, ‘Oh, he’s only good if you play him or Charlie McAvoy.’ No, the numbers in the on-ice goal differential the on a shot differential are almost identical with and without McAvoy for Grzelcyk.

    Jim Murray: So I mean, that’s one over the plus minus numbers the other day I think he’s the third plus on the team or.

    Ty Anderson: He’s now best in the NHL. It’s now tied with Hampus Lindholm at plus-36.

    Joe Murray: So why the defensive move? Like I like it for insurance, right? Like last year, I think they we saw a little bit there, a little weak there. But who comes out there like if you were looking at everybody is it Clifton is just the odd man out but in what if any of these guys done wrong to actually come out of the lineup to give up a first round pick be a rental but just because they can’t get this guy next year if they going to sign Boston.

    Ty Anderson: That’s the other part of it, right, is that I don’t know who you sit if you’re going to acquire what I view as a depth defenseman. Well I can tell you that Luke Schenn in Vancouver is going to cost a third-round pick. And you know, if you’re looking at the roster that way, it’s like, well I’d rather keep the first-round pick and just trade the third and get Luke Schenn.

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