Posted in Rumors October 18th, 2007
Markov on the radar…but is he worth it?
The Boston Globe is reporting that the Bruins may be targeting Danny Markov to bolster their corps of defensemen. However, with a price tag of $3 million, getting him under the cap may be difficult.
I’m a bit torn on this rumor. I’m not 100% sold on Charo and the Awesome A’s (Andrew Alberts, Andrew Ference, Aaron Ward…and of course Wideman and Mark Stuart) but I’m not sure if Markov is the answer. While his presence would be welcome, you have to wonder what kind of worth he’s going to have. Is spending that kind of money really going to help the Bruins on their quest for the playoffs? Or could it potentially further hinder the development of their younger defensemen by reducing their ice time?
Through five games, the defense has performed somewhat better than last year, although they remain inconsistent. Chara has been pleasantly productive so far, so at least he’s performing up to expectations. Ference and Alberts are #2 and #4, respectively, in average time on ice for the team’s defensemen but have no points and a -3 +/- to show for it. Aaron Ward shockingly has two goals already, but he’s never scored more than six in a season. The defensive-minded Markov would more than likely help them on their side of the ice, but it still comes back to whether or not he’s worth it.
It all comes down to what your expectations of the Bruins are this year, and whether or not Markov can help them achieve that end result. For someone entering the season in playoff contention, and who could use a defensive defenseman to fill a need, the move makes sense. But for a team that’s coming off a season where they were the 8th worst in the NHL & making the playoffs will more than likely be a struggle, the answer isn’t so clear. The move *may* push them into contention…but more than likely at the cost of ice time for their younger defensemen like Mark Stuart.
As much as I’d love to take a gung-ho approach with this, I think it would benefit the B’s to pass on Markov, play Stuart some more to let him learn and possibly spend that cash more wisely down the road.
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 18th, 2007 at 12:17 am and is filed under Rumors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
