Haggerty On NHL Trade Deadline: Bruins Weren't 'All In' For Another Stanley Cup
BOSTON (CBS) -CSNNE's Joe Haggerty would've liked to have seen the Bruins do a little more at the deadline than acquiring Andrej Meszaros and some nobody off waivers.
Marian Gaborik, a natural goal scorer traded from Columbus to Los Angeles for two draft picks and a right winger with six points all season, could have (at a reasonable cost) given the B's a much-needed influx of speed - something this team sorely lacks.
Haggs recognizes that Gaborik's inconsistency and tendency to mail it in at times would have been a gamble, but a player of his caliber is a "a guy they would've liked to have had."
Andrew MacDonald was another player on the Bruins' radar leading up to Wednesday's deadline. He went from the Islanders to the Flyers for Matt Mangene plus a second and third-round pick.
Instead, the B's picked up Corey Potter off waivers and traded a third round pick to Philadelphia for a very marginal Andrej Meszaros.
MacDonald, while not Bobby Orr, could've helped the Bruins, and in Haggs' mind is a lot better than what they ended up with.
"They didn't give their best offer for [MacDonald] and they certainly had him viewed as a better option than Andrej Meszaros. Let's face it, Andrej Meszaros was a safety valve in case they couldn't get anything done by 3pm and that's who they ended up with. For my money, for a team with an aging Zdeno Chara and a young nucleus in their prime that's just not good enough at the trade deadline. Andrew MacDonald would not be the perfect solution for the Boston Bruins, but he's a better solution than Andrej Meszaros. I think he would have been a better fit."
Zolak then asked Haggerty about the actual prospect of Loui Eriksson getting traded at the deadline, and apparently it was never a serious consideration based on the "reputations on the line" as a result of the Tyler Seguin trade.
Haggs added he's not as down on Eriksson as everyone else is, and since coming back from his second concussion and the Sochi Olympics he's been playing a lot better and with a lot more grit.
"I still like what [Eriksson] brings to the table," Haggerty said Thursday afternoon.
Haggerty also talked about the Canadiens acquiring Bruins-killer Thomas Vanek and how that move will impact the Eastern Conference, plus gave his creative solution on how the Bruins can scale back Zdeno Chara's minutes the rest of the regular season.
Haggerty went out of his way to praise general manager Peter Chiarelli and how he's constructed this current roster . . . but he could have done a little more at the trade deadline.
"I just think in this particular trade deadline given where the team is, the expectations, the aging players and the three-to-four year window they probably have to win championships, you have to be all in at the trade deadline and I just don't think the Bruins were," Haggerty said in closing.
Listen below for the full interview:
Joe Haggerty Interview
MORE BRUINS COVERAGE FROM CBS BOSTON
