Youth is being served on the Boston Bruins' blue line.
Before Cody Franson's drawn-out foray into free agency came to an end on Thursday, when he signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Sabres, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had shown interest in signing the defenseman. But after some back-and-forth between the two sides over the summer the club elected to pass, choosing instead to open the door for some young players already in the organization - namely Zach Trotman, Colin Miller and Joe Morrow - to rise up and grab a spot in the top six.
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"I think this is presenting an opportunity where you go and establish yourself," Sweeney said Thursday, according to CSN New England's Joe Haggerty. "There’s definitely a little bit of a tug of war going on internally as to whether or not you go out and get a guy that you know can provide what (Franson) can versus a little of the unknown as to what these (younger) players can grow into.
"But there’s always going to be that, and every team faces that when you have a little bit of transition and age, and you have some young players that are pushing for their own opportunity."
All three of the Bruins' internal options on defense are younger and cheaper than the 28-year-old Franson. Two of them were brought in as part of major trades, with Miller arriving from Los Angeles in the Milan Lucic trade, and Morrow packaged from Dallas in exchange for Tyler Seguin.
It was Trotman, drafted with the final pick of the 2010 draft, who impressed down the stretch last season. Playing largely alongside captain Zdeno Chara, Trotman recorded one goal and four assists in 27 games, while posting a Corsi rating of 53.2 at even strength.
Still, as promising as this trio may be, Sweeney admitted to having a contingency plan should his young blue-liners not prove ready after training camp. By passing on Franson, the first-year GM afforded himself a measure of salary cap flexibility that he can use prior to the start of the regular season, if need be, or at the trade deadline.
"I’m not going to turn my back on (internal competition) when I feel like guys are in that position, but if they fall short of that then we have to make an adjustment accordingly," Sweeney said.
