Five Bruins that will roar in 2013-14: # 3 Loui Eriksson
Apr 27, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Stars left wing Loui Eriksson (21) skates onto the ice before the game against the Detroit Red Wings at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
While we were celebrating our country’s independence, the Boston Bruins were making a large trade with the Dallas Stars. While we lost Rich Peverley and Tyler Seguin, the Dallas Stars sent us one of the most underrated wingers in the NHL. Loui Eriksson, who has played the last seven seasons in Texas will get a chance to play with a perennial Cup Contender. Like Bruins Nation, he is excited for the change coming up this season.
“Yeah, it will be a little different than Dallas,” said Eriksson after the trade. “I’m really excited to go there and see all the fans. I know they have a lot of people coming to the games and it’s a really good hockey town. I heard a lot of good things about Boston, the whole city, and it’ll be nice to check it out before everything starts. I’ll be ready to play there, and it will be awesome.”
He’s had some Selke worthy performances these last few seasons. He’s a fantastic defensive minded forward who can score with the best of him. Local media have already started to compare him as the “next Patrice Bergeron.” They nail it on the head there. Yes, Eriksson can be a thirty goal scorer. Yes, he’s a professional hockey player that will not bring baggage and distractions to the team. Adding a player like Eriksson to a line that already has Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand makes the Bruins second line the equal to many teams’ first line.
The Bruins organization feels the same way about Eriksson. They see the similarities to Bergeron, and can’t wait to see him on the ice. Claude Julien expressed his personal feelings on the trade. (Those feelings tend to mimic a lot of those who love the Bruins and see the potential in that trade.)
“He’s going to be a real good player, a good two-way guy probably a little closer to the [Bergeron] mold than the guy who is more of a good one-way offensive player. He’ll produce. He’s going to hopefully produce even more with us with the people that he’s going to be surrounded with, but he’s a great all-around player and that’s what our team is built on.”
The Julien system has brought the Bruins to the post season every year he has been with the club. Seguin didn’t fit in to the system, and that was one of the reasons why it made sense to trade him. Eriksson will give us stable and dependable scoring, and that’s what the Bruins will need if they want to see their third Stanley Cup Final in four years.