Boston Bruins Trade Targets: Chris Kelly
Mar 9, 2014; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman
Erik Gudbranson(44) collides with Boston Bruins center
Chris Kelly(23) in the first period at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
There still seems to be rumblings and whispers among the Boston Bruins faithful. The fan base believes that certain players should or will be traded in the upcoming days. Over the next couple of days, I want to look at some of the players who are on the block in a lot of fans’ minds and offer an opinion of who is likely to stay in Boston or find their fortune somewhere else in the league.
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I know a lot of people want to send Chris Kelly packing. Chris Kelly had an injury laden season, and he missed the playoffs. (His last game played was April 8th against the Minnesota Wild.) He even had to have back surgery to repair the damage he sustained during the season. He only put up eighteen points this season(nine goals) and his plus/minus was a +2. That +2 is weak compared to other Bruins, but the Black and Gold had to constantly reconfigure the third line this year due to injuries.
Some might even consider him leaving when the moved Kelly to the wing to move Carl Soderberg in as center. Truth be told, the third line started to gel in that Loui Eriksson– Carl Soderberg -Chris Kelly configuration. Kelly’s ‘back of the house’ leadership is one of the reasons why they pinned an ‘A’ on his jersey. It would be odd for the organization to give him a letter and then ship him off to another team.
When Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli issued a statement on the Kelly surgery he finished by stating that he expected him to be ready for the start of Training Camp. That tells me Chiarelli is going to keep him unless someone makes an interesting offer. People also tend to forget this is a team that can still win a Stanley Cup, and I doubt Kelly will waive his no-trade clause to go to a franchise that’s actively rebuilding.