Boston Bruins: Too Much of A Good Thing?

Jan 4, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Boston Bruins forward

(34) skates with puck against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Boston Bruins 2-1 in the shoot out. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins have been very fortunate these last few seasons to have a team based on depth. The Black and Gold have had especially strong depth in its forward positions, especially at center. While this has been a key strength for the B’s, it will soon become a liability in Boston.

For the last few seasons, the Bruins have had the same four players at center. The only major change that has occurred in the center position is swapping out veteran Chris Kelly on the third line for Carl Soderberg.

Carl Soderberg is (at the moment) my nominee for the Seventh Player Award. Soderberg has been rather outstanding as the Bruins third line center. Soderberg is currently second in scoring for the Bruins with thirty-two points(ten goals). He’s a +9, and has remarkable chemistry with the team. That chemistry is especially strong with fellow Swede Loui Eriksson. He’s played in every game for the Bruins this season (one of only five Bruins). He’s solid on offense, decent on the power play, and fills in wherever needed for the team.

The Bruins organization gets this total package player for just a $1,008,000 hit to the cap.  Dollar for dollar, he’s one of the best players on the ice. If this was any other team in the NHL, Carl Soderberg would be a top-six forward. Unfortunately for him, Claude Julien already has two of the best centers in the game: David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron.

The B’s seem resistant to change at times. Coach Julien wants his players to play two-way, defensive-minded hockey. It’s the biggest reason why Ryan Spooner and Alexander Khokhlachev didn’t make the final cut at the beginning of the season. (It doesn’t help that they’re both natural centers either.)  It also explains how explosive scorers like Phil Kessel and Tyler Seguin couldn’t find their niche in Boston either. Any incoming player had better be able to play to Julien’s demanding specifications or they won’t stay long.

Next season will find the organization facing a very uncomfortable level of change, and it could have been avoided.

The Bruins will have several players who will be up for contracts. Torey Krug and Reilly Smith will certainly not accept another bare bones contract like they did during training camp. Dougie Hamilton will be expecting a solid pay day as his entry level contract is up at the end of the year. The Bruins signed a few too many long-term, high pay contracts with no-trade clauses. Now, the B’s will have to make tough choices, and Carl Soderberg will likely be one of them.

Soderberg’s contract will be up at the end of the season. He’s certainly earned the salary bump that his fellow players will be getting. Will the Boston Bruins be able to commit to Soderberg like they will to a player like Dougie Hamilton? There doesn’t seem a way for the Bruins to do that, especially if the salary cap remains stagnant due to the sagging Canadian dollar.  This means that the Bruins will try to get good value out of a trade. Otherwise, they’ll just allow him to walk away into free agency.