Grading the Boston Bruins at the Trade Deadline.
The Boston Bruins had two major issues they needed to address this trade cycle. They needed to find a solid right-hand, right-wing shot for their forwards and they needed to find a top-four defenseman to help fill in the gaps there. (There was also talk about finding a back-up goaltender, but that came from fans who were expecting maybe a bit too much from Niklas Svedberg.)
Overall the Boston Bruins had an interesting, but mediocre trade session. The Bruins were able to solve some of their problems, but left other issues completely unaddressed. The Bruins were able to stay under the cap (factoring in David Krejci‘s return from LTIR), so overall it’s a provisional win for the Bruins. Could the Bruins have done a better overall job? Yes, but it could have been a do-nothing or a disaster trade run for the B’s this time around.
Positive: Brett Connolly. Brett Connolly has joined the Bruins. Connolly will certainly add a certain level of speed that the Bruins certainly need. The good thing about this trade is that the B’s are looking at Connolly as a long-term, low-cost investment. He’s a first round draft pick (like the outgoing Jordan Caron), picked sixth overall in the 2010 Entry Draft (four places behind Tyler Seguin).
He hasn’t had much of a chance to shine in Tampa Bay. The Lightning’s depth chart has been pretty heavy, and he has been relegated to bottom six duties. That being said, he has put in twelve goals for the Lightning this season. (For those of you keeping track in your head, that’s as many goals as Reilly Smith has had this season(and having played twelve more games with considerably more ice time), and Smith has spent most of his time with team scoring leaders Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.)
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“This is a high-pedigree player, and they have a lot of offensive players in Tampa and they have a lot of right wingers and that’s why he was available,” Chiarelli said. “We felt it would be a good add because there’s a future for him here. We’ve done rental players and they’ve worked and some haven’t. The fact that you’re adding to bolster your group is a positive thing, and we felt this is the right way.”
Negative: Johnny Boychuk. The Bruins (factoring in draft picks) essentially traded Boychuk for Connolly. To be honest, it’s not good enough to wager the potential of one player over a proven deliverer like Johnny Rocket.
Positive: Au revoir, Jordan Caron. The Jordan Caron experiment is finally over in Boston. Jordan Caron will be heading over to the Colorado Avalanche. To be completely fair here, Jordan Caron’s greatest sin was not being a second Patrice Bergeron. When he played well, he got injured. When he didn’t, he didn’t play well for solid stretches. Caron (another former first rounder) couldn’t find his way out of limited fourth line or thirteenth forward duties in Boston. He now gets a chance to play on a young team that might find the right use for him.
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The Bruins also got center Paul Carey in exchange for a sixth round draft pick in 2016. On this trade, the Bruins came out ahead.
Positive: Maxime Talbot. (The Bruins traded French-Canadians.) The Bruins get a Stanley Cup champion (2009) in Talbot. They also get a return to the Merlot Men of old (well, at least for this season). Talbot is an old school grinder who will finally bring the promised grit back to the fourth line. (Once again, the scales have shifted from speed to grit.) He’s even got Shawn Thornton‘s skill for saying woefully inappropriate (but hilarious things) about NHL stars.
Negative: Centers. Both Talbot and Carey are centers. The Bruins have a hard enough time trying to move around the centers they have already. Two more will be problematic down the road, especially if the B’s are planning on keeping both of them.
Positive: Looking Forward. Ok, the Bruins took care of most of their needs on the forward side of the game. They’ll be able to adjust their lines to field four decent (and at least two excellent) lines in Boston.
Negative: No defense. The Bruins knew they needed to find some sort of top-four defenseman to take the place of Johnny Boychuk. They couldn’t even find someone they could either a.) use or b.) afford. They weren’t able to close a deal, and the B’s will be in serious trouble if any of the remaining defenseman take an injury this late in the season.
Negative: Craig Cunningham. The Bruins jumped the gun and put Cunningham on waivers a little too early. He was quickly snapped up by the Arizona Coyotes. Had the Bruins kept him to the trade deadline, they could have gotten something for the young forward.
Neutral: Jared Knight for Zack Phillips. Knight gets moved to the Minnesota Wild organization.
Overall, we have to give Peter Chiarelli a C/C- for the this trade cycle. The Bruins weren’t able to make any exceptional trades that would drastically improve the Black and Gold. While the Bruins forward situation now looks a little more clear, the lack of defensemen could prove crippling the deeper the Bruins go in the playoffs.