Loui Eriksson : Should the Boston Bruins Keep Him
The Boston Bruins are being well represented this year in the 2015 IIHF World Championships. While they only have two players in the tournament (Loui Eriksson and Torey Krug), they’re already made an impact in this year’s international competition. Torey Krug put in an impressive goal in Team USA’s 4-2 win over Russia on Monday. Loui Eriksson put up a hat trick in Sweden’s 8-1 shellacking of Team Latvia yesterday.
More from Bruins News
- Bruins release Prospects Challenge roster, schedule Tuesday
- Bruins bringing back familiar forward on tryout contract
- The Bruins should take a look at these four free agents
- NHL Network lists Ullmark as sixth-best goalie in the league
- The Lasting Legacy of David Krejci
While Torey Krug has become a well-liked figure for the B’s, Loui Eriksson has become a polarizing player among the fan base. There are many Bruins fans who enjoy Eriksson’s playing style and what he contributed to the team last season. (Eriksson ended up second overall in points with forty-seven.) Eriksson was a solid performer for the Black and Gold, but he spent most of his time as a bottom six forward this season.
That’s where a lot of Bruins fans have an issue with him. The Bruins gave up a top-six forward Tyler Seguin (One of the main reasons why Peter Chiarelli found himself working for the Edmonton Oilers this year) for a player who has spent his time in Boston as a bottom-six forward. It hurt even more that Eriksson sustained two concussions and spent half of his first season for the Bruins off the ice.
Live Feed
Puck Prose
The 2014-15 season was a massive disappointment for the team and the fans. The Bruins failed to make the post-season for the first time in eight years. Naturally, a lot of fingers got pointed around the locker room and some landed on Eriksson.
“It’s just a big disappointment, for sure, that we can’t make the playoffs,” Eriksson said. “That’s where you want to be. End of the day, it’s always tough for everyone. Everyone wants to be playing right now and keep going. We had our ups and downs this year, and at the end, it comes [down] to the last game of the season, and it’s too bad we didn’t make it. It’s a big disappointment.”
Eriksson has had an outstanding run at the World Championship so far. Eriksson has put up five points(three goals), with a plus-four rating. He’s playing well, and if the Bruins decide to keep him, he’ll be an outstanding asset for the Black and Gold next season.
The Bruins will have enough problems next year. The cap ceiling will mean that Carl Soderberg is likely to leave Boston. (Ryan Spooner is expected to end up with Soderberg’s job.) The B’s will need to try and retain as many of the performing players they can. Call me crazy, but a near fifty point season is a good thing for a player to have. If his performance in international competition is a sign of things to come, than the Bruins should keep Eriksson next season.