Boston Bruins: Dennis Seidenberg Returns To Practice
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins received a very welcome skater at practice on Thursday. Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg participated in the Bruins practice for the first time this season. Seidenberg has been out of commission since the offseason and had successful surgery on September 24th to repair a lumbar spine disc herniation. The estimated time for recovery was set for eight weeks, and Seidenberg seems to be right on schedule for that estimation.
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Having skated individually almost every single day over the course of the last few weeks, it’s encouraging to see the 34 year old German-born defender skating with the team. Seidenberg has always been a resilient player and has dealt with injuries head-on in the past.
Back on December 28th of 2013, the Bruins lost Dennis Seidenberg to injury on what looked like a harmless play. Dennis Seidenberg got tied up with Ottawa Senator’s forward Cory Conacher behind the Bruins net and Conacher ended up falling straight onto Seidenberg. Unfortunately for Seidenberg, his leg was twisted and he and ended up suffering tears in his ACL and MCL. Seidenberg worked vigorously during his recovery process to rebuild the strength in his knees, although he still looked worn out for most of the 2014-15 season, despite playing in all 82 games.
The Bruins will certainly welcome Seidenberg back as soon as he’s ready to play, as he’s been such an integral part of the team’s defensive group since the 2009-10 season. The Bruins currently have seven defenseman on their NHL roster, including: Zdeno Chara, Adam McQuaid, Torey Krug, Kevan Miller, Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman, and Colin Miller. There isn’t much experience in that defensive group, and it’s likely that one of them will be sent down as keeping eight defensemen on the roster wouldn’t make much sense.
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The likely candidate to be sent down based on who Claude Julien has been dressing each night is Zach Trotman. The young defender didn’t play poorly to start the season, but the Bruins started the season with an 0-3 record and certain changes needed to be made. Trotman has a bright future in the NHL, and should see playing time at some point this season. It’s likely that one of Joe Morrow or Colin Miller will be the odd-man out each night, although both players have performed very well in their time spent with Boston this season. Kevan Miller could be another option to be seated, especially if Claude Julien wants to let his younger, and expected future-core defensive players get some more valuable experience. The Bruins will likely cycle their healthy scratches every night as needed, but it’s very unlikely that Dennis Seidenberg sees any time as a healthy scratch this season.
Dennis Seidenberg is still a few weeks away from returning, but Claude Julien said it best. “For him, it was definitely more encouraging to be out there with the other players,” Julien also said. “Just moving through the drills and the puck-moving part of it (was good). He still has a ways to go, and definitely can’t take any contact. But the next step being able to be out there with us is definitely an improvement for him.” The hardest part of Seidenberg’s recovery is likely behind him, and that’s very good news for both him, and the Bruins.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports