Boston Bruins: Failing To Learn From History

There is an old saying; Those who fail to learn from history are bound to repeat it. Last season, the Boston Bruins organization got rid of their general manager Peter Chiarelli.  There were several solid reasons. The Bruins failed to make the playoffs, there were a number of bad contracts and the team showed bad cap management.

Now, we’re starting to see Don Sweeney go down that same road in Boston.

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Last season, the fans and the media were disappointed with the fourth line last season. The Bruins bottom line was way overpaid for the limited work they did.  Even then, the loss of Chris Kelly only made the mess more severe as the Bruins couldn’t find a solid fourth line center.

This year, the Bruins offered Kevan Miller a four-year ten million dollar deal. It didn’t take long for most fans and media to howl with confusion and rage. Why? Because the signs are pointing to a repeat of last year.

The Bruins bottom pair blueliners (Miller and Adam McQuaid) are now making $5.25 million a year. One is a stay-at-home defenseman, and neither of them look like they can play top-four minutes. The Bruins are working from the bottom up, and that usually is a recipe for disaster in building a NHL roster.

At least Kevan Miller is happy with his contract.  The 29-year defenseman certainly won the lottery with this current deal.

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“It’s the team I started with, whether it was in Providence and then back to Boston, the organization I started with. I couldn’t be happier with how things have gone,” said Miller of his new deal. “That was one of the big key factors of me making my decision is I really love the city. I love the fans. Like I said in my statement, we have the best fans in the league and they’re great to play for. The whole experience so far has just been great. I’m looking forward to four more years of that for sure.”

The roster is looking like a mess. The Bruins still haven’t come to terms with either Loui Eriksson and Torey Krug. Eriksson is now worth around six million dollars a year. Krug is worth at least four if he decides to take a look at what is available in free agency. The odds of the Bruins coming to terms with both are slim and they might let both go.

If Krug and Eriksson leave, a lot of AHL players will be getting an early trial by fire. With Claude Julien‘s general reluctance to play young talent, it could be an ugly few opening weeks at the TD Garden (and it could also be the reason why Bruce Cassidy was brought up from Providence).

Remember when the Toronto Maple Leafs were the team that gave up the elite players in the never-ending quest for mediocrity? The Bruins have got to make sure no Toronto blue end up on their Black and Gold.