Jan 11, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Andrej Meszaros (41) carries the puck past Tampa Bay Lightning center Valtteri Filppula (51) during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Meszaros Moving From Philly to Boston
Welcome to Boston, Andrej Meszaros. Some may have thought the Boston Bruins would pack up their trade kits with the addition of Edmonton Oilers’ D-man Corey Potter off of waivers.
The Bruins, though, made a decisive move for Meszaros based on Twitter reports from SportsNet’s Dan Murphy.
Flyers sending Andrej Meszaros to Boston. 3rd round pick in return.
— Dan Murphy (@sportsnetmurph) March 5, 2014
How does Meszaros strengthen the Bruins squad as a whole?
Well, Chiarelli made it clear that he’s not trying to revamp his team with a blockbuster trade. There isn’t much available on the market anyways. The Bruins GM made it clear that one of his goals before the deadline was to add a strong defenseman for depth intentions. Meszaros snugly fits this mold.
"“With each passing game, I see our ‘D’ maturing, I see them making less mistakes,” Chiarelli said. “It makes it a little easier on me. But I always feel that we need eight good NHL defenders going in to the playoffs. While I’m certainly not going to replace Seidenberg, he’s too good and those players aren’t available, you’d like to think that there is a player with a little bit of Seid’s defending that we could find and help us. But this year’s been a story about our depth and I’ve been happy with it.”"
Meszaros is 28 years old, a ninth-year veteran of the NHL season. Based on NHL.com statistics, This season, he’s amassed five goals, a plus-1 rating, and 12 assists in 38 total games for the Flyers.
In the final year of his six-year, $24 million deal, the Slovakian’s cap hit was roughly $3 million dollars.
Meszaros possesses some great qualities that will definitely help the B’s. He can quickly lead the rush, and he’s accurate on the trigger when passing up and across the ice. He has some offensive capabilities as well, namely his ability to blast shots from the point.
This trade should be approved by most Bruins’ fans given the poor state of the market.