Defensemen Dennis Seidenberg was not too pleased to hear trade rumors surface before the Boston Bruins opened any discussions with him. In a Boston Herald report, the 34-year-old was candid when suggesting his displeasure over the entire situation with management and his level of play.
“If I had heard it from the GM then I would have been concerned, but the thing that bothered me was that people even talked about it,” Seidenberg told the Herald. “That’s kind of a slap in the face. It means you’re not playing your best, and you obviously want to play to a level where people don’t question you”.
Seidenberg admitted, prior to the March trade deadline, he would nullify his no-trade clause if entertained by the Bruins. The matter became more obfuscated when the six-year Bruins vet insisted he would prefer to remain in a Bruins uniform.
“On the other hand, you have to focus on your own game and not worry about what people say,” insisted Seidenberg. “If it comes from the top, then you have to be worried about it, but I’ve never heard anything.
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“I’ve read it and I saw it, but at the end of the day, I have to focus on what I have to do.”
Seidenberg played his first full season with the Bruins since he suffered a torn ACL back during the 2013-14 campaign. Prior to dealing Dougie Hamilton on the Friday of the NHL Entry Draft, the widespread conception was Seidenberg was on a short leash.
That notion changed when Hamilton raised a Calgary Flames jersey over his head.
Hamilton’s signing resurfaced Seidenberg’s dusty commodity value. Suddenly, Seidenberg’s age did not matter. His $4 million cap hit through 2018 did not matter. His injury riddled past did not matter.
The Bruins are now calling upon the German, Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, and possibly Kevan Miller, Matt Irwin, or one of their plentiful kids to comprise their defense.
Had the Bruins not dealt the mobile Hamilton, Seidenberg likely would still be on the table as one of general manager Don Sweeney‘s expendable assets. In all likelihood, that quite simply is not the case anymore. It’s not up to Seidenberg, who stated, “You never like people to write those kinds of things about you. It just means that you have to work harder and do better,” to prove himself this go-around.
Follow Christopher Bokum on Twitter @ChrisBokum