The Los Angeles Kings have put defenseman Christian Ehrhoff on waivers after Tuesday night’s 9-2 obliteration of the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden. Ehrhoff is a 12-year NHL veteran who has fallen a bit on hard times, this being his third team in three seasons after signing a one-year contract with Los Angeles last summer. In the 40 games he’s played for the Kings, he has put up eleven points (two goals) for Los Angeles. Ehrhoff is averaging a little more than 15 minutes of ice time per game. (Which is two minutes per game lower than his next lowest season, his rookie year.)
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The 33-year old has a reasonable $1.5 million dollar salary. When the Kings signed him, they wanted to add depth to their blue line (sound familiar folks?). Ehrhoff has found himself in the bottom of the Kings’ depth chart on defense as of late, and that situation has only been exacerbated by Los Angeles grabbing Luke Schenn last month.
In all honesty, Ehrhoff has had a few rough seasons. He played for Pittsburgh last season, but suffered a concussion and was only able to play 49 games. Before that, he spent three seasons with the Buffalo Sabres before having been bought out of the last seven years of his 10-year, $40 million contract.
The simple truth is that the Bruins’ blue line is a mess right now. Zdeno Chara has obviously slowed down, as has Dennis Seidenberg. Torey Krug can still be a solid player, but when he has a bad night (like his -4 performance against the Kings), it’s usually terrible. Adam McQuaid is coming back from injury, but he has shown himself unable to match Krug’s climb into dependable top four time. Colin Miller seems to be able to get the job done, but just doesn’t seem to have the confidence of Claude Julien. (Which means when that Miller isn’t guarding the popcorn machine, he’s checking out things in Providence.)
Zach Trotman and Joe Morrow are still learning. They’re not terrible, but at a time where the Bruins really need them to exceed expectations, they’re just treading water. Kevan Miller is still on the team, and still somehow has the confidence of Claude (and I have to shake my head wondering why).
According to General Fanager, the Bruins have the cap space available. Both the Bruins and Ehrhoff have no illusions about striking up any kind of long-term deal. Ehrhoff’s points would put him in the middle of the pack among the defensemen, and he is capable of doing a better job on the blue line than the ‘Miller Filler’ or the new kids. The Bruins need to do something productive, and if they don’t try to pull the trigger on a Loui Eriksson trade, they might as well find a reliable bottom pair D that’s cheap and can fill in a gap the Bruins needed filled.
Do I love this idea? No. Do I think it would solve an immediate problem with the Bruins without breaking the bank or making things worse? Yes, and that’s why the Bruins should grab him off the waiver wire.