NHL Trade Deadline 2016: Boston Bruins and Lee Stempniak
2016 NHL Trade Deadline: Boston Bruins And Lee Stempniak
With the NHL Trade Deadline only three weeks away, speculation about which teams will make moves and which players will end up where are at an all-time high. Teams that are in the playoff hunt will need to decide soon whether or not they are legitimate playoff, and Stanley Cup contenders, and with that, they will decide if they should be buyers or sellers by the time February 29th rolls around.
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Two teams that are right in the mix for the playoffs are the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils. The Bruins currently sit in third place in the Atlantic division and hold the ninth best record in the NHL with their 30-20-6 record, good for 66 points. The Bruins currently sit just two points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning who have played in one less game than the Bruins. The New Jersey Devils currently sit in the first wildcard spot, and are 11th in the NHL with a record of 29-21-7, good for 65 points.
The Devils are one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins, however the Penguins hold two games-in-hand over the Devils, giving them steep competition in the Metropolitan division, as well as the Eastern Conference wildcard race. The Eastern Conference is so tight in terms of points that it’s hard to tell which teams will eventually buy, and which teams will sell; but the Devils have an interesting trade piece that they should at least consider moving at the deadline in Lee Stempniak.
Lee Stempniak spent the offseason training with the Boston Bruins, which led to rumors of the veteran forward potentially signing a Professional Tryout Offer with the B’s. Stempniak is a Darmouth-alumni, making his time spent in New England in the offseason not entirely surprising, but intriguing nonetheless.
When still looking for an NHL job, Lee Stempniak commented on the possibility of playing for the Boston Bruins.
"“I think it would be a good fit. It’s a great organization,” he went on to say, “I’ve heard great thing I’ve gotten to know some of the guys. I like them and have a lot of respect for some of their players, just the way they train, the way they play and as people. It’s definitely appealing, but for me, it’s sort of weighing the options. I’ve talked to more teams over the last couple of weeks and things have really picked up. (It’s about) finding the right opportunity at this point.”"
The decision on where to sign wasn’t an entirely easy one for Lee Stempniak.
"“For me, it’s sort of out of sight, out of mind a little bit,” he said. “It’s hard. I have a young family, so it’s not just a matter of packing up and moving. I haven’t changed how I’ve prepared at all. I’m just preparing for training camp on Thursday. Right now, it’s just figuring out where will that be.”"
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Lee Stempniak ultimately signed with the New Jersey Devils, and his season has been very impressive thus far. In 57 games, Stempniak has found the back of the net 15 times, marking the 10th time in his career that he’s scored in the double digits, while also adding 25 assists for 40 points in 57 games. Stempniak has always been a very good scorer throughout his career, especially at even strength, and he hasn’t disappointed the Devils at all this year.
In his brief time as a member of the New Jersey Devils, Lee Stempniak has skated in top-line minutes alongside Michael Cammalleri and Adam Henrique. While the Devils have been hard-pressed to find goals this season, sitting second-to-last in the league in Goals For with 125 goals on the season, ahead of only the Anaheim Ducks who have scored a shockingly-low 123 goals this year, the line Devils’ top-six has had some legitimate goal scoring talent that could be invaluable to another team.
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The line of Michael Cammalleri — 14 goals in 42 games — Adam Henrique — 19 goals in 55 games, and Lee Stempniak — 15 goals in 57 games — along with Kyle Palmieri who occupies the Devils second-line right-wing spot — 20 goals in 57 games — has contributed a total of 54.4% of the Devils scoring this season. With the Devils’ finding so much trouble to produce offense consistently, they could look to add offense to their lineup. With the defensive depth that the Devils have, they could be in the market for another top-six forward to help bolster a playoff push; on the flip-side, however, the Devils might not want to risk missing the playoffs without capitalizing on trading Lee Stempniak and his $850,000 contract that expires at the end of the year. Enter the Boston Bruins.
The Bruins have certainly had success on offense this season, scoring 168 goals on the year in 56 games; good for third in the league behind only the Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals. With that being said, the Bruins could still use some additional depth scoring on their team if they want to really make a push for the playoffs.
The Bruins corrently have six players who have scored in the double digits this season in Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Loui Eriksson, David Krejci, Jimmy Hayes, and Ryan Spooner. The Bruins top-line right wing spot has been most commonly filled by Brett Connolly as of late, and while he’s been playing good all-around hockey and hasn’t been a liability alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, it’s worrisome that the former sixth overall draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft has only scored seven goals in 53 games this season. Additionally, Connolly has only added 13 assists, statistics that do not reflect those of a top-line winger.
The issue with Brett Connolly could lie with the amount of shots he’s taken on net. Connolly currently sits in 11th on the team in shots taken with 70. Bruins’ rookie Frank Vatrano, who is currently playing with the Providence Bruins in the AHL, has skated in 23 less games than Connolly, but has taken six more shots than him as well. With that in mind, the Bruins’ could look into acquiring Stempniak as either a depth goal-scorer or to flank Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.
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The Boston Bruins primary focus at the trade deadline should still be a defenseman, but that doesn’t mean they won’t explore other avenues; such as trading for a player like Lee Stempniak. With the Eastern Conference race such a tight one, the Bruins would be wise to explore all options at the trade deadline, even veteran wingers who can play on any line on the team, and still remain effective. The Bruins have found offense from both of their top lines with regularity to this point of the season, but the depth production has been minimal, and that could change if the Bruins choose to address it at the deadline.
Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports