Boston Bruins: Zach Trotman Signs In Los Angeles on One Year Deal
Former-Boston Bruins defenseman Zach Trotman has signed a one year contract worth $650 thousand to play with the Los Angeles Kings. This was a very good depth-signing by the Kings who will probably use Trotman better than Bruins’ head coach Claude Julien did.
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In relief of Dougie Hamilton and Dennis Seidenberg in Boston two season ago, Trotman was a very positive addition to the Bruins blue line in a top-four capacity. With the exception of Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid, Trotman was tasked with the toughest zone starts of any Bruins defensemen during that stretch. The majority of Trotman’s ice time started outside of the offensive zone, however he finished third behind Chara and Hamilton with a 52.9 Corsi percentage among Bruins defenders with at least 25 games played (Corsi Stats courtesy of Puckalytics.com)
With puck possession stats becoming increasingly important in the NHL, Trotman looks like he could be a very good under-the-radar addition to a good LA Kings team. Trotman will also likely play in a bottom-six role with the Kings, giving him the opportunity to truly flourish defensively against bottom-lines in the Western Conference.
Trotman isn’t known for his offensive abilities, but that likely won’t be a concern in Los Angeles with Drew Doughty and Jake Muzzin playing on the top-pairing.
Next: Bruins Sign Anton Khudobin
This isn’t a major transaction, and shouldn’t be treated as such, but it was still a solid depth-move by the Kings. Small depth pieces like Trotman can be the difference between making the playoffs, and making long playoff runs as evidenced by these types of moves usually seen around the trade deadline each year. After being drafted with the last pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Trotman has done a good job at keeping his name relevant at the NHL level despite the adversity he’s had to face thus far.