The Boston Bruins have depth at center, but could still improve if they pursued veteran free agent, Brian Boyle.
Given the current cap situation the Boston Bruins find themselves in, the notion of adding anyone to the roster is probably being viewed as absurd, but in Brian Boyle, they could potentially seek to add him on a one-year cheap deal.
If you’re getting him for a year on the cheap, it’s a win. Not only does having the additional depth down the middle allow you to shift Charlie Coyle to the second-line as the right winger that David Krejci deserves, but you add a ton of leadership and heart to your locker-room. That’s never a bad thing to have, even in a locker-room containing leadership in spades, what with the likes of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and David Backes.
Why would Boyle come to Boston cheaply, you ask?
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Well, he is a Boston College alumni and thus likely knows the city well. What better way to celebrate his career by spending a year in the city his road to professional hockey (post-draft) started in.
He fits the Boston Bruins style of play, using his big body to create separation, never afraid to lay a hit and although his scoring has never been anything special, he has a knack for coming up with the goods when it really counts.
If you’re looking to add further mentors for John Beecher to look up to in his quest to become the two-way center of the future Boston Bruins, you’d be hard-pressed to learn from better guys than Brian Boyle and Patrice Bergeron.
Perhaps the biggest thing going for him is his personal character; he truly comprehends adversity and knows how to dig in to get things done. Perhaps having a character guy like him, along with the ones they already have, would’ve put this year’s Boston Bruins over the line in Game 7.
Anyone that is diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in or just before training camp yet battles back and then goes on to net a hat-trick on the night that ‘Hockey Fights Cancer’ is the guy you want around your organisation.
We’re now almost a month into free agency and he still hasn’t found himself a new team; safe bet is that Brian Boyle, as a Massachusetts native, would take a cheap deal to return to his home state and potentially even stay for a while to finish up a distinguished NHL career.
Maybe this is a deal that could happen, maybe not. It seems to me that these are the sorts of players that are put out most by the restricted free agents of the NHL seemingly unwilling to settle on their deals yet.
If the Boston Bruins can find a way to retain McAvoy and Carlo, yet still add Boyle; it’s something I’d say do every day of the week.