Boston Bruins: What if Nathan Horton stayed put in the summer of 2013?

Nathan Horton played in the Stanley Cup Final twice in his three seasons as a member of the Boston Bruins, but as an unrestricted free agent in July of 2013, he chose to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The summer seems like the perfect time to take a look at back at how different things could have been in Boston had Nathan Horton decided to sign an extension with the Boston Bruins back in 2013.

The Bruins had just lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final after a last-minute collapse in Game 6. It seemed as though the core of the Bruins would be intact for years to come, with Horton playing alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic, while Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand were first forming some chemistry along with Tyler Seguin.

Instead, Nathan Horton decided to look for a fresh start and did so by signing a 7-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets worth a total of $37.1 million. Combine Horton leaving with the Seguin trade to the Dallas Stars and it seemed to be a disastrous summer for the Bruins.

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The Bruins regrouped quickly, signing Jarome Iginla to a 1-year deal worth $6 million. Although he was in the final stages of his career, Iginla served as a pretty good replacement for Horton, finishing his season in Boston with 30 goals and 31 assists. Boston finished the 2013-14 season as the top team in the NHL but was knocked out of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round.

Meanwhile, Nathan Horton’s career was in jeopardy. He played in just 36 games for the Blue Jackets in what ultimately turned out to be his final NHL season. A nagging back injury has kept Horton out of action since the 2013-14 season, and while he has still yet to officially retire, the odds of him getting back on the ice seem slim to say the least.

Looking back at it now, the Boston Bruins got pretty lucky with Nathan Horton. If Horton re-signed in Boston, they wouldn’t have had the cap space to sign Iginla. That means the Bruins would have been left without a top-six forward, and limited resources to sign one. The Bruins would have missed out on Iginla’s production, meaning the President’s Trophy likely would not have happened.

In the end, while the Boston Bruins fell short of the Stanley Cup, they did end up with the 25th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The Bruins then used that pick to select a forward from the Czech Republic.

So in a kind of roundabout way, Nathan Horton leaving Boston to sign with the Blue Jackets led to the Bruins drafting David Pastrnak. In just a few seasons, Pastrnak has become a star for the Bruins and one of the best scorers in the NHL.

Of course, it’s impossible to know for sure how different things could have been if Horton did stay. The only thing we know for sure is that the Bruins dodged a bullet with his back injury, and in doing so found their star of the future.