Boston Bruins: Would Derick Brassard have been a smart pick-up?

The Boston Bruins might’ve missed a trick in not picking up Derick Brassard from free agency this summer.

Given that the New York Islanders just inked Derick Brassard to a lowly $1.2 million for the season, the Boston Bruins might well have been able to somehow find the dollars to bring him in on a one-year deal. All that without damaging their ability to re-sign restricted free agents, Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy.

Here we’re talking a player that consistently grabbed 40 points on two consecutive seasons with the Ottawa Senators in very recent memory. Whilst you wouldn’t expect Brassard to reach his 60 goal heights he once hit with the New York Rangers, he’s only 31 and the short-term nature of the contract suggests it would’ve been worth any risk.

If you look at a logical fit in the Boston Bruins line-up for Derick Brassard, it’s right there on the third line. You then get the chance to move Charlie Coyle up to second line right-wing duties with David Krejci and Jake Debrusk. A third line group of Danton Heinen, Brassard and Karson Kuhlman or Brett Ritchie sounds pretty decent to me!

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We’re also talking a player with ninety-nine games of play-off experience here; Derick Brassard would’ve fit right in with the likes of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask who are battle-hardened play-off veterans these days!

You’ve got to imagine that the Boston Bruins chose to not even so much as consider a deal in part because their little remaining salary cap space is in all reality already assigned to McAvoy and Carlo, if not contractually but at least on paper with the guys doing the sums.

I have a feeling that the New York Islanders have managed to grab quite the steal here; a very low-cost and low-risk contract that should work very much in their favour; even last year; a low year for him, he still netted 14 goals.

For a third line center, those are exactly the sort of secondary scoring you want, at the very least. Perhaps he’d have found chemistry and brought Danton Heinen out of the sophomore slump we witnessed last season.

Yes, he’s an ageing player and it’s not exactly what the Boston Bruins need to be adding to their line-up, but cost-effective, easily trade-able and still able to do a better job in the NHL than other options such as David Backes based on last season.

An opportunity missed, for sure. One that the Boston Bruins will live to regret, unlikely. Derick Brassard would’ve improved our already strong center depth and might’ve produced enough to hold value.

Really, it’s one of those summer decisions that doesn’t change a great deal, unless of course he’s suddenly a 50-point guy again and then we’re looking at it with rose-tinted glasses!