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Boston Bruins: Top 3 defensemen worth bringing in for PTO

By Matt Hawkins

MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 27: Karl Alzner #27 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against the New York Rangers during the second period at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - FEBRUARY 27: Karl Alzner #27 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against the New York Rangers during the second period at the Bell Centre on February 27, 2020 in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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LAVAL, QC – OCTOBER 13: Brian Strait #7 of the Binghamton Devils skates against the Laval Rocket during the AHL game at Place Bell on October 13, 2017 in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The Laval Rocket defeated the Binghamton Devils 8-7 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
LAVAL, QC – OCTOBER 13: Brian Strait #7 of the Binghamton Devils skates against the Laval Rocket during the AHL game at Place Bell on October 13, 2017 in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The Laval Rocket defeated the Binghamton Devils 8-7 in overtime. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

The Boston Bruins are very thin on the left side of their defense going into 2021, so who are three defensemen worth bringing in for a professional tryout?

Going into the 2021 season, the Boston Bruins are very thin when it comes to the left side of their defensive corps. With the departure of Torey Krug to the St. Louis Blues and the uncertainty that Zdeno Chara will be back, Boston is left with one left defenseman guaranteed to be in their lineup when the season starts, Matt Grzelcyk.

Along with Grzelcyk, John Moore is the only other left defenseman on the B’s that has played in at least 100 NHL games. The other candidates of Urho Vaakanainen, Jakub Zboril, and Jeremy Lauzon combined don’t even come close to at least 100 NHL games with just 44.

So, I think it would be best if the Black and Gold offer a few professional tryouts (PTOs) to some veteran defensemen.

3. The Boston Bruins should bring in Brian Strait for a PTO.

At 32 years old, Brian Strait hasn’t played an NHL game since he was with the Winnipeg Jets in the 2016-17 season. However, he’s a Massachusetts native so why not bring in another hometown boy?

Strait doesn’t bring much to the table when it comes to offense, but he’s not terrible defensively. With 187 career NHL games under his belt, he has a plus/minus (+/-) of -14 despite being on some terrible defensive teams and just a -9.5 expected plus/minus (E+/-) over his last three seasons that he played in the NHL.

Related Story. Boston Bruins: Prospect Urho Vaakanainen is NHL ready. light

That isn’t terrible for a guy that only has 29 career points.

At 6-foot-1 and 206 pounds, Strait is a decent sized defenseman that isn’t afraid to use his body to punish the opposition and block incoming shots.

Strait can play bottom-four defensemen minutes, averaging almost 17 minutes of ice time per game over his career.

Overall, if defensemen such as Zboril and Vaakanainen are deemed not ready for the NHL when the 2021 season begins, Strait could be an experienced, cheap option for the Bruins that can give you decent stay-at-home defenseman play at even strength and be slotted in on the penalty kill.

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