Boston Bruins: Top 3 defensemen worth bringing in for PTO
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.
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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.
2. The Boston Bruins should bring in Michael Del Zotto for a PTO.
At 30 years old, Michael Del Zotto is the youngest defenseman on this list. Over 11 seasons in the NHL, Del Zotto has played in 657 games and scored 236 points — so he’s capable of bringing some offense to the team.
However, Del Zotto sometimes struggles defensively due to his questionable decision making. He often tries to do too much or tries to force a breakout pass leading to a chance against.
This has resulted in his career +/- being a -31 and his E+/- being -26.4. Additionally, because of his poor decision making, the once 20th-overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft has now been on six different teams.
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Although Del Zotto can royally mess up sometimes, when he doesn’t it can be a thing of beauty. Del Zotto last year had seemed to figure out his decision-making issue, as he recorded 15 points (two goals, 13 assists) with a +5 rating in 49 games with the Anaheim Ducks.
Furthermore, Del Zotto isn’t afraid to throw his body around, checking the opposition and blocking shots.
Overall, Del Zotto should be considered if depth is needed. He can bring some offense from the blueline but isn’t the best defensively and decision-making wise. He’s basically a cheaper John Moore, but can play 18+ minutes in a game if needed.
1. The Boston Bruins should bring in Karl Alzner for a PTO.
At 32 years old, Karl Alzner‘s last two years of his five-year, $23.125 million deal with the Montreal Canadiens were just bought out this past October.
Over the last two seasons, Alzner has suited up for just 13 games, recording just one assist and an even +/-. However, before this, Alzner was an ironman not missing a single game for eight straight seasons.
Alzner is capable of bringing a good, two-way style of defense. With 686 career games under his belt, Alzner has a career +/- of +54, 843 hits, and 1,279 blocked shots.
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Along with this, the 6-foot-3 defenseman is capable of bringing a bit of offense with 130 career points.
If Alzner can remain healthy, he would be a great fit for the left side of the Bruins’ defense. He has proven to be able to play big minutes averaging River 20 minutes of ice time per game over his career.
With the lack of experience and certainty that comes with the current left side of Boston’s defense, Alzner could plug right in on either the second or third pairing.
Along with playing at even strength, Alzner is also capable of killing penalties and, from his stats stated previously, clearly isn’t afraid to throw some body checks and block some shots.
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Because of the lack of experience that the Bruins have when it comes to the left side of their defense, I think it would be a good idea for the team to bring in at least one of these three defensemen for a PTO. Their veteran presence and depth good benefit the team tremendously.