Boston Bruins: Tomas Hertl is the 2C they need and they need him now

With the apparent fire sale going on in San Jose this offseason, the only thing Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney should be thinking now is how to save Tomas Hertl from his drowning team and who he is prepared to sacrifice in exchange. The second question is easy as the answer should be almost *Gary Oldman voice* everyone.

Dramatic, I know, but with his 43 points (19 goals and 24 assists) in 51 games last season and knowing the caliber of player Hertl is, if you’re the Bruins and are serious about another Cup run next year, that is the only acceptable answer to that question.

After all, in eight seasons with the Sharks, the 27-year old centerman has amassed 323 total points (151 goals and 171 assists) in 503 NHL games. Not too shabby given that he, much like B’s captain Patrice Bergeron, was plagued by injuries early in his career.

Boston Bruins need to go after Tomas Hertl for a brighter year ahead

And while he has only played 75+ games in a season four times out of eight, the Czech pivot was highly productive in at least three of them. In 2015-16, he tallied 21 goals and 25 assists for 46 points in 81 games as a third/second-liner.

Then in 2017-18, he posted another 46-point (22 goals and 24 assists) campaign in 79 games played before, in 2018-19, he went off for 74 points (35 goals and 39 assists) in 77 games that year.

Yet despite Hertl’s quality regular-season numbers, his postseason play is why I want him on the Black and Gold more than anything else. In 62 NHL playoff games, the Praha, Czechia has 42 points (24 goals and 18 assists) to go along with a plus-9 rating.

In fact, in just his second NHL postseason in 2016, he collected 11 points (6 goals and 5 assists) in 20 games, and in the 2019 playoffs, the guy sniped his way to 15 points (10 goals and 5 assists) in 19 contests.

Moreover, unlike the unreliable Charlie Coyle and the unproven Jack Studnicka, Hertl comes with a consistent offensive game and a sturdy 6-foot-2 and 215-pound frame. And so, assuming Sweeney acquires him and Bruins bench boss Bruce Cassidy has the gonads to play Hertl in between Taylor Hall and (fellow Czech) David Pastrnak (that’s right, come on down buddy), mark my words, the ex-Shark will have the season of his life as a Bruin.

Then again, in that situation, anyone would. Of course, most players don’t have the speed and power or the hands to be successful with All-Star linemates like those two. Fortunately, for the B’s, Hertl has all three.