Examining The Boston Bruins Blockbuster Trade

With the Eastern Conference loading up for the playoffs, the beast of the east followed suit. After seeing the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs make a big splash, the Boston Bruins made one of their own. The Boston Bruins trade is a blockbuster deal with the Washington Capitals.

Boston Bruins Trade With The Washington Capitals

After seeing what Toronto did in acquiring Ryan O’Reilly, the Boston Bruins made a move of their own. The Bruins sent three draft picks including this year’s first round pick, and Craig Smith to the Capitals. In exchange, they received Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway. After reportedly being in on Vladislav Gavrikov, this deal is much better than what Columbus reportedly wanted. Washington is retaining half and thanks to former Bruin Bill Guerin, Minnesota is retaining 25%. Now that the deal is made lets examine how this impacts the Boston Bruins.

The Impact Of The Trade

Both of these players come in as rentals. That’s not to say they can’t be extended, but these are two high-quality impact players the team is getting. They excel at their roles and fit a need on the roster. Boston is prepared for a deep playoff run and this trade solidifies that further.

Dmitry Orlov

With all the talk surrounding Gavrikov, the Boston Bruins getting Orlov is the better choice. Orlov is a player that can log big minutes, and excels at both ends of the ice. He is a player that excels in puck movement while being good at both ends of the ice. His ability to push the play forward bodes well for the skill on the Bruins offense. Guys like Pastrnak and Marchand will love this. Orlov is great offensively and has good finishing ability when given the opportunity.

Orlov has been in the league for quite some time. He has spent his entire career with Washington and has had very good year’s with them. In fact, last season was a career year for him (12 goals, 23 assists, and 35 points). This season he only has 19 points, but is still crucial to his team. He brings a physical presence (88 hits), willingness to block shots (62), and ability to control possession (50% Corsi For Percentage). His ability to generate chances is there as well (50% xGF%), and offensively the team is in good shape when he is on the ice.

He joins a deep blue line in Boston which will go a long way come playoff time. His defensive metrics have taken a slide than in previous years, but a better structured Bruins team will solve those.

Garnet Hathaway

The Boston Bruins are getting a player similar to what the Maple Leafs got with Noel Acciari. Hathaway has grown into being one of the hardest players to play against. In addition, he has become one of the more effective fourth-line players and excelling in his role. Hathaway has the ability to create offense while being able to shine brightly defensively. This season, Hathaway has nine goals and 16 points, but he did score a beautiful goal against the Bruins when they last met. So the team does know a thing or two about him.

Hathaway fits the mold of the Big Bad Bruins. He has a whopping 198 hits bring that necessary physical element to the bottom six. What a great addition as he will likely slot in on the teams fourth line and automatically makes the Bruins better in that regard.

The Best Team In The East Got Even Better

The Boston Bruins trade signals that the beast in the east is not going anywhere. This move signals they are going all in. However, they did not go for just the big fish but made a move that makes them deeper than they already are. With the rest of the conference loading up, they did as well and this was a great trade made by Don Sweeney. The best team got even better and Sweeney is going for it while Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci are still around.