It was expected to be an offseason of change with additions and subtractions; it really hasn't been an eye-opening one in terms of moves for the Boston Bruins. General manager Don Sweeney swung a trade on July 1 to hopefully add some offense, but most of the free agent moves were adding to their bottom-six forward grouping.
How these moves pan out remains to be seen, and there could be more moves coming, but that likely won't happen until after the season starts and Sweeney gets a feel for what his team is capable of doing this year. Here is the best addition from the offseason for the Black and Gold and the worst subtraction.
Best Additions: Viktor Arviddson
This summer has not been one that moves the needle in terms of the Bruins retool with additions that are not going to move the needle much. At least not in terms of free agency. The best addition from outside the organization was from a July 1 trade with the Edmonton Oilers that acquired Viktor Arvidsson.
Arviddson played under first-year Boston coach Marco Strum in Los Angeles when Sturm was an assistant, and you have to think that he had a big hand in the move getting done. He is in the final year of his contract, and he should improve the second line production, but that isn't really saying much after last season. He will also help on the power play, something that the Bruins desperately need to fix this season if they are going to come anywhere close to being in the playoffs come the end of the regular season.
Worst Subtraction: Brandon Bussi
The options here were few and far between if we're being honest. However, we're going a little out of the box here with former prospect goalie Brandon Bussi. What the future holds for the Bruins' goaltending situation this year remains to be seen, but letting Bussi go to the Florida Panthers could come back to haunt the front office.
We all know Jeremy Swayman is going to be the No. 1 guy, but if Michael DiPietro beats out Joonas Korpisalo, then Sweeney likely moves him. If it goes the other direction, then losing DiPietro becomes reality as several teams would be lining up for him. Regardless of whether one is eventually gone, depth could become an issue between the pipes if an injury occurs.
Just how these moves end up working out could be determined early in the season, with a difficult month of October in terms of the schedule. If things don't go well, there could be more moves on the horizon for the Bruins.