In the ever-changing landscape of the Eastern Conference, where a team can be at the top of the Atlantic Division one night, and be out of a playoff spot the next, it is hard to determine which teams will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline in just a few months. The Boston Bruins are not immune to this effect, as they have been all over there standings this month but are currently out of a playoff spot, losing 5 out of their last 6 games.
Are the Bruins showing who they really are on this downslide, not a very good team with quite a bit less talent than the rest of the conference? Or are the real Bruins the hard-fought, ‘piss & vinegar’ squad that went 9-5 in November, and started December with a 4-1 record?
Either way, the season is moving fast, and the Bruins will have to decide soon whether they want to move forward with this crew and compete or focus on the future. While there have been some surprisingly positive aspects to the offense and goaltending this season compared to last, the defense has been a letdown that needs to be fixed if the B’s want to be a legitimate threat in the East.
Dressing-down the Bruins defense
Before going through all the negatives on the backend and some suggestions on how the Bruins might be able to fix the situation, there has been a bright spot. Nikita Zadorov has risen as a leader of this team, on and off the ice. He has improved his game, shown he can handle increased time on the top pair, and has studied past Bruins teams to try to inject that winning culture in the current squad. It has been a treat to watch, and it has people pressing for him to become the new Bruins captain.
Other than that, the Bruins' defense has been in disarray. They have been ravaged by injuries all season, starting 11 defenseman up to this point, with three d-men currently on injured reserve (Callahan, Harris, Jokiharju), and Johnathan Aspirot recovering from an upper-body injury.
Not to mention the Bruins’ top defenseman, Charlie McAvoy, is still not fully healed after taking a puck to the jaw back in November, playing in a plastic bubble mask to shield his injury. So this is a hobbled defense to say the least, but the guys that are currently on the Bruins' backend are handicapping the Bruins' efforts to win games as well.
The Bruins are 28th in the league in goals against, and the defense are not making up for it by scoring any goals of their own. Instead they are handing the puck to opposing teams on a silver platter, consistently taking stupid penalties, and giving up on plays. Mason Lohrei is a repeat offender of all these and it is frustrating to watch. Lohrei seems to have offensive promise, but only has two goals on the season and is a liability on his own end of the ice.
Another d-man that has been a disappointment so far is Andrew Peeke. Peeke does lead the defense in goals scored with three, but he gets lost in the d-zone and appears to be on the ice for every soft goal scored this year. Peeke is a -12 in 38 games this season. To be fair, Peeke is playing above his usual pairing right now on the second d-pair with the plague of injuries; he is clearly not cut out to be a top-four defenseman on an NHL team.
However, Peeke’s current partner and former Norris Trophy candidate, Hampus Lindholm, has been a mess as of late too. He hasn’t been himself since mid-November. Lindholm has been taking costly penalties (32 PIM in 30 games) leading to goals, has had some turnover troubles and the offense is just not there. He has earned trust and slack for his past play and recent injury troubles, as well as being one of the team’s leaders, but patience is wearing thin.
Is there a fix?
On paper, McAvoy, Lindholm, and Zadorov are a pretty solid top-three defensive lineup to have. Though with McAvoy and Lindholm not playing to their full abilities, the Bruins are in a rough situation. With no true second-pair right-shot defenseman and Lohrei currently playing his off-side on the bottom pair, the Bruins are in dire need of a right d-man.
Henri Jokiharju is the Bruins’ only other right-shot defenseman along with McAvoy and Peeke, but he is on the IR with no timetable for a return. If the B’s want to improve, they need to make a move at right D. It will help their depth, take pressure off Lindholm, and create a strong top 4 defensive core.
Looking at the bottom-10 teams in the league as potential sellers at the trade deadline, a few names stand out as trade candidates that Don Sweeney could consider. Justin Faulk of the St. Louis Blues has 10 goals and 20 points in 38 games this season and one year left on his $6.5 million AAV contract. The Utah Mammoth’s John Marino has one year left on his $4.4 million AAV contract, recording 17 points so far this season. Faulk could immediately help the Bruins' backend goal-scoring problems, while Marino could help shore up the defensive zone problems the Bruins have been having.
Then there is the oft-mentioned Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames, who is in the final year of a $4.55 million AAV contract. While he is having a good season with 7 goals and 25 points, there is no guarantee the Bruins would be able to re-sign Andersson. So it would be very risky to send pieces to Calgary when this is certainly not a ‘grab a rental player for a deep-playoff run’ type of season for Boston. If he does not re-sign with Calgary, expect Andersson to be dealt to a Stanley Cup contender at the deadline.
Trade pieces
Boston has been able to get important production out of the Middlestadt-Zacha-Arvidsson line this season, especially on home ice, but if they are looking to make a trade to upgrade their defense, one of them will most likely be heading to another team. To free up the most cap space, the odd-man out would be Casey Mittlestadt, as he has a $5.75 million cap hit with one year left on his deal.
Also, once the rest of the defense clears up health-wise, some of those pieces will need to be moved. Michael Callahan will presumably be sent back to Providence along with the new signing, Vladislav Kolyachonok. The Bruins will probably want to keep Jordan Harris and Aspirot in Boston once they are both fully healthy, depending on roster space, and Jokiharju seems to be safe due to the shortage of right-shot defensemen on this team.
That leaves Lohrei, who has a $3.2 million cap hit with one year remaining on his contract. He could be an attractive option in a package deal with Mittelstadt and a draft pick for a team that appreciates his offensive capabilities, and maybe a change of scenery is just what he needs to improve his overall game.
However, all these armchair general manager fantasies could become just the opposite in a few weeks if the Bruins keep losing. They could be moving Pavel Zacha or Mittelstadt at the trade deadline to a contender for draft picks instead of immediately fixing their defense. Maybe those are the right moves to make for the future of the franchise, but if they want to compete anytime soon, the Bruins have to fix this defense.