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Should the Bruins Consider Making a Big-Time Acquisition This Season?

With the holidays in the rear-view mirror, the Bruins will now set their sights on closing out 2011 strong, beginning with a Wednesday night game against the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Bruins, despite their slow start, have come on like a locomotive and show no signs of slowing down as the calendar turns to 2012.

One of the positives for the Bruins coming into this season was the continuity between this year’s roster and the one that won the Stanley Cup a few short months ago. As it stands now, however, the B’s have close to $3 million in cap room heading into the middle part of the season, and general manager Peter Chiarelli may be tempted to take advantage of that fact.

Last season, the Bruins traded for Chris Kelly, Tomas Kaberle and Rich Peverley over the course of the year to address various team needs. This year, they may want to consider adding another piece or two in advance of another postseason run.

While the needs may not be as glaring as they once were, a team can never have enough talent. Rick Nash was one name dangled in trade rumors earlier in the year, and if Columbus decides that they want to move him, it could make sense for the Bruins to take a chance at acquiring a high-level scorer like the Blue Jackets captain.

On the other hand, it may be difficult to justify changing any pieces of a team that is surging to the top of the Eastern Conference standings with each win this year. Team chemistry appears to be such an integral part of the Bruins’ success, and altering that with any additions or subtractions to the locker room could be risky.

Should the Bruins consider making a big-time acquisition this season?