General manager Peter Chiarelli counts himself among those who would like to see something change very soon, but he will not be one to jump to any rash decisions.
According to The Boston Globe, Chiarelli will wait until injured first-line forwards Milan Lucic and Marc Savard return to the lineup before he makes any big trades. The logic makes sense; after all, it's possible the Bruins cannot string together wins because they have been without Savard — who was responsible for a team-best 88 points last season — since very early in the year.
Lucic, who contributed 42 points and 136 penalty minutes to last year's squad and broke a finger earlier this year, could be back in the lineup as early as Thursday against Atlanta. Savard, who is ahead of schedule in his recovery from a broken foot, could be back around Thanksgiving.
"I still have confidence in this team," Chiarelli told The Globe. "Certainly, the last game [a crushing 4-1 loss to the Islanders] was disappointing. And the game before [a 6-5 overtime loss to Pittsburgh] was looser than I would have liked. Monday, I don't know what happened there. … We just died on the vine."
In the absence of Lucic and Savard, grizzled veteran Mark Recchi, who was acquired at last season's trade deadline, has filled in on the first line, contributing three goals and five assists. Forwards David Krejci and Michael Ryder — who could be counted on for consistent production last year — have been underwhelming. On top of that, defensemen Dennis Wideman and Matt Hunwick entered this season carrying high expectations and have essentially flopped.
Nobody is surprised to hear murmurs of possible trades emerging from the Garden. But until Lucic and Savard return, those rumors aren't coming true.
"It's like most teams, we need our better and best players to play like our better and best players," Chiarelli said. "When those other guys are back — and that looks imminent — then we'll assess it when everyone is plugged into their positions and roles that we expect of them."
