While the B’s were pretty quiet as the deadline came and went, Chiarelli addressed every need the Bruins had during trade season.
Everyone was calling for a puck-moving defenseman to quarterback the power play. So Chiarelli pried Tomas Kaberle from Toronto. When Marc Savard was lost for the season, Chiarelli addressed forward depth. He picked up Chris Kelly, a two-way center from the Senators. That came before he not only cleared cap space by sending Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler to Atlanta, but received a solid offensive player — Rich Peverley — in return.
Those moves shored up the needs of the Bruins, but more importantly, it may define the team’s greatest strength (outside of the crease, of course) going forward: depth. Greg Campbell has proven to be a great surprise with his play this season and he’s currently centering the Bruins’ fourth line. Even Tyler Seguin, who some have questioned whether or not he’s ready for an NHL stretch run, has responded making Claude Julien‘s lineup decisions more difficult. But in a good way.
And of course, the Bruins still have the goaltending tandem of Vezina favorite Tim Thomas and the rapidly improving Tuukka Rask.
All said, they’re in a good place. But, are the Bruins good enough to go all the way? They are no doubt hungry for the playoffs after last year’s epic collapse, but it’s not going to be easy. The Eastern Conference is pretty wide open with Flyers and Lightning at the top with the B’s and the banged-up Penguins and Capitals closing in after big deadline additions.
The playoffs are just around the corner and in addition to hopefully playing their best hockey of the season, the Bruins are hopeful that they’ve got everything they need for a Stanley Cup run.
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Do the Bruins have all the pieces to win the Stanley Cup?Market Research
