Such has certainly been the case for Peter Chiarelli, who's been accused of all sorts of things in his tenure as Bruins general manager. In April, the media jumped all over him for sounding like he'd be satisfied with a second-round playoff exit. Had the puck bounced differently a few times in the Montreal series, most hockey fans in the city expected Chiarelli to be looking for a new place of employment this summer. There's also been a good deal of criticsm of Tomas Kaberle, whom Chiarelli coveted for years before landing him this year, only to be largely disappointed by the defenseman's play.
Most people, though, are willing to give Chiarelli the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the Kaberle trade. It was made with the right intention,s and there was good reason to pull the trigger on the deal –it just hasn't worked out all that well, both for the Bruins and free-agent-to-be Kaberle.
Yet, while Kaberle may have been the biggest name for which Chiarelli has traded, that deal isn't the most important transaction he's made. Indeed, it's been the smaller, more subtle deals that now have the Bruins just a win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 21 years.
Consider the following acquisitions, which at the time were either considered minor or flew under the radar altogether.
Player: Daniel Paille
Acquired: October 2009
What the Bruins gave up: Third-round draft pick, conditional fourth-round draft pick
Dan Paille is not a superstar. In fact, he barely plays. When he does step on the ice, though, he does the dirty work that is so valuable to a playoff team. He kills penalties, and he uses his speed forecheck aggressively to limit opponents' scoring chances, particularly on the power play. Really, he's made every second of ice time he's gotten count thus far in the postseason.
Player: Mark Recchi
Acquired: 2009 trade deadline
What the Bruins gave up: Matt Lashoff, Martins Karsums
Right now, Mark Recchi may not be at his best. The 43-year-old has shown some signs of his age, as he hasn't been his normally effective self in the series against Tampa Bay (no points, minus-4 rating). That, however, does not mean he hasn't been one of the most important players on the Bruins for the past two-plus seasons. A veteran leader with his name twice etched on the Stanley Cup, Recchi added a much-needed element of leadership to the B's locker room. He played through kidney stones in the '09 playoffs, and he led the team in postseason goals last year. Though he's on a bit of a cold streak at the moment, the grit he's helped instill in his teammates remains a major reason why the Bruins are where they are.
Considering that Matt Lashoff has played in just 28 NHL games since the trade and Martins Karsums has played in 18, and that the B's also got a 2010 second-rounder, this deal was perhaps Chiarelli's greatest steal.
Player: Dennis Seidenberg
Acquired: 2010 trade deadline
What the Bruins gave up: Byron Bitz, Craig Weller, second-round draft pick
Last year, Dennis Seidenberg missed the end of the regular season and the entirety of the playoffs after tearing a tendon in his forearm. This year, the Bruins made the conference finals in large part due to Seidenberg's performance in the playoffs. The German defenseman had three assists and a plus-10 rating in the four-game sweep of the Flyers in the second round, and he's been one of the most reliable and hard-working D-men on Claude Julien's team. He may not be an MVP-type player, but without him the Bruins would not be where they are.
Byron Bitz was a fan favorite during his time in Boston, but the reality is that he wasn't and isn't all that good. He has 18 points in 87 career games, and he missed the entire 2010-11 season due to injury. Weller, meanwhile, left the States to play hockey in the United Kingdom. This deal certainly competes with the Recchi trade as Chiarelli's greatest heist.
Player: Steven Kampfer
Acquired: 2010 trade deadline
What the Bruins gave up: Conditional draft pick
An injury has kept Kampfer out of playoff action, but still, the college-trained defenseman was a pleasant surprise on the Boston blue line this season. He contributed with 10 points, a plus-9 rating and nearly 18 minutes of ice time in his 38 games. Suffice it to say, he's been worth that fourth-round pick.
Player: Gregory Campbell
Acquired: June 2010
What the Bruins gave up: Dennis Wideman, 2010 first-round pick, 2011 third-round pick
The centerpiece of this deal was Nathan Horton, who, obviously, has been a major pickup for Boston this season. However, Campbell was thought to simply be a throw-in to the deal, but he's been a valuable asset all season long. Centering the fourth line, Campbell provided plenty of grit and a healthy scoring touch, both of which the B's lacked tremendously a year earlier with Steve Begin filling that spot. His role has been reduced in the playoffs, but his work in his 80 regular-season games are an invaluable commodity to any NHL team.
Player: Rich Peverley
Acquired: February 2011
What the Bruins gave up: Mark Stuart, Blake Wheeler
With an impending deal for Kaberle coming, Chiarelli had to clear cap space. He could have dumped a couple of players and gotten nothing in return, but instead he was able to acquire a player with loads of skill in Rich Peverley. The 28-year-old forward registered a modest seven points in his 23 regular-season games with the Bruins, but he's notched eight postseason points thus far, most recently an emtpy-net goal to seal a win in Game 5. He was extraordinarily valuable in the Montreal series, as he scored what turned out to be the game-winner in Game 3 and assisted on the game-tying and game-winning goals in Game 4.
The Bruins miss Stuart and Wheeler to a certain extent, but Peverley's proven to be able to fill a number of roles on any line, something Julien's taken full advantage of thus far.
Player: Chris Kelly
Acquired: February 2011
What the Bruins gave up: Second-round draft pick
When Chiarelli acquired Chris Kelly, the reaction from the fan base and media was a collective "big whoop." Seen as a grinder, Kelly was expected to win some faceoffs, perhaps kill some penalties and log some minutes on the fourth line. Instead, the Bruins got a guy who has 11 points in 16 playoff games (fifth on the team) and a plus-10 rating (second). He scored the game-tying goal in Game 3 against Montreal and assisted on two others, including the game-winner, and he scored the crucial first goal in Game 2 in Philadelphia after the Flyers had jumped out to a 2-0 lead. He's done all that while still providing a reliable presence in the faceoff dot and in the Bruins' own end.
A 2011 draft pick wouldn't be able to do that this year.
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Also not to be forgotten was the necessary Phil Kessel trade. The Bruins seemingly had to get rid of the young winger, and teams could have taken advantage of the B's being in a position of vulnerability. But Chiarelli was able to get great value in return for Kessel in the form of three picks from the Leafs. One of those, of course, turned into Tyler Seguin, who has three goals and three assists in five playoff games — a glimpse of just how good this kid might be in the NHL.
Add it all up, and you have a handful of deals that weren't thought to make much of an impact. Acquiring a 40-year-old winger who was cut by the Penguins in '07 doesn't exactly bring immediate Stanley Cup hopes to a city in desperate need of a championship. Nor does acquiring a fourth-line center as a throw-in to a larger deal or a third-line forward, but collectively, they've provided this Bruins team with significant support to the star players. You look at those names that meant so little when Chiarelli added them to his roster, and you marvel at how significant their roles have become.
Chiarelli brought them in with little fanfare, but they've helped bring the team very close to the biggest hockey party the city of Boston has seen in nearly 40 years.
