In the span of a single season, Andrew Ference went from a player perceived to be hampering the cap-strapped Bruins with an albatross of a contract to an indispensible figure in the club's Stanley Cup run. Ference stayed healthy for most of the season and proved his worth with both his on-ice performance and off-ice leadership.
2010-11 stats: 70 games, 3-12-15, plus-22, 60 PIMs
Playoffs: 25 games, 4-6-10, plus-10, 37 PIMs
Contract status: Signed through 2012-13, $2.25-million cap hit
Preseason expectations: Despite three straight injury-plagued seasons and an impending cap crunch, the Bruins signed Ference to a three-year extension last March. They were counting on Ference being able to bounce back from a series of leg and groin injuries to provide some veteran leadership and stability to the blue line.
Regular-season evaluation: Ference did manage to stay relatively healthy this season. He missed three games with a hip injury in January and nine more with a lower-body injury in March, but still played in 70 games. That was the most games he's played in a full season in Boston, following campaigns of 59, 47 and 51 games the previous three years. Ference didn't alter his aggressive style to avoid injury either. He showed no hesitation in putting his modest 5-foot-11, 189-pound frame in danger to finish with 82 blocked shots, 74 hits and a career-high four fighting majors. That was after having just five fights in his first three-plus years in Boston combined. Each bout this season came for the right reason, too. He was sticking up for a teammate in each case, and did so despite giving up an average of three inches and over 25 pounds to his opponents. Ference also chipped in offensively with 15 points and finished a plus-22 to round out a solid two-way performance.
Playoff evaluation: Ference's play only improved as the games got more important. He was again a steadying force in his own zone with 40 blocked shots and 32 hits in the postseason, while adding even more offense. After not scoring a playoff goal since his first postseason appearance with Pittsburgh a decade ago, Ference struck for four this spring, finishing with more goals in the playoffs than he had in the entire regular season. Those four strikes included a power-play tally and a game-winner in Game 6 of the Cup Final. Ference proved a stabilizing influence on Boston's second pairing alongside Johnny Boychuk, and his strong play there enable Claude Julien to put Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg together for a dominant top pair. Ference remained an emotional leader for the Bruins, again dropping the gloves to defend Boychuk after a high and late hit from Montreal's Benoit Pouliot, who will now be a teammate with both blueliners after signing with Boston as a free agent this summer. Ference also helped rally the squad with his "unintentional bird" to the Montreal crowd after scoring in the Bell Centre. His biggest contribution to the team's morale and camaraderie may have been the tradition of the ceremonial jacket he started. Ference purchased a vintage Bruins windbreaker on eBay late in the regular season, which was awarded to the top performer after each Boston win en route to the Cup.
2011-12 outlook: The Bruins certainly don't regret locking Ference up to that contract extension, and he'll be counted upon to again supply some strong two-way play and emotional leadership in the second year of the deal. Ference could be teamed with Boychuk again if Julien keeps Chara and Seidenberg together, but he could also be paired with Adam McQuaid, as that duo has worked well together in the past, or any other number of combinations if Julien decides to shuffle things up with the addition of Joe Corvo. Ference's versatility and adaptability helps give Julien the freedom to mix and match with confidence, and if he can stay healthy, Ference should remain a key part of Boston's blue line for another season.
Coming Thursday, August 4: Johnny Boychuk
