BOSTON — The Bruins made three trades at Monday’s NHL trade deadline and two of the players acquired, right winger Brett Connolly and center Max Talbot, will make an impact this season.
The Bruins decided not to pay steep prices on the trade market to acquire rental players, so they will hope the current roster is good enough to secure a playoff spot and go on a deep run.
Let’s take a look at what the B’s roster looks like after the trade deadline and project where the new players will fit in.
FORWARDS
Projected lines with David Krejci (partially torn MCL) and Gregory Campbell (upper body) in the lineup:
Milan Lucic-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Loui Eriksson-Carl Soderberg-Brett Connolly
Chris Kelly-Gregory Campbell-Max Talbot/Daniel Paille
Other options: Ryan Spooner, Brian Ferlin
Projected lines without Krejci, Campbell:
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Milan Lucic-Ryan Spooner-David Pastrnak
Loui Eriksson-Carl Soderberg-Brett Connolly
Daniel Paille/Max Talbot-Chris Kelly-Brian Ferlin
Connolly’s scoring production should increase in Boston because he will regularly play alongside better playmaking centers than he did in Tampa Bay this season. Connolly would work well with the Soderberg-Eriksson duo because he’s also a driver of puck possession and isn’t afraid to battle for pucks along the walls and in front of the net.
Connolly also could move up to the first line because his shoot-first mentality is a good fit with a playmaker like Krejci. Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli admitted Monday that he’s not sure where Connolly will play right away.
Pastrnak has impressed on Krejci’s line as a rookie, and his seven goals since Jan. 1 are the third-most on the team. That said, head coach Claude Julien has sometimes kept Pastrnak off the Krejci line in road games to prevent him from playing against opponents’ top lines. Pastrnak could also play on the Soderberg line, which he’s already done for nearly 75 even-strength minutes, if needed.
The fourth line is the mystery because Campbell hasn’t played well enough to keep Ferlin or Spooner out of the lineup, but to this point, there’s no indication he’ll exit the lineup. Campbell is good on faceoffs and plays a gritty game, but Kelly or Talbot would be an upgrade in his spot at fourth-line center. Talbot also adds valuable versatility with his ability to play center or either wing position.
Ferlin has brought much-needed speed and energy to the fourth line in the five games since his last recall and deserves more opportunity to show he deserves a long-term role on this line.
It goes without saying, but the Bergeron line should remain intact, unless Smith goes through another lengthy goalless drought. This has been Boston’s most productive and most consistent line all season.
DEFENSEMEN
Projected pairings:
Zdeno Chara-Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski-Dennis Seidenberg
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Other options: Joe Morrow, Zach Trotman, David Warsofsky
A top-four defenseman was Boston’s No. 1 need entering the trade deadline, but it didn’t pay the high prices for rental and depth blueliners. Luckily for the B’s, they have players in Providence capable of playing a depth defenseman role on the third pairing.
“When you look at what Joe Morrow’s done for us, when you look at what David Warsofsky’s done for us, when you look at what Zach Trotman’s done for us, and even Chris Breen … we signed these guys for depth,” Chiarelli said. “We tell them, You guys are depth guys. We didn’t sign Joe for depth, but when you sign back, they want a chance. …”
The Bruins’ first pairing is fantastic. Chara is still an elite player and Hamilton is quickly becoming one, too. They both drive puck possession (both have a 5-on-5 CF% above 54) despite tough zone starts and frequent matchups against opponents’ top lines.
After the Chara-Hamilton duo is where the concerns lie for the B’s.
Matt Bartkowski struggled early in the season and was a healthy scratch for 17 straight games. To his credit, he’s returned for the last seven games and the mistakes made in the first three months of the campaign have decreased significantly. As his HERO chart (via Own the Puck) shows, Bartkowski is having a stronger season than you might think. He still needs to show a better level of consistency, though.
Krug also has raised his play since Jan. 1 with 16 points in 24 games, the second-most on the team and first among defensemen. Krug and McQuaid have formed a quality pairing that has driven puck possession, as evidenced by the following tweet (stat as of Feb. 28).
[tweet https://twitter.com/bruins_stats/status/571754939350843392 align=”center”]
The question surrounding the Krug-McQuaid pairing is if they can eliminate some of the defensive mistakes that have resulted in goals against. Over the last week and a half, those breakdowns haven’t been as prevalent.
The Bruins need better defensive performances from everyone, and specifically the bottom-four D-men, if they are going to make a deep playoff run. A quality, consistent second-pairing has to emerge before the postseason because it’s impossible to win multiple rounds with one reliable shutdown pairing.
Thumbnail photo via James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports Images
