The Boston Bruins have been lauded for their culture throughout their decade-plus run of success stretching on from the 2011 Stanley Cup team.
Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci have been the constants over that stretch, but general manager Don Sweeney’s ability to supplement that great leadership with tremendous teammates and locker room guys has been just as impressive.
That has been especially clear in the Bruins’ response following their pre-deadline trade with the Washington Capitals, where Boston added forward Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov for its stretch run toward the postseason.
“We all find a way to bring them in and make them feel welcome,” Charlie Coyle said Friday, per team-provided video. “You want that because you want them to feel comfortable and be able to play their game and be themselves right away. Anything we can do to help that. This team jumps all over that.”
The move, which saw the Bruins come off of four future draft picks and veteran Craig Smith, was made to fortify their already record-breaking roster.
“I’m blown away that we could get players of this magnitude on this team with what we already have,” Nick Foligno said Friday, per team-provided video. “I think it shows we are trying to do something special here. You get those players and I think it just gives everyone in here a little confidence about the group we have. Adding more depth and more great players to this team — it’s exciting, I’m looking forward to getting those guys here.”
In Hathaway and Orlov, the Bruins are hoping to solidify their defense in front of goalies Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, while gaining some physicality on the offensive end.
Hathaway and Orlov, both 31 years old, have combined to score 35 points across 102 games and are set to meet the Bruins in Vancouver on Friday, possibly putting them in line to make their team debut against the Canucks on Saturday at Rogers Arena. If they do, it will start head coach Jim Montgomery’s process of perfecting his lineup heading into what Boston hopes to be a long Stanley Cup Playoff run.
