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And just like that, the 2015-16 Boston Bruins seem relatively set.
B’s general manager
Don Sweeney handled the last bit of in-house business late last week with new contracts for defenseman
Colin Miller and
Joe Morrow. Part of the B’s three-man youth movement rotation on the backend a year ago (the other member, Zach Trotman, left Boston for a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Kings back on July 1), Miller’s deal is a two-year contract worth $2 million while Morrow was inked to a one-year contract worth $800,000.
With the deals, the Bruins now have seven defensemen on their NHL roster, and barring a move involving one of those seven, it would appear that they are your defensive group to begin the year. It’s also your exact group from a year ago, with the exception of
Dennis Seidenberg, who was bought out just before the start of free agency, and the aforementioned departure of Trotman.
Is that a good thing? Well, that depends on your outlook.
If you’re of the belief that the Bruins need to actually let their young defensemen -- Miller and Morrow are both just 23 years old -- develop into legitimate NHLers before it all becomes one gigantic waste of time, then you’re in luck. This is what you’d like to see. But if you’re of the belief that the Bruins could still contend if they add just one more, high-end top-four piece, then you’re not crazy about this move.
That’s ‘cause finding ice-time for a Miller or Morrow to develop is time you’d prefer to see spent on a player like St. Louis Blues d-man Kevin Shattenkirk or Winnipeg Jets rearguard Jacob Trouba. Both fine options, no doubt, but at a significant price for Sweeney and the Bruins via trade (Shattenkirk) or maybe even one insanely expensive offer sheet (Trouba), the latter of which sounds unlikely at best.
But what exactly would you consider the decision to keep both in your plans if you’re the Bruins? Well, it’s the perfectly acceptable middle ground between acquiring that top-pairing piece and committing unnecessary resources to a mere stopgap, like oh I don’t know, every single guy still on the free agent market. And it’s an unbelievably affordable, worthwhile gamble for the Black and Gold, too.
As you watched the B’s of Tomorrow skate at the club’s 10th annual rookie development camp, you noticed one thing: the Bruins are stacked with defensive prospects. There’s
Brandon Carlo,
Jeremy Lauzon, and
Jakub Zboril from the 2015 class alone. Local boy
Matt Grzelcyk is about to embark on his professional career. And, of course, 2016 first-round pick and Boston University Terriers minute-eater
Charlie McAvoy has already shown some promise.
But they’re not ready just yet. Of that group, the 19-year-old Carlo, drafted 37th overall a year ago, seems the most ready, and he’s played just eight pro games (all with the Providence Bruins last season).
So you’re stuck in the middle. That’s the right place for a guy like Miller. And a guy like Morrow, too.
What you saw a year ago was an often maddening approach that left the Bruins in the no man’s land situation of trying to compete while also trying to develop. The way club handled their assets was shoddy at best at times, too. A prime example of that would be the decision to acquire
John-Michael Liles, a 35-year-old left-shooting d-man, while Morrow was playing the best hockey of his albeit-entirely-too-young NHL career. Liles came in, Morrow went to the press box, and that was it.
With just one move, it felt like everything you built with Morrow -- from his confidence to the trust you developed with him in unfamiliar roles -- was out the window for the false hope of a deep playoff run.
Miller went through similar bumps, too, as the Bruins struggled to find his perfect place within the Boston lineup as a right-handed defenseman deemed not yet ready for a top-four role. That was an understandable problem, too, as Miller had too many nights where he simply didn’t factor into the 200-foot game like the Bruins had imagined. At the same time, that’s to be expected with a player in his first year in the NHL. And even then, Miller still finished the year with three goals and 16 points in 42 games, including five power-play assists on Boston’s heavily rotated second power play unit.
“We have players that need to continue to gain experience, but where are they getting that except on the National Hockey League level. Are they ready to assume large roles? Well, that’s to be determined,” Sweeney said of his group at the end of last week’s rookie camp at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington. “It’s not going to stop me from tinkering or acquiring someone that’s more ready-made, but there’s two sides to that. The other team has to acknowledge that we’ve got a player they want as well.”
As it stands right now, Miller seems likely to get his experience as one of three right-shooting Boston defenseman (stay-at-home types
Adam McQuaid and
Kevan Miller are the other two), and could be the beneficiary of a sheltered role on the third pair with a guy like Liles. Morrow, however, will have his work cut out for him as he battles for ice time on a loaded left side headlined by
Zdeno Chara,
Torey Krug, and Liles, though Liles can sometimes play on the right.
But the focus for the Bruins should undoubtedly be on finding opportunities for a Miller or Morrow to simply prove to the organization definitely whether they can or cannot hang at this level.
Something that cannot be done if tinkering for a ready-made product puts them back in a suit.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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