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The Boston Bruins began their offseason in search of a high-end, top-four defenseman. When the dust cleared on the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo, N.Y., the Bruins did not acquire that player. When free agency opened a week later, the Bruins continued on in search of that player, but again, did not find him. Not the open market was big on them in the first place. But now, even with a few noteworthy free agents still on the board and in search of new homes, the Black and Gold look relatively set on their backend.
The club re-upped both
Torey Krug (a four-year deal worth $21 million) and
John-Michael Liles (a one-year contract worth $2 million), and bought out the final two years of veteran
Dennis Seidenberg’s contract while prospect
Zach Trotman left the organization for a chance to make an impression with the Los Angeles Kings. The Bruins also qualified restricted free agents
Colin Miller and
Joe Morrow, and though the two do not have contracts at this current juncture, it’s expected that both will be back with the Big B’s for this upcoming season.
Play the numbers game with
Zdeno Chara,
Adam McQuaid, and
Kevan Miller under contract and the Black and Gold have seven defenseman on their NHL roster. And unless the Bruins were planning on rolling with eight defensemen this season -- something they did with really hit-and-miss results for their younger, developing defenders -- that seven would be enough.
Relatively speaking, of course. In terms of bodies, it’s enough. But in terms of what the Bruins began this offseason in search of, however, and what they still need to be legitimate contenders in an Eastern Conference that’s improved basically across the board, it’s more than likely not enough.
But Boston general manager
Don Sweeney knows he can’t fix it all overnight.
“Things have to line up. People do not want to part with those types of players,” Sweeney said of the club’s year-long plus hunt for a defenseman to replace what the club lost with
Dougie Hamilton. “And we’ve set a course here to identify some areas that we needed to strengthen. And for the last year, we’re almost to a year on the job here for myself and the number of young players, in particular in defense and some of the center positions that we’ve added, will complement the young players of skill that we have on the wings. And you have to exercise some patience in this regard. These players don’t just grow up overnight and turn into NHL players. And we’re going to have to exercise patience, you know. Our group as it stands has a balance to it with hardness of [Zdeno] Chara and Kevan Miller and [Adam] McQuaid. [John-Michael] Liles brings a veteran savviness that he can play with Colin Miller. Joe Morrow is an emerging player and Torey [Krug], we’re very happy to have him signed.”
So for the second straight offseason, the front office will preach patience. And that’s actually their best course of action, too. Even if there’s still a few names remaining in search of work on the open market.
With a projected $8.5 million in cap space remaining (though those aforementioned pending deals for Miller and Morrow will eat into that number a little bit), the Bruins don’t need to spend just to spend. For instance, a player like
Kris Russell, still on the open market and in search of a long-term deal, does not fit what the Black and Gold need right now. Russell, though at one point a noteworthy trade option, is not a necessarily great puck mover, and his blocked shot game, though big, is something the Bruins just ditched with the Seidenberg buyout. Read as: it wouldn’t make sense for the B’s.
The Bruins could take their pick with projects like
Justin Schultz (a player that admittedly looked a whole lot better once the stink of an Oilers uniform wore off his body in Pittsburgh) or
Luke Schenn (a guy that’s best suited for third-pairing minutes and opportunities), but what’s the point? Shouldn't the development of a Colin Miller or Morrow be of greater importance? (Yes.)
“We’ll evaluate,” Sweeney said. “I’ll continue to pick up conversations, whether or not everyone’s closed up shop for the summer. I don’t see that as happening. I think everybody’s continuing, after you get past this initial wave people are still looking to improve their club and have talks and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re in position flexibility-wise to continue to explore the right deal.”
Flexibility is something the Bruins have seldom had throughout this era, and that’s a valuable chip.
And although there’s a great pressure to make something happen yesterday, especially in Boston, it’s in the organization’s best interest to lay in the weeds and wait for the pieces to fall into place for the club.
Think of when the New York Islanders straight-up stole top-four defenders out of Chicago (Nick Leddy) and Boston (Johnny Boychuk) when those teams had to find a way to be cap compliant. That’s just one way. And even if there’s not an exact situation like that out there, there are always disgruntled players, guys that have fallen out of favor with coaches and management, and the straight-up unsignable.
You’ve heard the names by now, too. Colorado’s
Tyson Barrie remains an intriguing option if there’s no deal with the Avalanche. The same for
Jacob Trouba in Winnipeg.
Kevin Shattenkirk expected to be traded by the St. Louis Blues last month. The Anaheim Ducks have a body problem on their blue line, and someone -- likely Cam Fowler or Hampus Lindholm -- has to go.
The Bruins, with picks and a ton of prospects in their pipeline, are in a perfect position to make a move for any of those guys, and even some names you’ve yet to hear (and maybe won’t hear), happen.
Those deals that don’t happen overnight, though, and even then, they’re still tricky to pull off.
But for a restless fanbase, it’s the waiting that will be the hardest part.
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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