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Here’s something weird: Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski has not yet played in 2015.
The Bruins are 10 games (or 29 days) into the new year, too. And with three sets of back-to-back games and considering the overall health of their veteran-heavy top-four defensive corp, the Black and Gold have had ample time to give Bartkowski a game or two here. At this point, it’s without question by design, and the Bruins consider the 26-year-old Bartkowski to be their No. 7 defenseman. He’s also on a one-year deal that comes with a $1.25 million cap-hit, and will surely walk as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
So, hearing his name involved in a trade rumor should be far from shocking.
Benning is loathe to part with picks in what is being called the best draft since the legendary 2003 class, but he could swap a problem for a problem. Boston has blueline signing priorities in RFAs Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug, but UFA Matt Bartkowski, 26, is expendable. His expiring $1.25 million US contract is attractive and with his underachieving four assists in 20 games this season, he won’t carry much contract leverage. The Bruins have been looking for a gritty winger and could covet Zack Kassian, 24, who has a year left at $2 million, in return for Bartkowski, who has fallen off his top-four form of a year ago.
The thought of moving Bartkowski, again, seems natural.
I don’t think the cap-strung Bruins would even entertain the thought of re-signing him to that price-tag, nor do I think that Bartkowski would want to sign in a city where he’d constantly serve as the club’s healthy scratch. Factor that in with the progression of blue-line blue chips Joe Morrow and Zach Trotman and this is obviously Bartkowski’s last year in town. So, hey, maybe you maximize that value and get something while you can. And given the Bruins’ desire to bolster their forward core -- especially with a bit more ‘snarl’ on that bottom six -- Vancouver’s Zack Kassian would seem like a fit.
Out of the lineup for 13 games this season by way of a finger injury, the 6-foot-3 winger is still a player that’s yet to hit the potential that intrigued the Canucks when they moved Cody Hodgson to Buffalo for him. The 24-year-old Kassian has just two goals and five points in 25 games this season, and has 24 goals and 48 points in 154 games with Vancouver over the last four seasons.
This season has been especially hard on the rugged winger, as he’s been Vancouver’s least productive five-on-five forward, averaging 1.02 points per 60 minutes in 2014-15. The ‘Kassian could benefit from a change of scenery’ is the easy narrative, especially when he’d come to a city with Milan Lucic on the ice and Cam Neely in the front office, but would he really provide the answer the B’s want?
Maybe. But what about moving Bartkowski? Does that make a lot of sense for the Black and Gold?
Theoretically, sure. You shed a contract and guy you’re obviously not hellbent on utilizing.
But if you move No. 43, wouldn’t you simply be putting yourself in a worse position than you were the year before, where your blue line was far too thin to contend for a Stanley Cup? When you talk about Bartkowski, this isn’t a player that’s a critical element towards winning a Cup, I don’t think, but he’s still a serviceable talent that’s honestly been dealt the rawest of deals. It began last season, when the Bruins asked Bartkowski, in just his first full season on an NHL roster, to skate in a top-four role. And it continued on into this year.
When Bartkowski has played poorly, he’s been called out and/or benched. When he’s played well, like he did in his last game played, he still gets benched. And when you look at his game, what does his bring to that middle or third pairing? A mix of what you’ll need if and when you go deep, sustain an injury, and/or don’t make another upgrade to that blue line. The Pennsylvania-born defender is not a high-end puck-mover by any stretch of the imagination, but there’s no doubt that he’s a stronger puck-handler than Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, or maybe even Dennis Seidenberg.
In other words, moving Bartkowski, even for a physical forward like Kassian, would not solve the Bruins’ issues, but rather make one a bit more dire than the one you decided to address.
Bruins-Islanders preview
Finally, after eight days away from the rink, the Bruins get back to work tonight as they make their way down to Long Island for a Thursday night showdown with the upstart New York Islanders.
For the Black and Gold, it’s one final go ‘round at the old barn in Uniondale, N.Y., as the B’s will visit the Nassau Coliseum for the 79th and final regular season meeting before the Isles make their way to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center for the start of the 2015-16 season. All time, the Bruins have won 36 of 78 games at Nassau, and split last year’s meetings in Uniondale with a win each, but come into tonight’s game without a win against an Islander squad that’s stormed through the East this year with 65 points in 47 games.
They’ve also reaped the benefits of Boston’s cap-hell with the late-camp acquisition of top-pair defenseman Johnny Boychuk (along with Chicago’s Nick Leddy).
On the Island, Boychuk’s become an absolute force. He’s sixth among Islanders in scoring with 24 points (17 of which coming on the power play, something his skates almost never experienced during his tenure with the Bruins), and has skated as the face of the New York point, averaging a team-high 21:48 per night.
Boychuk and company will go against a Boston team that’s won six of their last 10, and have points in all but one contest over that stretch. The Bruins’ recent surge has 100 percent been about their ability to get back to their roots and the system that’s brought them so much success throughout the Julien era.
In particular, offensive chances against have been harder to come by, and their netminder, Tuukka Rask, has returned to form in 2015. The 27-year-old has won five of his last nine starts, and has done so with a stellar .946 save percentage. Even in his four losses this month, Rask has stopped a combined 120-of-128 shots against, proving that he’s more than up to the task of getting the B’s back in the mix.
He’s expected to get the nod tonight as well, too, and comes into play with six wins and a .920 save percentage in 10 career starts against the Isles.
The Islanders counter with Jaroslav Halak.
The ace in New York’s crease, Halak stopped 40-of-41 in his 4-1 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night, has wins in five of his last six, and has wins in all but three of his 18 starts at the Coliseum this season. He’s also won eight of 11 career games against the Black and Gold, too, with a .942 save percentage over that stretch. (He’s lights out, man.)
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com