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I’ll be honest: As weird as this sounds in the year 2015 (it sounds weird in any year when I really think about it), I knew more about Boris Valabik than I did Rich Peverley when the Boston Bruins acquired both from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Mark Stuart and Blake Wheeler in Feb. 2011. Valabik, a towering 6-foot-7 defender and former first-round choice of the Thrashers (10th overall in 2004), was one mean dude. Peverley was a… I couldn’t tell you.
And at the cost of Stuart and Wheeler, you hoped Peverley would be something to remember.
One incredible springtime run in 2011 later, yeah, I’d say he did his job.
Picking up four goals and seven points in 24 regular-season contests with the Bruins, it would be second career trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs that made Peverley a memorable name in the Hub. On a third line with fellow deadline pickup Chris Kelly and sniper Michael Ryder, Peverley scored the season-saving, game-winning goal in the Bruins’ Game 3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. He then assisted on both the game-tying and game-winning goal in Boston’s series-evening Game 4 win.
Peverley served as a noted roleplayer for the Black-and-Gold during their three-round run to reach the Final against the Vancouver Canucks, but will be remembered most for stepping up in place of the injured Nathan Horton on the B’s top-line in Game 4. From there, Peverley opened up the game’s scoring with a breakaway strike. He finished that series-evening win with two goals.
A fixture on Boston’s third line, Peverley finished his final season in the Hub with six goals and 18 points in 47 regular-season games, along with two goals in 21 playoff games for the 2013 Bruins.
It would be Peverley’s last run with Boston, putting the finishing touches on a Bruins career that included 21 goals and 67 points in 127 games, and nine goals and 19 points in 53 playoff games.
Ultimately sent to Dallas in the oft-discussed Tyler Seguin trade, Peverley would score seven goals and 30 points in 62 games before a heart ailment forced Peverley out of a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and as of yesterday, into retirement at the age of 33. While he’s seemingly prepared for a role like this since the incident, with duties varying from serving as the NHL’s eye in the sky or skating with the club’s minor league affiliate, Peverley will in fact remain with the Stars in a front office role.
Although Peverley was here for just over 120 games, he was an embodiment of everything that made the B’s a formidable challenge during the height of 21st century playoff century. He could play all three forward positions, he logged power-play minutes and shorthanded time on ice, and could play on lines one through four on any given night if it’s what Claude Julien needed.
Peverley becomes just the third member of the 2011 Cup winning team to retire, joining Mark Recchi and defenseman Shane Hnidy. (Both Tomas Kaberle and Tim Thomas are out of work, but neither has officially announced their retirement from hockey.)
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