The Boston Bruins knew what they were moving when they parted ways with Tyler Seguin last July. The second overall pick from the 2010 draft, Seguin led the B’s in scoring in just his second year in the National Hockey League. General manager Peter Chiarelli’s decision to move him -- even with his share of ‘personality issues’ on a predominantly veteran Bruins club -- took guts.
And like any trade that moves a player with a ceiling like Seguin’s out after just three years in the league, the trade that put Seguin in Dallas as part of a four-piece return to Boston took heat. Many felt that the Bruins gave up on Seguin too soon. Or that his unimpressive postseason figures were merely bad luck and not a true indication of what No. 19 brought to the ice every night.
On this topic, the opinions were fierce. Nobody compromised, either.
Year one of the trade didn’t really lean the on-the-fencers one way or the other either, because of course it didn’t. The 22-year-old Seguin would finish with the fifth-most goals in the league (34), and finish fourth in the league with 84 points. On the Stars’ top line and with the help of captain Jamie Benn, Seguin brought the Stars to the postseason for the first time since 2008.
In Boston, the Black-and-Gold cruised without Seguin, winning their first Presidents’ Trophy in over two decades. Something that Seguin’s offensive replacements in the Boston lineup, Reilly Smith and Loui Eriksson, certainly had a part in, even if their contributions weren’t as grand as the Brampton, Ont. native’s down in the Lone Star State. Their numbers were (obviously) more modest than those of Seguin’s, skewing the trade as a clear-cut win for the Bruins.
Smith’s 20 goals were the 89th most in the league, and his 51 points were 80th. The 28-year-old Eriksson’s 10 goals put him 237th in the league, and his 37 points was 176th among NHLers.
Did the B’s trade a quarter for two shiny dimes? Obviously, those in Boston would like to think not.
Now, it’s tough to say that the B’s made out like bandits when their pieces are second/third line talents while Seguin lit the lamp out West. But then again, this is what the Bruins sort of wanted. When they traded Seguin, the message was repeated ad nauseam-- They wanted to improve as a team.
With the sudden-albeit-still-unknown presence of Matt Fraser, one of the lesser known pieces in the Stars’ package sent to Boston, it seems as if the Bruins have found their nickel.
Striking with the only goal in Boston’s by all means must-win Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, Fraser’s goal was just the third of his NHL career, but certainly the biggest.
It doesn’t really matter that Fraser’s impact is as miniscule as one playoff goal, but if we’re going by what Chiarelli said ‘til he was blue in the face when he did trade Seguin, Fraser’s marker was one that made the Bruins a better team. It’s not He may have saved Boston’s hopes for a second Stanley Cup in four years, too. Once again expected to skate with Carl Soderberg and Eriksson on Boston’s third line, the 24-year-old Fraser is just another piece of Providence’s puzzle -- a la Torey Krug last year -- that’s come up to help the Bruins when they’ve needed it most.
“I think they’ve done a great job in Providence, the coaching staff there. The one thing that has been impressive is that the guys who have come up have just fit in seamlessly in to our team,… B’s coach Claude Julien said of his AHL affiliate earlier this afternoon. “I think the good part about that is that both Butch [Bruce Cassidy] and his coaching staff and our coaching staff here seem to be agreeing on the way that we need to play so there is a lot of similarities. They’re not forced to play the same way but they believe in the same kind of things we do so it makes it a lot easier for players to come up and just think about playing the game versus trying to do something different than what they have been doing the whole time. So I give a lot of credit to those guys, they’ve done a wonderful job with the young players and a lot of times those things go unnoticed but certainly not here. They deserve a lot of credit for the success that we’ve had in sending players to fill in those holes.…
I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Soderberg line was Boston’s best in their Game 4 victory, and with goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Carey Price looking dialed in for a major goaltending duel, the Bruins know that space to create offensive chances is going to be at a premium.
“I think both teams know the importance of being good defensively. We have good goaltending on both ends so the defensive part may have taken over last game,… Julien said today. “But at the same time, there has been some scoring chances but both goaltenders have come up big so far.…
And if there’s one part of the Habs’ defense that the Bruins can take advantage of, it’s the club’s third pairing of Mike Weaver and the big-bodied Douglas Murray. Neither defender is a strong puck-mover -- and both handle it like it’s about to explode -- and with the benefit of last change on their ice, the Bruins forwards can certainly get the matchup they want against that duo.
Paging the Krejci line…
Through four games, the Bruins top line of David Krejci, Jarome Iginla, and Milan Lucic has combined for just two goals. One of those goals was an empty-netter, by the way. That’s obviously not enough given the way that they dominated throughout the regular season, and not enough given the postseason legacy of Krejci, a notorious playoff performer.