The Boston Bruins miss Dennis Seidenberg.
It’s an obvious anecdote, I know, but what else can we really say about this Boston defense? Right now, and on the penalty kill in particular, it’s an unmitigated disaster. That’s a fact. And you could help but think that this wouldn’t be the case if the Bruins still had the 32-year-old blue-liner healthy. And in case his absence didn’t tell you, Seidenberg going under the knife yesterday in an effort to repair his torn ACL and MCL confirmed that this will be a Seidenberg-less run to the Cup for Boston. Again, in case you didn’t know, that’s just plain old awful news for the Bruins.
With his $3.25 million cap hit on the long term injured reserve, Peter Chiarelli and the B’s will have money to spend on a potential replacement, and with team president Cam Neely confirming that they’re willing to spend that money, it’s clear that at some point help will likely come for a Boston club still atop the Atlantic Division. But just when? You’d have to think (or hope) soon.
At least if what you’ve seen from the sans Seidenberg penalty kill is going to become commonplace.
Much has been made (and rightfully so) about the strength of the Anaheim Ducks, the Bruins’ opponent last night, on their ice. Anaheim, who improved to 18-0-2 at the Honda Center in 2013-14 by way of last night’s victory over the B’s, is as dominant as they come when wearing their homes.
One thing they’re not known for however is their power play, which entered last night in the bottom fifth in the league. But with three power play goals on three opportunities last night, the Ducks torched the Black-and-Gold penalty-kill and left Claude Julien’s club baffled. Hinting to the special teams implosions to missed assignments and poor positioning, you couldn’t help but notice that Adam McQuaid, a bottom pairing defensemen most known for his fisticuffs and safety net type role with Torey Krug, was on the ice for all three Anaheim power play goals.
On the penalty-kill, McQuaid rarely looked settled, and was just a mess.
Seidenberg he is not. And that’s not his fault, either. Like I’ve said, you just can’t replace Seidenberg with a defensive depth shuffle. Hell, you might not even be able to replace him via trade. But you undoubtedly have to try. Especially when you look at the numbers.
Since Seidenberg’s injury, the Bruins are 9-for-17 on the penalty-kill, a 59 percent success rate. That’s a failing grade in just about every school system (but 15-year-old me would have loved to find a place where it’s not), and it’s clearly not going to be enough for the B’s to get where they want to.
But it’s not as simple as plugging in a random veteran from insert-garbage-basement-dweller-here.
From Chiarelli’s morning interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub:
“That’s something we’d like to try to do, to replace parts of what Dennis brings. I don’t expect to replace Dennis Seidenberg; you’re not going to get a player like that on the market,… said Chiarelli.While the Bruins have had success in bringing up young defensemen from Providence, a veteran blue-liner is on the top of Chiarelli’s wish list ahead of the NHL’s March 5 trade deadline.
“Veterans are important additions; they’ve been through the battles, been in the league for a longer period of time. An experienced guy stabilizes a lot of different things, but it has to be the right player,… he said. “Sieds is a defender first, so you try to find a player with those elements. Not any veteran will help, it has to be the right player.…
Just where does that leave you?
The Rangers’ Dan Girardi seems like a total pipedream on New York’s behalf, because the Bruins simply won’t send a top forward prospect, defensive prospect, and first round pick to the Rangers for a defensemen with an expiring contract. In-division options like Tom Gilbert, Henrik Tallinder, and Chris Phillips are intriguing, but could be sold to y’know, non-division opponents. Face of the lockout, Carolina’s Ron Hainsey, is an interesting option out of Carolina, but that’s if the ‘Canes end up selling, which they may not if old friend Anton Khudobin can continue to play at this level and get Carolina back on a playoff track.
Right now, the Bruins are (you know) out of luck on the trade market.
It’s barren right now, and the options are on the table may not even interest them.
In the meantime, the Bruins are going to have to heavily rely on a bend-don’t-break type of philosophy with their special teams blue-line, with McQuaid (or Kevan Miller) stepping up in an attempt to force themselves into a comfort zone when shorthanded. But as last night (and all throughout Seidenberg’s injury) has shown us, that’s no easy feat for the Black-and-Gold.