There are just two games of Olympic hockey left to be played. Finland and the United States battled for Bronze on Saturday, while Canada and Sweden duel for Gold on Sunday. The Boston Bruins are represented by three of the remaining clubs, with goaltender Tuukka Rask earning his first Bronze medal by way of a 5-0 shutout of the US, Loui Eriksson playing for Sweden, and Patrice Bergeron in search of his second straight Gold for Canada.
For most, however, the focus has returned back to the Hub.
Through 57 contests this year, few in the Eastern Conference have been better than the B’s. In fact, just one has, and they’re the Metropolitan Division leading Pittsburgh Penguins. With 37 wins and a plus-51 goal differential (the third best in the league), there’s plenty to celebrate in Boston. But the season-ending injury to Dennis Seidenberg has confirmed the undeniable truth that the Black-and-Gold aren’t exactly a bulletproof NHL squad, and that there could be a move to be made.
Or maybe not.
With Seidenberg on the shelf, the 25-year-old Matt Bartkowski has stepped into the Bruins’ top-four defensive rotation, and has impressed his general manager, Peter Chiarelli.
“[Bartkowski]’s been in that top four and he’s been playing well,… Chiarelli noted prior to the Bruins’ final game before the Olympic break. “It’s a bit of supply and demand so I don’t really – the names that I am thinking about and talking about, maybe two or three of them can play in the top four and the rest of them would maybe shuttle in and out and play down a little bit.…
Since Seidenberg’s injury, the 6-foot-1 Bartkowski has logged at least 21 minutes in 11 of 19 games played. In those 19 games, he’s recorded three assists and a plus-12 rating. As a whole, Bartkowski’s recorded 10 assists in 42 games this year (his first season of appearing in more than 10 games).
But has he shown enough to warrant the Bruins standing pat at the deadline?
“I would be,… a confident Chiarelli said to reporters when asked if he’d be comfortable with a playoff lineup featuring Bartkowski in the top-four. “He’s learning, he’s learning better how to defend, he’s getting a little more minutes. He’s still making mistakes but the rest of them are too. I’ve been looking closely at his defending, he certainly can wheel the puck out well and turn the net well but he’s maturing as a defender. That’s what we’re looking for: better defenders.
“I want a little more defending and if a guy can play both sides that would be great,… Chiarelli noted of his deadline wish-list, adding, “What I said before is we’re not going to replace [Dennis Seidenberg], I want the ability to defend, I want a little bit of heaviness.…
It’s not a coincidence that Bartkowski’s all around game is improving with more ice-time. He’s still prone to mistakes, but the little mistakes that you dwelled on in his previously standard 15-minute night aren’t nearly as noticeable, and while he looks like the answer now, a tough trade market may force him to be the answer for the B’s by mid-April and beyond. At least from the sound of Chiarelli.
“I think it’s going to be a tough market. It is going to be tough to get players,… Chiarelli admitted of the looming trade deadline. “It is even more close this year and the lowering of the cap has done that. The lowering of the cap also – so it’s close, way more teams are at the cap so they’re not willing to give up roster players. I’m in that position. I don’t want to give up any roster players so I don’t see it changing. Therefore, what is going to be the result is high, high prices.…
That’s nothing new though. In 2012, the Bruins were a club cruising atop their division all year long, but they were still a club in search of depth and experience. They searched the market high and low for answers, but left with some spare parts, acquiring Greg Zanon from Minnesota and veterans Mike Mottau and Brian Rolston from the New York Islanders. They were solid additions given their cost (Steven Kampfer and a bucket of pretzels), but nothing significant enough to prevent the Bruins from their first round defeat to the Washington Capitals.
And from the sound of Chiarelli, from both a cost point of view and what’s he’s willing to give up, a Mottau/Rolston or Zanon type of trade could fit the bill in 2014.
“Usually when I’m trying to add something on a temporary basis, on a rental basis, I’d like that player to have some experience. So that usually translates into being a veteran,… said Chiarelli. “Playoff experience would be good too so that’s something I look for, I don’t know if I’m going to get it if we add somebody but that’s what I look for, I think it’s important. It’s not so much for leadership; I feel our group has strong leadership. It’s more for having been in the battles and having that composure because that is what you need to win, is composure and compete by the composure also.…
Carolina defensemen Ron Hainsey, a lefty-shooting veteran defensemen from Connecticut, has looked to be the ideal fit for the B’s at the deadline. The 32-year-old is third among Carolina defenders in ice-time this season (averaging 21:10 per game), has recorded 12 points, 72 hits and 80 blocked shots in 57 games this year, and comes with a modest $2,000,000 cap hit. That contract expires at the end of the year as well, an obvious plus for a B’s squad with a slew of names to re-sign.
But with the Hurricanes three points out of the final wild card spot in the East, and with Tim Gleason already sold off in 2013-14, Hainsey might be on the market. And if he is -- as just one of the few lefty-shooting minute-eaters on the market -- his price may be too high for Boston.
Could that put the Black-and-Gold in a situation where they take on a player with more than just a final few months left on his contract? While it could come at a higher cost, it’s not impossible.
“I can,… Chiarelli said when asked about adding players with more than a year left on their contract. “It would be – again, my objective is to not take anyone off my roster. I would probably have to do that based on who we have to sign and where we are at the cap. But I’m not ruling it out.…
About two weeks away from the NHL deadline, Chiarelli’s not ruling anything out.
My bet: *Throws arms up in the air, completely unsure of what he’s going to do.*