The Boston Bruins weren’t going to pay the price to hit a home run on trade deadline day, but they did what they could to address their thinning point, claiming defensemen Corey Potter off waivers from Edmonton at noon, and acquiring the Flyers’ Andrej Meszaros in exchange for a third round pick just before the trade deadline window closed this afternoon.
For Peter Chiarelli and Co., today was all about depth.
Given the season-ending knee injury to Dennis Seidenberg in Dec., and lingering leg injury that’s kept Adam McQuaid out of action since Jan. 19, it was the B’s only glaring need.
“We brought in two guys, two big guys that can, you know, that can both move the puck and both push bodies down low and stuff. So you know, for me, the defense isn’t about one player — it’s about the group as a whole and how they interact,… Chiarelli said at his post-deadline press conference. “That’s the way our system is, that’s the way our coach is, so these guys both are smart players, so it may take them some time — it usually takes some time for the D to adapt to our system, new D that was brought in. And I expect the same to happen with these two, but it’s a good system, it’s a system of trust, and I know they can both contribute to the group.…
Nabbing the 28-year-old Meszaros out of Philadelphia gives the B’s a defender with a lefty shot that can play both the left and right side, and one can chip in offensively (Meszaros has five goals and 17 points in 38 games this year) when called upon in. But perhaps most of all, Meszaros is a defensemen that Chiarelli’s familiar with given his previous tenure in the Ottawa front office.
“I’m more familiar with them,… Chiarelli said of picking up old Ottawa talents. “I know we’ve acquired players, former Ottawa players … It’s more familiar — familiar with them as [far as] their character and what they’re like as people and, you know, knowing what their origins are and how they started just gives me a little more information. So that helps, but it’s certainly not a big factor.…
Meszaros is now the eighth ex-Senator that Chiarelli has brought in via trade during his time as Boston’s general manager. Brandon Bochenski, Peter Schaefer, Shane Hnidy, Patrick Eaves (though bought out before ever playing a game in Boston), Chris Kelly, Joe Corvo, and Wade Redden are the others.
Though Meszaros’ initial cost is a third round pick, there are conditions to the trade, and boy are they complex. The 2014 third rounder becomes a 2014 second rounder if the B’s advance to the Eastern Conference Finals and if the 6-foot-2 Meszaros plays in two-thirds of the Bruins’ playoff contests. If re-signed by Boston, it can become even more complex. If re-signed before the draft, the Flyers get a second round pick. If re-signed after the draft, Philly gets an additional fourth round pick.
Chiarelli also noted that it could take a little while before Meszaros joins the Black-and-Gold for game action after making the switch from Philadelphia, as Boston’s defensive system is a zone style while the Flyers play a man-to-man system. But that decision will be up to coach Claude Julien.
When it comes to the Potter claim, it’s a situation where the Bruins are taking a flier on another body.
At 6-foot-3, 204-pounds, the 30-year-old Potter is a journeyman that’s going to be a depth addition to the point, and one they believe can contribute to the club as a reliable two-way defender.
Potter had recorded five assists and 21 penalty minutes in 16 games for the Edmonton Oilers this season prior to being placed on waivers, and has scored eight goals and 32 points in 120 games at the NHL level between the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Oilers.
While an AHL talent for most of his career, the Michigan-born Potter serves as the Bruins’ insurance policy to McQuaid, who will be shut down for the next two to three weeks with a strained quad. Chiarelli likened McQuaid’s injury to that of prospect Jared Knight, whose 2012-13 year was basically decimated by the nagging problem, and that makes Potter a no-brainer given his price.
As for the concern surrounding Loui Eriksson’s absence from the ice, Chiarelli confirmed that Eriksson’s dealing with an injury and nothing more, noting that the Swede has a minor heel infection that he’s been dealing with. With a no-trade clause, two concussions to his name, and less than a year into his tenure with the Black-and-Gold, Eriksson was never on the trade market.
Obviously, this isn’t anybody’s idea of “going for it…, but Chiarelli feels that the Bruins were close on some of the deadline’s bigger targets yesterday before deals fell through or went off the board. That could be a tough pill for the Bruins to swallow when they see Thomas Vanek -- a player with 31 goals and 61 points in 53 career games against Boston -- donning a Habs jersey from here on out. Or when names like Mike Cammalleri, a player linked to Boston today, remain at home.
When it came to Vanek, Cammalleri, and others, the B's were in a situation where they had to properly assess their needs. What did they need more: a top six forward or a defensemen? Obviously, the latter was a greater need, and that's an undeniable truth. Boston's defensive depth has obviously been an issue, while the offense is still clicking throughout the lineup, with Boston entering the night with the eighth best power play in the league and skating as one of just six teams averaging more than three goals a night.
Vanek, while an ultra-talented forward, didn't necessarily fill a need for the Bruins.
But there were a few deals on the tables that Chiarelli would've preferred to see finalized.
“There was a few good deals that we were in, and yeah, a little disappointed those deals … Sometimes those deals come around in the summer and in the fall, so you lay some groundwork. That’s what happens too,… Chiarelli admitted, adding, “And we felt we did that, too. But I thought we were in a couple deals where it would’ve been good for the acquisitions.…
But the Bruins knew what they were getting into with this deadline. They weren’t trading anybody off their NHL roster, they weren’t selling the farm, and they weren’t looking to blow everyone away.
Mission accomplished, you’d think.