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Nick Lanciani
Professor Langton
COMM 329 001
07 April 2015
Commentary
Three Things to Watch For: An Outlook of the Boston Bruins
For last years Presidents Trophy winners as the team with the best regular season record
at the end of the 2013-2014 season, the 2014-2015 season has had its share of ugly spots and
eyesores. No, its not that this season is a failure by far, as the Boston Bruins havent reached the
level of the Arizona Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers, or the Toronto Maple Leafs, but
rather based on preseason expectations, its been disappointing.
Patrice Bergeron remains the most consistent player on a nightly basis for the Bruins,
having kept them in games or saved games for them as many times as goaltender, Tuukka Rask,
has done for the Bs this year. Defenseman, Dougie Hamilton, is further proving why he could
become one of the best defenders in the league, albeit his current undisclosed injury has forced
him out of the lineup indefinitely.
Full 60+ To History Part 2? Anyone? Anyone?
All around, though, the Bruins have looked like a weaker team this season. Theyve
trended away from their Big, Bad, Bruins identity and along the way, theyve forgotten how to
play a consistent game. An injury filled October led to more of the same in November. A horrible
December was followed by a wonderful January. A dismal February was followed by an okay
March. Boston has been going on streaks that last about a month at a time, without any real sense
and security of consistency in their game as a whole.

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Every time I watch the Bruins play poorly this season, Im convinced its their worst
game of the year. But then again, how could their most recent loss be that much worse than one
in which the Maple Leafs blew them out 6-1 earlier in the year? Look, its not bad hockey- its
frustrating hockey. Inconsistent hockey is frustrating hockey.
It shouldnt be hard to remind many players on the roster what the snake bitten, lack of
puck luck, Bruins of last years second round Stanley Cup Playoffs exit to the dreaded Montreal
Canadiens in seven games looked like and how they felt. Some, like Milan Lucic, should be
rather fired up with the chance that Boston could make the playoffs once again and have to play
the Habs depending on how things shake out in the last few games of the regular season. Then
again, that might just be considering the mudslinging that comes with a Boston and Montreal
playoff series- see Dale Weise and Lucic not being friends in the handshake line.
With consistency in mind, the Bruins have spent the season missing a couple of key
pieces. Injuries have plagued them, but depth in the organization can provide a bandage for when
they happen. However, they never filled the hole Jarome Iginla created in the roster after Iginla
departed in the offseason for the Colorado Avalanche and the Bruins sent top-4 defenseman,
Johnny Boychuk to the New York Islanders a few days prior to the start of the season, so theyve
been without some necessities. But if you want to talk about the Bruins model, stop right now. If
anything, Boston is following the Detroit model currently, going with a lineup of younger
players, gaining valuable experience, in hopes of improving next season.
Its not a step back; its a step aside. Its worked for Detroit, who, until now were in a
divisional playoff standing. Since then the Bruins have taken Detroits 3rd spot in the Atlantic
Division and Detroit has faltered to a wild card position.

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The Bruins model has everything to do with the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston
Bruins and nothing to do with the 2015 Boston Bruins. Those referring to the Bruins model are
talking about how the 2011 Cup winning team was built. Peter Chiarelli is still the general
manager mastermind for the Bruins. Im confident he knows what hes doing based on the depth
of the AHL affiliate, Providence Bruins, and the plethora of young players in the system.
Gahden Faithful
The system has produced current young standouts Ryan Spooner and yes, even David
Pastrnak, despite only playing in twenty-four career AHL games (in which he had 10-17-27
totals). Seth Griffith has also shown that he could take over an NHL role full time next season.
Many depth defensemen have stepped up when they needed to as a result of injuries, such as
Zach Trotman, David Warsofsky, and Joe Morrow.
Spooner is a pending restricted free agent alongside 22 year-old, Brett Connolly. Both are
mandatory players the Bruins need to focus on resigning. Connolly had two assists in his Bruins
debut in which Boston scored three goals in the third period to beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on
April 2nd, one month after being acquired by the Bruins at the trade deadline from the Tampa Bay
Lightning- remember, he was the one who broke a finger in practice just two days after the
deadline, keeping him out of the lineup until now.
Pastrnak, the golden-angel-child-boy-wonder, has 10-17-27 totals in 43 games so far. The
18 year-old is the currently the leagues youngest player and has more points than Tyler Seguins
rookie season with Boston and nearly as many points as Phil Kessels rookie season with the
Bruins in fewer games played. Seguin had 11-11-22 totals in 74 games played in 2010-2011
when the Bruins went on to win the Cup, while Kessel had 11-18-29 totals in 70 games played
back in 2006-2007- the last time the Bruins missed the playoffs.

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Chiarelli has a knack for finding great talent in young players in unexpected positions in
the draft. Pastrnak was selected 25th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft (usually a spot where
the player is almost guaranteed to see no NHL action for at least a year), but something about
Pastrnak seems reminiscent of how an 18 year-old Patrice Bergeron made the roster in 20032004 after being taken in the 2nd round, 45th overall, of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Whats more,
the game winning goal scorer of the aforementioned Bruins 3-2 victory over the Red Wings on
April 2nd was Zach Trotman- who was taken with the last pick, 210th overall, of the 2010 NHL
Entry Draft.
Success can come from anywhere. Sometimes it requires time to grow; other times its
more of an immediate surprise. In any case, the systems working people. Theres no need to
completely scrap the roster and hit the reset button with a rebuild.
The Times, They Are AChanging
With that said, the time has come for some tenures to end and others to begin. Twelve of
the players on the current roster were members of the 2011 Stanley Cup winning team (if you
include Marc Savard, wholl never play again). Some of those guys, although loved by the fans
for their dedication, perseverance, and the fact that they brought the Cup back to Boston for the
first time in 39 years, are getting older and would be better suited elsewhere in the league.
By no means am I saying the Bruins should trade their captain, Zdeno Chara. Good grief,
no. But fellow defenseman, Dennis Seidenberg, might be on the hot seat this offseason as
potential trade bait. For a struggling team, hed be an asset as a top-4 defenseman for them. For
anyone else, hes a bit of a pricey top-6 defenseman at a $4 million cap hit, but hes got
toughness and strength still left in him, despite his recent trend with the Bruins. Over the last few
seasons hes dealt with a 48-game- lockout shortened- season, a knee injury that limited to him to

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34 games last season, and this season, in which hes played in every game so far. But with
pending RFA Dougie Hamilton to resign, Seidenberg might just be priced out of a Bruins
uniform next season.
Chris Kelly is becoming an expensive third/fourth line center at 34 years old, $3 million a
year. Perhaps his time left with the Bruins is limited. Moving Kelly or Seidenberg would be
tricky since neither really has an attractive contract that reflects their production this season. In
terms of other forwards Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille, now would be the perfect time for
one of them to stay and the other to be on their way. The Bruins clearly brought in Max Talbot at
the deadline, not just for his leadership in the locker room, but also for competition for a spot on
the fourth line. Talbot is a center, currently playing on the wings of the third or fourth line when
hes in the lineup. Campbell centers the fourth line as one of the only tough guys remaining on
the Bruins roster.
But it appears as though Campbells toughness has run out. Hes fought five times this
year and has gone 1-4. He has 6-6-12 totals in 69 games played this year. His numbers this
season are only about as good as the 4-9-13 totals he put up in the lockout shortened 2012-2013
season. One things for sure, Campbells losing his touch (if he ever really had one to begin
with). His $1.6 million contract is up on July 1st and it wouldnt be surprising to see the Bruins
pass on resigning him as long as they put Talbot, Kelly, Spooner, or really anyone else as their
fourth line center.
Paille on the other hand, is an annual get lots of breakaways every year and maybe score
on two of them fourth liner finishing up a $1.3 million cap hit deal. His numbers too, are pretty
stagnant, but they arent getting worse enough to the point that he desperately needs to get off the
team. Ill admit, Im not the biggest Daniel Paille fan, but if it means keeping him for one more

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year and its worth it, Im all for it. He has scored a few clutch goals in his tenure with the
Bruins, such as an overtime game-winning goal in Game 2 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals
against the Chicago Blackhawks. In the end, the Bruins have some decisions to make.
In all my years, Ive learned one thing. Patience is a virtue and Stanley Cup winning
teams dont always have the best players in the world on their roster. Teams that get to the Cup
Finals compete, play a consistent game, control each game of the series, and respecting the
unwritten full sixty-minute effort rule in hockey. One bad year out of many good years is to be
expected. Professional hockey at the level of the NHL takes a toll on people, you know.
While its sad to see the glory days of 2011 drifting further back in the rearview mirror,
everyone knew thered be a day when more and more players from that team wouldnt be around
in black and gold anymore. Embracing your team is important, honoring your key contributors
when they come back with a team theyve always wanted to play for late in their career feels just
as good as embracing the new identity of your current team. The bottom line is, the Bruins need
to find the consistent game that worked in 2011, mixed with the players that have been a result of
the system, and do some much needed reshaping in the offseason before they age themselves out
of competition and begin a lengthy Stanley Cup drought.