Prior to Opening Night, I wrote a piece talking about how Bruins fans needed to wake up, that their Cup chances were nonexistent. I received major flack, but the point still holds true, as my prediction has panned out over the first half of the season.
The Bruins need to make a move, or they might be in danger of missing the playoffs altogether.
I underestimated the Canadiens and Sabres; I had no idea they would be this good. The Sabres seem to have finally put it together, with Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner combining to form an electric battery that the rest of the team feeds off of.
Claude Julien is doing more with less, after losing captain Max Pacioretty to Vegas. Carey Price started slow but is coming on strong, and the Canadiens attack is led by resurgent players in Max Domi and Jonathan Drouin.
Which bring us to the Bruins. The B’s sit tied for third in the Atlantic Division, with the tiebreaker over Buffalo. But the Canadiens are one point behind both teams, and they sit in the second wild-card spot. The first team out is the Islanders, and they are just two points behind the Bruins; there is no room for error.
I’m sick of hearing about how dangerous Boston will be when healthy; face it fans, sometimes it just doesn’t happen. The Bruins seems to be injury prone, a team that seemingly always has a player on the shelf.
If it isn’t Patrice Bergeron, then it’s David Krejci, or Charlie McAvoy, or David Backes…you see the pattern. This Bruins team will have to get used to the fact that they are very fragile, and will often go to battle shorthanded.
One of the good things to come out of the injuries has been the playing time other players have gotten. Krejci caught fire when he centered the B’s top line in place of Bergeron, and Matt Grzelcyk has shown to be a capable defender in the place of Torey Krug.
But this production isn’t sustainable. There simply isn’t enough secondary production. After the top line, there is slim to none in scoring. After Chara and his partner, the defensive pairs are suspect.
Which brings me to the main point; Donny, let’s make a trade. GM Don Sweeney has played things relatively safe in his Bruins tenure, his biggest splashes being the acquisition of Rick Nash last year and signing Backes.
It’s time to go all out. Send away multiple top prospects, including Ryan Donato, and picks in order to go out and get the Bruins the secondary firepower they desperately need. Whether it be Tyler Seguin, Milan Lucic, Chris Kreider, Jeff Carter, or some other player, the Bruins need to go out and get a winger or a center.
They can’t rely on health, and their pace isn’t sustainable when their constant injuries are taken into account. The Bruins need to go out and get help; prove to the roster that the front office is all in, and make a run.
The Leafs, Sabres, and Lightning can all throw multiple dangerous lines at the Bruins, and we haven’t even gotten to teams like the Capitals, Sharks or Predators, which the Bruins will have to face in order to hoist the Cup.
Get someone, or not only risk an early playoff exit, but risk missing them altogether and wasting another year of talent from some of the top players in hockey.
