The 2013-14 Boston Season Preview: Definition of "Strong"

Welcome back to Puck Drop: NHL Preview 2013-14, where our hockey department gives you a detailed look at each team from around the NHL leading to the start of this hockey season. Check back often as new teams are added to our Puck Drop page. Today we take a look at the 2013-14 Boston Bruins.

The Past

In a 17-second span, the Boston Bruins went from believing they were on the brink of forcing a game seven to watching the Chicago Blackhawks celebrate their second Stanley Cup victory in the last four years. After a run that quite resembled their Stanley Cup-winning campaign in 2011, the different outcome two years later was one the Bruins will not soon forget.

In the lock-out shortened 2012-13 season, the Bruins finished fourth in the East, just second behind the Montreal Canadiens in their division. It took a an unforgettable comeback in game seven of the first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs to overcome a first round exit, as they were trailing by three goals early in the third before forcing overtime and eventually going on to win, sending the Toronto faithful into devastation.

Goaltender Tuuka Rask proved to the city of Boston that Tim Thomas was so 2011, guarding the Bruins net and back-stopping the team all the way to the finals. Although they were unable to go the distance, Rask was never the problem, posting a 1.88 goals against and a .940 save percentage. Needless to say, Rask was a force in goal.

The Offseason

A blockbuster trade started off the Bruins offseason when they sent star forward and 2010 second overall pick Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars in a package that included veteran Rich Peverley and prospect Ryan Button, in exchange for 28-year old Swedish winger Loui Eriksson along with forwards Reilly Smith and Matt Fraser, as well as prospect Joe Morrow — the Pittsburgh Penguins’ first round, 23rd-overall selection back in 2011. Shortly after his trade, the media circus attempted to hit an all-time low, throwing accusations left and right of Seguin’s poor character and lack of discipline on and off the ice. Of course, it didn’t help much for Seguin’s case when he decided to quote a Full Metal Jacket line on Twitter, only to later claim his phone was hacked and promptly shut down his Twitter account.

Joining Eriksson up front is the rather ironic signing of 36-year old veteran Jarome Iginla, who is just one-year removed from shunning the very same Bruins management and heading to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where irony of equal proportions struck again when the Bruins swept the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

With addition comes subtraction and the Bruins had their fair share of losses. Defenseman Andrew Ference, whom GM Peter Chiarelli refers to as “a competitive little S.O.B.”, signed a four-year, $13 million deal with the Edmonton Oilers, a team that drastically needs to improve their situation at the blue-line.

Up front, the Bruins decided not to bring back veteran Jaromir Jagr, who struggled to find the back of the net in the post-season after coming over in a trade from the Stars. Jagr went on to sign with the New Jersey Devils in the off-season, inking a one-year, $2 million contract with a possible additional $2 million in bonuses according to the amount of games played. Nathan Horton also tested the free agency market and signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets, netting a seven-year, $37.1 million contract.

Back-up goaltender Anton Khudobin packed up his bags, leaving for the Carolina Hurricanes on a one-year, $800,000 deal to back-up starter Cam Ward. With the number two job opened up on the Bruins line-up, look for newcomers Chad Johnson and Niklas Svedberg to battle it out for the job.

Finally, the latest move in Boston didn’t affect the on ice product. General manager Peter Chiarelli signed an extension to remain with the team for the an additional four years, carrying over his contract in Boston until the 2017-18 season. Entering his eight season this year, Chiarelli has built a winning tradition in the city of Boston, heading a team that has made the playoffs six times during his tenure while making the finals twice and winning the Cup back in 2011. His post-season record of 50-35 during that stretch speaks for itself.

What to look for

Last year, the Boston Bruins powerplay struggled, finishing 26th in the league. Although the Eriksson for Seguin trade and the Iglina/Jagr swap pretty much a wash, the two additions will definitely help the powerplay woes. They will join the ranks of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic and David Krejci mix as part of the two powerplay waves. Eriksson may have taken a hit to his point totals during last year’s shortened season, but he still has three consecutive 70-point seasons before that. His two-way play will only help the Bruins firepower, and Iginla is too smart of a player to not bank on any chance he can get.

Gregory Campbell recently took back to the ice and joined his team in practice, after recovering from a broken leg suffered in last year’s playoffs after he blocked a shot on June 5 against the Penguins. Fans won’t soon forget his tenacious killer instinct when he finished killing off a penalty while hobbling on one leg, with the other broken. After surgery on June 10, Campbell was given a 6-8 week window before he could return with the team. Expect Campbell to be back with the Bruins in full force when they start their training camp.

Wade Redden and Andrew Ference were to big pieces to the Bruins defense puzzle and now that they are gone, matched with Chiarelli’s desire to get younger. It appears that the window of opportunity is wide open for 2011 first-rounder Dougie Hamilton and 2013 post-season hero Torey Krug to climb in and secure spots. Hamilton, the 6’5″ defenseman out of Toronto, Canada, put up 16 points (five goals and 11 assists) in 42 games in his first season in the NHL. Krug played just one game in the regular season but he instantly became a city-wide favorite during the playoffs when he put up six points (four goals and two assists) in 15 playoff games.

Who to look out for

Instead of naming just one player, you may want to look at a group of players — specifically, the Boston Bruins defense. All of them.

Zdeno Chara is back, all 6’9″, 255 pounds of him. He will continue to lead the Boston Bruins defense along side veteran returnees Johnny Boychuk and Dennis Seidenberg. Adam McQuaid will also be back in the black and gold uniform and the team hopes its prospects such as Matt Bartkowski, Tommy Cross and Joe Morrow will continue to make great strides at improving their game and becoming NHL ready.

The biggest change comes at the addition of Krug and Hamilton filling the minutes left by the departing Andrew Ference. With the Bruins defense gaining ground in the age department and containing their fair share of quality defensive-minded blue-liners, both Krug and Hamilton will add many missing elements, namely youth and excitement. Both Krug and Hamilton excel at puck movement and utilize their speed to their advantage and both can pitch in on the powerplay if need be.

Last year, the Bruins were third in the NHL for goals against per game, proudly posting a 2.21 average per game. There likely won’t be much of a reduction to those numbers because despite the changes made in the offseason, even if the opposition can manage their way around Boston’s defense they still have the daunting task of getting a puck past Tuuka Rask; something that never comes easy.

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