Not So Great First Half for the Black and Gold
Why aren’t the B’s as good as we hoped?
Julian H. Gonzalez/Detroit Free Press/MCT photo used with permission
The Detroit Red Wings’ Kyle Quincey, left, puts a hard check on the Boston Bruins’ Adam McQuaid in the second period at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014.
As you may have noticed, the Boston Bruins are not doing as well this year compared to recent years. If the playoffs started today, they would barely make it. You may have wondered how that happened. Below are a few reasons for their lackluster performance.
Trades and Transactions – the Bruins made a few moves (or non-moves) that (at least for now) have impacted the team negatively. General Manager Peter Chiarelli traded solid defenseman Johnny Boychuck to the New York Islanders for the Philadelphia Flyers’ second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft (previously acquired by the Islanders). Prior to this season, former Bruin’s right wing Jarome Iginla signed a three year contract, worth $16 million, with the Colorado Avalanche. The Bruins would have liked to keep him, but they just didn’t have enough salary cap-space to hold on to the 37-year old star player.
And speaking of star players, two years ago, the Bruins traded center Tyler Seguin (a 2010 second overall draft pick) to the Dallas Stars, mostly for earning a bad reputation off the ice. In an interview at the time with 98.5, the Sports Hub, team president Cam Neely said, “(Seguin) needs a little understanding of what he has to do off the ice to have a long career.” Maybe he did. Seguin is currently the NHL’s leading goal scorer while playing for the Stars.
Injuries – This season, the Bruins have been dealing with a number of injuries. Team captain Zdeno Chara was out for six weeks with a knee-injury. Defenseman Torey Krug missed two weeks with a broken finger. And, forward David Krejci was out with a groin injury for a month.
Frequent Roster Moves – The Bruins have been affected by constant roster changes. They haven’t had a chance to get enough consistency with specific players. The Bruins are constantly calling players up from the Providence Bruins (their AHL affiliate) on an emergency basis, and sending other players back down.
However, the Bruins have put together a few wins lately. Hopefully, the players they have will remain healthy and work together to win more consistently during the second half of the season.