GMs for Bruins, Lightning and Leafs raise ante at deadline for stretch run

Ding. Ding. Ding.

It’s become a heavyweight fight in the Atlantic Division and it’s in the 12^th of a 15-round battle. The trade deadline has come and gone and the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and Bruins all made moves in order to help their respective chances to go the distance.

Entering Monday’s league-wide action, the Bruins (82 points) were in third place in the division behind the Maple Leafs (83) and the top-seeded Lightning (87). However, Boston still has four games in hand.

Toronto and Tampa had to do something after the Bruins acquired Rick Nash.

In Toronto, the acquisition of Tomas Plekanec from the Montreal Canadiens creates strength down the middle for the Maple Leafs. He will be the second-line center and he matches up well against the Bruins and David Krejci.

Toronto general manager Lou Lamoriello basically admitted one of the reasons he wanted Plekanec is because it appears the Maple Leafs will face the Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs.



“I’ve had the opportunity to see him quite a bit and he’s also a player that played against Toronto quite a bit and Boston, which looks like the logical playoff opponent if everything stays as is. It’s always possible to change and he’s had success there in the role that he plays,” Lamoriello said. “He’s a consummate professional. He’ll really help our kids ... we feel he’s going to help us not only on the ice but off the ice.”

If the Bruins face the Maple Leafs in the playoffs, Toronto will have Auston Matthews, Plekanec, Nazem Kadri and Tyler Bozak down the middle. Boston answers with Patrice Bergeron, Krejci, Riley Nash and Sean Kuraly as the centers.

Both teams proved on Saturday during Toronto’s 4-3 win that this possible playoff matchup won’t disappoint. It’s awesome that Lamoriello made a transaction specifically to defend against the Bruins.

In Tampa, the Lightning acquired this season’s gold chip in veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh, along with J.T. Miller. Both players will be difference-makers and help the Lightning become favorites in the conference. The leadership components on that team now are off the charts, which bodes well for the playoffs.

The Bruins were “aggressive” in their pursuit of McDonagh, according to a league source. Sweeney said he wouldn’t talk about players that he discussed with other GMs.

“I was aware of the marketplace – well aware,” he said.

Additional coverage — BSJ Analytics: Why the Bruins should trade for Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh

It’s evident that Sweeney and the Bruins are all in with their recent acquisitions and for their pursuit of McDonagh. The fact that the rivals also added important pieces to their teams doesn’t seem to bother Sweeney.

“We went in our direction. They went in theirs. I’m sure they feel good about it, as we do about ours,” Sweeney said.

In Boston, the Bruins addressed their playoff depth and added key veterans and proven postseason performers in Brian Gionta, Tommy Wingels and Nick Holden. Sweeney added to his arsenal in case of injuries down the stretch and into the playoffs. Plus, it also creates more internal competition, especially with the way the team has struggled the last five games.

There’s a little less than a quarter of the regular season remaining and teams now begin to ramp up for the playoffs. The Bruins, Maple Leafs and Lightning all added significant pieces without subtracting from their respective cores and it shouldn’t have a negative impact on chemistry. It will be interesting to see how all the teams that became buyers at the deadline perform the rest of the way, and which one is standing when the final buzzer sounds.