In Mike Reilly, Bruins find value on blue line in underrated playmaker

Well ... that didn't take long.

After a shorthanded Bruins D corps got absolutely shellacked on Sunday in a 8-1 drubbing at the hands of the Capitals, the Bruins pulled the trigger on a deal for some blue-line reinforcements ahead of Monday's trade deadline — dealing a 2022 third-round pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for left-shot defenseman Mike Reilly.

Reilly, 27, is a pending UFA — with the Chicago native setting himself up a nice payday after recording 19 assists over 40 games so far this season with Ottawa. The University of Minnesota alum has logged 244 games up in the NHL with the Wild, Canadiens and Senators — scoring eight goals and 72 total points over his career. The 6-foot-1 blueliner will be a welcome addition on a Bruins D corps that is currently without three of its top-four regulars in Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk — especially given Reilly's profile as a puck-moving presence that can jumpstart breakouts with a crisp first pass.

It's important to note that Reilly's arrival will not be immediate — as he will need to clear quarantine requirements coming down from Canada to the U.S. before getting the green light to enter Boston's lineup.

BSJ Analysis: 

When you factor in both the need and the cost to pry Reilly out of Ottawa, this stands as a very solid pick-up for Don Sweeney and the Bruins for a blueliner that has really flown under the radar as playmaking presence on the Sens' D corps.

Despite having just 41.31% of his faceoffs set in offensive zone on a BAD Senators club, Reilly continued to rack up points this season in Ottawa — with his 19 helpers tying him with Patrice Bergeron for third-most on the Bruins. Among the 134 NHL defensemen that have logged at least 500 minutes of 5v5 ice time this season, Reilly ranks second in terms of 5v5 assists per 60 minutes at 1.27. The only blueliner ahead of him? Cale Makar (1.28).

https://twitter.com/JFreshHockey/status/1381435823955001346

Now, of course, that doesn't mean that the Bruins swindled the Sens and have acquired the SECOND COMING OF CALE MAKAR. Of course not. However, even with a measured look at what the Bruins are bringing in, there's a lot to be encouraged about in terms of Reilly's production and his fit on this club.

As a left-shot D, Reilly could ideally slot in next to Carlo and give that B's second pairing a puck-moving presence — freeing up Bruce Cassidy to keep that very lethal Grzelcyk-McAvoy pairing intact to deploy with the Bergeron line.

He may not be Mattias Ekholm, but given both the low cost to acquire him and the potential that Reilly brings to a D corps in need of bodies, this is a great pickup for Boston.