Bruce Cassidy stated the obvious on Sunday afternoon.
"We're a better team today,” he declared.
Tough to argue with the sentiment shared by Boston’s bench boss.
The Bruins, who entered the weekend as analytical darlings when it came to their propensity for snuffing out Grade-A scoring chances, melded those underlying metrics with baseline production and tangible heft on the blue line over the last few days.
By the time the waters had finally calmed following the NHL’s trade-deadline feeding frenzy, the Bruins boasted the top prize among blueliners that switched sweaters — adding another top-four workhorse in Hampus Lindholm and entrenching him into the bedrock of the franchise’s long-term plans by way of an eight-year contract extension.
And even if Josh Brown is likely more of a depth pickup, the 28-year-old defenseman’s size (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) and willingness to inflict welts against the opposition could come in handy during the slog that teams must trudge through on the road to the Stanley Cup.
Whether it be the Lindholm’s minutes-munching value, the added security provided by Brown’s presence or the subsequent domino effect on the depth chart as Derek Forbort/Mike Reilly settle in on the third pair, the Bruins took arguably their top strength in team defense in gave it another shot in the arm.
“We have to have players that can probably step into those situational minutes,” Don Sweeney said. “Our players currently, we're one of the teams that probably gives up one of the least amount of expected goals. So we've done a good job overall. But the depth, the impact that we needed and identified that plenty of you have written about, was something we felt that we wanted to address.”
The Bruins have bolstered their defensive fortifications, no doubt. Last year’s postseason loss to the Islanders, in which a battered and beaten D corps was hewn to bits in a second-round stunner, was undoubtedly fresh in the minds of Boston’s top brass over the last few weeks.
But what about prior postseason letdowns in 2018, 2019 and 2020 — in which a dearth of even-strength scoring doomed Boston during some fruitful runs to the Cup?
(The unfortunate factoid that I always dread bringing up is that Boston’s top 5v5 scorer in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final was … Sean Kuraly … with five total points.)
Because even though the 2021-22 Bruins have indeed improved, it sure felt as though there was another shoe that was waiting to be dropped ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. deadline.
Whether it be Jake DeBrusk’s new two-year extension (inked in order to help fulfill his long-standing trade request), or the added cap space freed up in the Lindholm deal by way of salary retention and the removal of John Moore’s contract, it looked as though Boston’s forward corps was in line for a facelift on Monday.
Reinforcements would have been welcomed. Even though Boston’s third line of Charlie Coyle, Craig Smith and Trent Frederic have impressed as of late, the Bruins were on the prowl for more surefire production — be it in place of DeBrusk on the top line or potentially down the middle at the second-line center position.
In total, Boston ranks 17th in the NHL in goals per game at 3.00. Only two more teams currently in the playoff picture (Rangers - 2.94, Kings - 2.80) have lesser scoring outputs.
When you look at 5v5 expected goals per 60 minutes (which weighs other factors such as shot quality), the Bruins rank 11th in the league — an improvement, but still far behind other juggernauts in the East like the Panthers (1st at 3.05) and Hurricanes (2nd at 3.01).
So what gives?
“We certainly had an awful lot of inquiries in terms of what we were trying to probably augment our group. Moving the pieces around and where guys were going to play was a little bit of a challenge for us if it didn’t really move the needle,” Sweeney acknowledged. “Obviously, we would like to have probably added a little more depth there. But several of our guys have really stepped up and played well and feel that we’re in a good spot overall with our hockey club.”
Granted, even if the Bruins were interested in swinging for the fences and acquiring a true impact forward, especially one under term, some of those failed aspirations were the byproduct of a stagnant market.
In terms of a true top-six pivot, Boston’s best option was negated when San Jose steered full speed ahead toward the fiscal iceberg in their path by signing Tomas Hertl to an eight-year contract extension. Claude Giroux seemed like a fantastic contingency plan, even if it was more of a short-term addition. But even though teams like the Bruins and Avalanche put forth compelling offers, Giroux had the final say in trade talks, and only wanted to go to South Florida and join the Panthers.
Other potential home-run targets on the wing like Filip Forsberg and Conor Garland eventually stayed put with their respective teams.
It’d be one thing if the Bruins were left sitting on the sidelines as players like Hertl or Forsberg went to other contenders. But for Boston, it was a deadline spent on the outside looking in at rentals such as Andrew Copp — a player comparable to Charlie Coyle, but who was dealt to the Rangers for a 2022 conditional pick (a first-round selection if New York wins two rounds), another second-round pick, a fifth-round pick and a solid prospect in Morgan Barron.
Rickard Rakell seemed like a logical target for the Bruins, especially after his best bud in Lindholm joined Boston just a few days earlier. But after inking a bargain six-year, $22.8 million contract extension with Anaheim back in 2016, it seems like Rakell is intent on getting P-A-I-D this summer, and isn’t willing to negotiate a new deal any time soon.
Perhaps I’m just making excuses — but the Bruins were not going to relinquish what remained of their top assets (such as their 2023 first-round pick) just for a marginal upgrade like Copp or Rakell, especially as rentals.
Feel free to throw this musing back in my face if Boston’s offense dries up in the next few months, but the B’s weren’t going to shell out whatever remained of their trade chips for … Max Domi?
"We still could have made some trades today from the standpoint of there was a lot of leveraging futures. There were players that moved teams, that's a lot of the times a cap dynamic for some of these things,” Sweeney said. “We weren't looking to significantly take away from our team construction as it is now. We kept towards what we have, our prospect pool. Knowing what we have in a couple of players in particular that we've felt were a big part of what we're going to need going forward. There's always a balancing act there, it just is.”
Still, even if this market wasn’t entirely conducive for the Bruins and their efforts to add another true impact piece up front, that doesn’t assuage the fear that many B’s fans have when it comes to this forward corps and its ability to land punches come the postseason.
Even though DeBrusk seems ready to serve as a good solider for however long he remains in Boston, his hot-and-cold production could significantly hamper Boston’s top line if his O-zone play dips.
Erik Haula has been a pleasant surprise so far this season as the man in the middle of a souped-up second line with Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak to his left and right, but there is still some skepticism about whether you can win a Cup with Haula as your 2C.
There’s no question that the Bruins are a better team today, especially with Lindholm ready to help anchor an already stingy defense.
"I think they already have a championship-caliber team and I think any team I come to is going to be a better team,” Lindholm said. “Obviously I can't speak exactly for the team and how they're playing and stuff like that. ... I definitely think anywhere I go, I know I'm gonna make a difference and I'm super excited to come to Boston. I think it's a good fit for me and it's gonna be exciting to see how it's gonna go here at the end of the year and the years following up here."
Sweeney like concurs with the sentiment shared by many Bruins fans on social media on Monday — in that the Bruins likely could have used another forward somewhere across the depth chart.
But, as we’ve noted countless times before, anything can happen in the postseason.
The Bruins could very well enter this postseason on a roll, with all four forward lines clicking, only to see their Cup run come undone with a tough stint between the pipes for Jeremy Swayman.
Such was the case last year for the Penguins, who captured first place in the East Division — only to lose to the Islanders in the first round after Tristan Jarry (2-4-0, .888 save percentage) completely unraveled.
The Bruins have flaws, no doubt. Even if Boston coughed up more draft capital for a Rakell or Copp, it would still likely be tabbed as underdogs in a seven-game series against a team like Panthers, Lightning or Hurricanes.
But at the very least, the 2021-22 Bruins are in the mix among a crowded field of contenders.
And as we said prior, anything can happen when the calendar flips to May.
“Bottom line is the war of attrition starts from now until when a Cup is presented,” Sweeney said of his club. “Staying healthy is a big part of that. We hopefully added to the back end to hopefully get through all of that. You never know. We’ve monitored our team closely from January on in terms of how we’ve played, goal scoring’s gone up. February on, we’ve played well. We’ve defended well all year. We’re going to continue to do that. You have two goaltenders who are going to go through a stretch run in the playoffs for the first time. Let’s just saddle up. I think the guys are excited.
“You’ve got a player in Hampus that is not just come to impact our team now but moving forward. Having him signed and in area that we feel we could help our group, even though they’ve played well. I think we’re a good defending team. Testament to the structure of the coaches and the players to play to that. Hampus is excited to come in and impact our hockey club. Josh adds a physical presence and a size factor that I think everybody acknowledges that you’re going to need as you go through the playoff stretch. Hopefully we get in and take a run.”
Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick, HockeyViz and JFreshHockey.