NHL Notebook: Trade deadline deals already paying off in big way for Bruins

Just over a week after acquiring Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals, Don Sweeney’s biggest deadline acquisition already looks like an even better bit of business for Boston.

Orlov tied Zdeno Chara for the most points (five) by a defenseman through his first three games with the Bruins. The former had two goals and three assists in his second two games after two helpers in Monday’s 3-2 win at the Edmonton Oilers and two goals and an assist in Tuesday’s 4-3 overtime victory at the Calgary Flames. 

He also added another goal and two assists in Boston’s 7-1 trouncing of the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday before another assist against the Rangers Saturday. That’s nine points (3g, 6a) in his first five games with the Black and Gold. 

“Obviously, we’re extremely happy, and I think he is as well in terms of how he’s come in, and earned the respect of everybody just from Day 1, wanting to put his work boots on and come in and join the team,” Sweeney said Friday. “Walks through the door and people are like, ‘This guy likes to win. Wants to win again’ and you’re seeing quickly he scores goals, guys embrace and how genuinely excited he is for each and every one of his teammates. It says a lot about what he wants to accomplish as a hockey player, and it’s the thing we were hoping for.”

Orlov was a force alongside Charlie McAvoy against the Rangers. The pair held a 17-4 (80.95 percent) share of shot attempts in 12:14 of 5-on-5 ice time against New York, according to Natural Stat Trick. They were dominant in the transition game with Orlov's sharp decision-making paying off again. He hit David Krejci with a quick-up to start the counterattack before McAvoy jumped into the play to find David Pastrnak for a one-time goal. Orlov was particularly effective against some of the Rangers' biggest threats, like Artemi Panarin and Patrick Kane.

On his power-play goal against the Sabres, Orlov drew two defenders to him before sending the puck back to Hampus Lindholm. He drifted back into open space, giving himself an open one-timer opportunity, blasting it home. On Patrice Bergeron’s empty-netter, Orlov used his size to win a defensive battle against the taller Dylan Cozens, leaving the puck for Bergeron. 

“It’s a great team,” Orlov said Thursday. “I’m happy to be here. Just try to do my best every game and have a chance to play like it’s my last game and bring everything and enjoy it now. It’s great inside the team. You can see how close they are in the locker room and in life. It’s special to be here.”

Against the Flames, Orlov’s offensive prowess (and Linus Ullmark’s 54 saves, a career-high and single-game franchise record) dragged the Bruins to overtime, where McAvoy won it with seconds remaining. Boston was behind the play from the drop on Tuesday, but two timely first-period goals from Orlov provided a much-needed boost on the scoreboard.

The Russian blue-liner took the time and space that Calgary gave him in the neutral zone, skating the puck into the offensive end, where he was able to close and snap one over Dan Vladar’s blocker for his first as a Bruin on Boston’s first shot of the game. Later in the period, he let loose a laser from the point on a set face-off play for his second of the night. 

“When you play, you try not to think too much,” Orlov said Tuesday. “Just use your instincts and follow the system. Especially offensively, it’s always easy. It’s not, like, special, working in D-zone coverage. In the neutral zone, you’ve got a system. But in the offensive zone, everybody has to move, look out for each other and talk. If we’re going to do that, it’s hard to defend any team. It’s special for me. I’ve never been on a new team.”

In the third, Orlov’s vision and ability with the puck paid off for the power play. Jake DeBrusk took a wallop from Nikita Zadorov on the entry to get it to Orlov, who again took the space he was given before sending a perfect shot-pass right to Pavel Zacha’s tape at the far post for the tying goal. 

“Man, he’s been playing great,” McAvoy said after Calgary. “Obviously, we’ve been shuffling on the backend, but whoever he’s been playing with, he’s been playing well, making great first passes. Tonight, he had a hot stick. Exceptional vision there on the third goal. All night he was a part of it.

“I don't know what to say. What a pickup. What a pickup. He just really shores us up on the backend, and, you know, I think we deserve to have confidence in this locker room with the guys that we have.”

Against Edmonton, it was Orlov and fellow new guy Garnet Hathaway playing key roles in Tomas Nosek’s first-period equalizer. 

Orlov recognized former Oilers winger Jesse Puljujärvi (now of the Carolina Hurricanes) drifting too high towards the blue line, pinched and cut off the exit pass to keep the offensive play alive for Boston. He sent the puck low to Hathaway in a positional battle, and the winger deftly touched the puck to the slot for Nosek to bury it.  

Skating on the top pair next to McAvoy, Orlov logged heavy minutes against Connor McDavid. He matched up with McDavid for 8:42 at 5-on-5 (9:43 overall), according to Natural Stat Trick. It was another day at the office for McDavid, picking up two goals and hitting the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career, but only one of his goals came against Orlov on the first shift of the game. 

That’ll happen against the best player on the planet, but the rest of the way, Orlov was very effective against the Hart Trophy frontrunner. At 5-on-5, Boston out-attempted Edmonton 5-4 with McDavid and Orlov on the ice, and the 31-year-old defenseman stifled the speedy centerman on a rush to lead to Nick Foligno’s tally.

McDavid went right at Orlov entering the offensive zone, but Orlov maintained his gap and established body position to pick off a pass before quickly sending the puck up to Foligno to start the rush en route to the give-and-go with Charlie Coyle.

“Oh man, I was so pumped for him,” Swayman said after Monday’s win in Edmonton. “He made some passes up the middle for the breakout that were just unbelievable, and I would always yell at him ‘[expletive] rights!’ It was so cool to see, you know. He just sees the ice so well. Obviously a physical body, too, so really awesome stuff from him.”

Orlov’s versatility has been on full display on all three pairs, whether it has been skating on his off side, quarterbacking the second power play, making quick decisions with the puck in transition or eating big-time defensive minutes. 

“Obviously, the offense has been great,” Jim Montgomery told reporters Thursday. “He ends plays in the D-zone. He’s heavy, he’s hard, and has elite vision and hands. It was just a great pickup. … I don’t think Don Sweeney gets enough credit.”

Hathaway living up to calling card

Hathaway has been a slower burn than Orlov, but he’s been as advertised – a pesky, hard-nosed defensive forward. In terms of the scoresheet, he came up with the touch to Nosek against the Oilers as well as a nice setup for Connor Clifton on a 2-on-1 against Buffalo. 

He’s logged 5:58 of shorthanded time on ice across the five games. In that span, Boston has an expected goals-against of just 0.35 with Hathaway on the ice (Natural Stat Trick). The Bruins are 12-for-13 on the penalty kill since Hathaway made his debut in Vancouver, and they have surrendered just one shot on goal and zero high-danger chances to opposing power plays with him out there. 

“Really impressed with Hathaway’s details and penalty killing,” Montgomery said in Vancouver. “It seems like he understands our D-zone coverage already.”

At 5-on-5, Hathaway has taken on a nearly identical role as he did in Washington, eating minutes primarily in his own zone. 

Of his 40 shifts at 5-on-5 to begin with a face-off, 17 have been in the defensive zone, while just three have been in the attacking end. A mere 15 percent of his 5-on-5 shifts have started in the offensive zone, which is lower than his 17.82 percent with the Capitals, a number that already ranked at the bottom of the league. 

His physicality has been apparent with nine hits in five contests. Three alone came against Buffalo as he set the tone through his first two shifts at the Garden on Thursday. The physical element continues to pick up as he becomes more comfortable in a Bruins sweater, getting into it with Jacob Trouba early Saturday against the Rangers in an effort to stick up for Nosek and spark Boston out of a sluggish start.

Bertuzzi impresses in debut

Forward Tyler Bertuzzi suited up for the Bruins in Saturday’s matinee against the Rangers after landing in Boston via trade from Detroit for a 2024 first-round pick (top 10 protected) and a 2025 fourth on Thursday. 

The winger brings a unique combination of peskiness, skill and versatility. Bertuzzi has two 20-goal years and one 30-goal season to his credit, but he is also been an extremely effective playmaker, ranking in the 99th percentile of scoring chance assists, the 98th percentile of rush shot assists and the 96th percentile of high-danger passes, per JFresh Hockey. He can play both wings and could also be described as a sort of “Brad Marchand-lite, in a way, bringing a “ratty” nature to the ice as well.

“We’re really excited to have him,” Marchand said Friday. “He’s a really good player. Plays really hard and will fit our mold very well. Just adds a ton of depth to our group as well. … He’s just a competitive guy and wears his heart on his sleeve. Obviously, guys like that tend to get into it a little more with other players than some others. It’s fun to see, and it’s part of what happens on this team. He’s going to fit in really well.”

In one game, Bertuzzi fit in seamlessly. His playmaking ability was on display right away against the Blueshirts when he made a perfect no-look pass to Charlie Coyle in the slot for the opening goal. The Bertuzzi-Coyle-Frederic line held a 62.5 percent share of 5-on-5 shot attempts against the Rangers.

"I thought we played simple and pretty good. I'll do whatever. I'm here to just try and win hockey games, and wherever I play, that's where I play," Bertuzzi told reporters after the game. “It was good to kind of get my feet wet into it. Hear the crowd, celebrate with the guys and get in the mix a little bit."

Montgomery said, "He made a lot of plays. ... He's really smart with his game-management, too. He didn't force plays at all. We put him in, knowing he likes to forecheck, and his linemates like to forecheck."

Some winners and losers from trade deadline

Winners

Boston: It’s a Cup-or-bust year for the Bruins, and Don Sweeney acted accordingly at the deadline. Orlov and Hathaway have already paid dividends. The injuries to Taylor Hall and Foligno are of concern, but Bertuzzi is a strong contingency plan. Management did its part to help load the team up. Now, it’s up to the players. So far, they've met their end of the bargain.

New York Rangers: Vladimir Tarasenko wasn’t enough for the Rangers. They had to go out and bring in another superstar in Patrick Kane. New York only gave up one first-round pick at the deadline and capitalized on Chicago’s situation with Kane. The Blueshirts are now loaded on the wing, and added good depth in defenseman Niko Mikkola and forward Tyler Motte. Add in the likes of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and Igor Shesterkin, and the Rangers have all the makings of a true contender. In two games since the deadline, it hasn't panned out (yet), but with that amount of talent, they should be just fine.

Ottawa: The Senators did a good job of building for the present with an eye toward the future. They finally landed the defenseman that they had coveted with the Jakub Chychrun deal, getting him at a reasonable value from Arizona. Ottawa got out of the Nikita Zaitsev contract and acquired a pick with a younger role player (Julien Gauthier) in addition to depth in Patrick Brown. The up-and-coming Sens are in the playoff hunt and gave the current roster a chance without sacrificing much at all for the future.

Losers

Arizona: The Coyotes finally dealt Chychrun, (mercifully) putting an end to that saga when they sent him to the Sens for a first and two second-round picks. It’s far off from the reported ask of two firsts and a good prospect. Arizona likely could have gotten better deals from the likes of the Kings, among others, but the reported hangups were retaining salary and taking back money. They played broker in the Kane deal and also took on the dead contracts of Shea Weber and Jakub Voracek to remain at the cap floor while selling off parts. The state of operations in the desert isn’t exactly a secret, but ownership’s apparent unwillingness to take on money to get the best deal is a disservice to the organization’s future.

Philadelphia: The Flyers are very much rebuilding, but failed to bring in any future assets of real consequence at this deadline. They shipped out Brown for a sixth-round pick from Ottawa, Isaac Ratcliffe to Nashville for future considerations (nothing) and Zach MacEwen to Los Angeles for bottom-sixer Brendan Lemieux and a fifth. GM Chuck Fletcher sat on pending free agents James van Riemsdyk and Justin Braun, who could have fetched moderately better returns. 

Pittsburgh: It’s unclear what Ron Hextall’s plan for the deadline was. Pittsburgh needed to get quicker and more dynamic (and younger, if possible) to help maximize the remaining years of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. There was the puzzling acquisition of a declining Mikael Granlund from Nashville. The Penguins also tried to scramble to free up cap space to get in on Chychrun (after balking on what ended up being a reasonable price). Instead, all that was left for the Pens was a reunion with Nick Bonino to relive the glory years. 

Too soon to tell

Tampa Bay: The Lightning sent a king’s ransom to the Predators for nasty power forward Tanner Jeannot. He’s the type of player teams might covet down the stretch, especially if he can replicate last year’s 24-goal form, but sending five draft picks (one each from the first round to the fifth round) as well as a still-developing defenseman in Cal Foote is… a lot. Picks don’t mean much to Tampa right now, and why should they? They also ominously cleared cap space, only to go quietly through the deadline. We’ll see if it all pays off. 

Toronto: The Maple Leafs addressed some needs at the deadline, bringing in a nice mix of grit and skill with forwards Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari and Sam Lafferty as well as defenseman Erik Gustafsson. They also got bigger and nastier on defense via Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn, shipping out promising youngster Rasmus Sandin in the Gustafsson deal. It seemed GM Kyle Dubas could have parlayed one of the d-men into another forward or goaltender, but the deadline came and went. It’s now a crowded blue line with 10 defensemen in the organization capable of logging NHL minutes. Is it all enough to finally win a round and make a run? Is it the right mix?

The Western Conference: Unlike the East, where each contender loaded up in the arms race, it was all quiet on the western front. The Western Conference is wide open this year with all eight playoff teams having a case to make for why they could make it through. Yet, nearly all of the big splashes came from the eastern contenders. Perhaps teams like Dallas, Colorado or Edmonton just want to make it through to face whichever battered team comes out of the east gauntlet.