The clock is now running for the Boston Bruins.
With the Boston Celtics capping off one of the most dominant NBA playoff runs with their record-setting 18th NBA title, the Black and Gold are now amidst biggest sports championship drought in the city of Boston.
BANNER 18 ✅
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 18, 2024
Congrats, @celtics!!! pic.twitter.com/0qlD3fZcTh
Yes, it’s only been 13 years since the Bruins captured the Cup in 2011 ending a 39-year run without an NHL championship, but the Celtics (2024), Boston Red Sox (2018) and New England Patriots (2018) have all won titles since then in the City of Champions. In fact, the Sox and Patriots have won twice and thrice respectively since Zdeno Chara memorably hoisted the Cup and then gave that Predator-style primal scream celebrating the culmination of his run captaining the Bruins.
Zdeno Chara's impact on the trajectory of the Boston Bruins franchise can't be overstated.
— Mike From Woburn (@MikeFromWoburn) September 20, 2022
He provided leadership, stability & class to what was a rudderless team.
For 1023 games he was a physical monolith leading the Bruins to their 1st Cup since Bobby Orr.
Thank you Zdeno Chara pic.twitter.com/5EChsgv96w
Clearly the Bruins are putting themselves in good position for Stanley Cup runs with a team that’s been excellent during the regular season and has perennially qualified for the postseason, but at this point falling short in the postseason is beginning to become a recurring theme. They haven’t advanced past the second round in seven of the last eight postseasons, and the 2019 playoff scenario was one where a lot of things fell Boston’s way for them to push all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
So it’s understandable that B’s fans are getting a little impatient after watching their TD Garden partners enjoy a well-deserved duck boat parade this week. And that expectation to win is something Bruins management understands as well with an accomplished regular season team that’s looking at $20 million in salary cap space this summer to add an impact player or two to an already solid playoff-level roster.
It's something that has the returning Bruins players encouraged about the future even as they understand they’re now on the clock to win another title in a sports city built on championships and sky-high expectations.
“Guys coming up and playing and doing a great job and exceeding expectations, that's what you want. It's great to see that growth from a lot of individuals and that's just valuable stuff that we're gonna take and it's going to be huge moving forward,” said Charlie Coyle. “I'm really excited about this group. There's no consolation for losing, it sucks, and put that first and foremost it sucks but to look ahead, you have to look ahead and see what you have and what we have and what we can continue to grow on. I'm really excited about that.
“It gives you a little spark for the summer to go out and get better and come back better for your team. I love our core and what we have, we have a special. The culture in here is special. We always talk about that, and I think that says a lot on why guys come in and even younger guys and kind of relish in their roles and play well. It's because of the culture that enables guys to do that. And that always excites you, so I'm excited to get going and look forward to next year.”
The excitement is great and having a welcoming, warm and winning culture in the dressing room is also very conducive to success, but it has not translated into championships to this point. And quite honestly it didn’t translate into a championship for the Celtics either until they got bold and made trades last offseason for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday that absolutely put them over the top.
That should be something that the Bruins management pays close attention to this offseason with a ton of options, a boatload of salary cap space and a big trade piece in Linus Ullmark that can help them add impact players to an already strong regular season hockey team. It should be obvious watching the Stanley Cup Final that the B’s still have some work to do if they hope to be one of the final teams fighting it out for the Cup and hope to put another Boston team on the clock to be the one furthest removed from making it to the exalted mountaintop.
INTO PINTO
One player that the Boston Bruins are reportedly interested in when talking a Linus Ullmark trade with the Ottawa Senators is young center Shane Pinto. It remains to be seen if all the moving parts are going to turn into the Ullmark deal getting done, but the 23-year-old Pinto would check a ton of boxes as a young 6-foot-3 center with a college hockey pedigree and somebody who’s already shown 20-goal potential at the NHL level.
Pinto posted nine goals and 27 points last season but missed half of last season after a gambling suspension. So he isn’t without his own blemishes while just two years removed from 20 goals and 35 points while playing all 82 games in the 2022-23 season, but that doesn’t mean he still isn’t highly valued by the Sens organization.
In fact, those around the NHL tell Boston Sports Journal that the Senators aren’t willing to give up Pinto in a trade for Ullmark and instead prefer to deal the Bruins their 25th overall first-round pick in the 2024 draft in exchange for the Vezina Trophy-winning Boston goaltender. So don’t hold your breath that Pinto is going to be coming to Boston in exchange for Ullmark even as the B’s continue to be on the lookout for center upgrades during this offseason.
ONE-TIMERS
*The Bruins continue to fortify their defensemen depth for next season as they announced that they have signed Ian Mitchell to a one-year, two-way deal for $755,000 after Mitchell jumped from the NHL to the AHL multiple times last season while filling in when injuries hit Boston’s back end. The 25-year-old Mitchell had two assists and a plus-6 rating in 13 NHL games for his former college coach Jim Montgomery with the Black and Gold last season and had six goals and 24 points in 42 games with the P-Bruins last season. Mitchell will very likely not even be a seventh defenseman next season as that appears to be Parker Wotherspoon’s spot on next year’s team, but he does represent a quality, experienced D-man that can step up to the NHL level if the B’s are hit with an injury bug.
*The Bruins released their full preseason schedule and it’s mostly the same as it’s been in recent years with two home-and-home exhibition games against the Rangers, Flyers and Capitals, but one neutral zone preseason date is one to keep an eye on with a game at the Videotron in Quebec City against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 3. It’s too bad that Patrice Bergeron wasn’t still an active member of the Black and Gold as they traveled back to Quebec for more preseason NHL action, but it’s great that the B’s are bringing things back to Canada for preseason games after skipping the trips north for the last handful of years.