NHL

The Boston Bruins Retain Core Players and Stay Competitive in the Atlantic Division

Last season, the Boston Bruins made the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs but lost in five to Tampa Bay after beating Toronto in seven. GM Don Sweeney decided it was not the time to make major moves after swinging and missing on John Tavares. Sweeney did swap back up goalies and traded a defenseman while losing both Rick and Riley Nash.

Have the Bruins Gotten Better?

This summer, the Bruins did not get better, but they may have also not gotten worse. The thing that did get worse was backup goaltending. Jaroslav Halak is not as good as Anton Khudobin. Yes, Halak was once the goalie that led Montreal to the Eastern Conference Final, but now he is a struggling back up with a GAA last year of 3.19.

This may put more work on Tuukka Rask which he has not seen since 2014-15 when he played 70 games. While Rask may be able to handle the number of games, he could be overused and be out of gas by the playoffs.

With this in mind, what moves were made by Don Sweeney?

Additions

John Moore signed in Boston for five years at $2.75 million each year. Last season Moore played 81 games with New Jersey and scored 7 goals totaling 18 points. Chris Wagner was signed to a two year deal with an Average Value of $1.25 million. Wagner played 79 games last year and totaled 16 points (7 goals, 9 assists). Wagner will add scoring down in the lineup to take the pressure off of the top line. Joakim Nordstrom was signed to add depth down the wing to strengthen the third line. Last year with Carolina, Nordstrom played in 75 games and had just 7 points (2 goals, 5 assists).

Jaroslav Halak was signed to fill in the Backup Goaltending role. While he is not as good as Anton Khudobin, Halak can steal games when there is a decent team in front of him. With Boston, they have the ability to score enough goals to help Halak hold down the fort. Jaroslav Halak played in 54 games last year with the Islanders and saved 90.8 percent of his shots faced with a GAA of 3.19.

Subtractions

Riley Nash signed with Columbus as a Free Agent this summer. Last year with Boston Riley played in 76 games and scored 15 goals with 26 assists. Rick Nash was acquired at the Trade Deadline and played 11 games with Boston. Rick had 3 goals and 3 assists in the Regular Season but helped the Bruins out big in the Playoffs.

Adam McQuaid played just 38 games last year and had only four points (1 goal, 3 assists). McQuaid was traded on September 11 to the New York Rangers.

Where the Boston Bruins Stand

The Boston Bruins may have solidified there spot at 3rd place in the Atlantic Division this season behind Toronto. The Net Gain of -10 shows this as well. Boston will have to lean on Tuukka Rask a lot this year but it should be okay. What amazes me is that fans of Boston do not show much love for Rask too often. Rask has the second most wins in Bruins history with 238 which is just 14 wins behind the leader Tiny Thompson.

If I were a Bruins fan, I would not worry about this season. These Bears are not dropping out of the playoff picture anytime soon. If anything, they’re guaranteed a spot in this year’s playoffs.

Social Media

Follow Jared on Twitter @jared_pettus_00

Photo Credit

Photo Courtesy of WallpapersCave