What do you do to improve a hockey club that is 27-4-2 through 33 games of the National Hockey League season? The Boston Bruins are second in the league in goals per game (3.88), third on the power play at a 29.3 percent success rate, and their penalty kill is third at 84.7 percent, just .1 percent behind the league leaders. Jim Montgomery’s club is playing outstanding hockey and has been the most consistent team in the NHL thus far.
It is hard to find a weakness in the Bruins. Balanced offensive attack from a talented, veteran forward group and spectacular goaltending led by Linus Ullmark and his 19-1-1 record and league-best goals-against average (1.94) and save percentage (.936) have been a recipe for success for Boston. Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm provide an elite defensive pair if needed in the playoffs. Solid, stay-at-home defender Brandon Carlo has begun to find his game again, and Connor Clifton and Derek Forbort give the Bruins a solid third pair, with Forbort being a pillar on the penalty kill.
But as the Bruins head into the new year and creep closer to the February 20 trade deadline, there will be much debate about whether the Bruins need much help to win their first Stanley Cup title in 12 years. The goal has been to win one more Cup for Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci as they move closer to retirement. If that is the goal, the Bruins should do whatever it takes to achieve it. So what does that necessary acquisition look like? What need do the Bruins have on a club that has a league-best plus-56 goal differential?
The biggest area of need for Boston could be among the top four defensemen. At times, Montgomery has split up McAvoy and Lindholm and paired McAvoy with his former Boston University teammate Matt Grzelcyk. The 5-foot-9 blue liner came back from off-season shoulder surgery right after the season began and has been healthy for the first time in a while. But lately, Grzelcyk has struggled at times, and in recent postseasons when the game gets “heavier,” the diminutive defenseman has been prone to physical play. Grzelcyk has a goal and eight assists this season and is a plus-14, but his Corsi is the lowest of his career. The Charlestown, Massachusetts native has one year remaining on a deal that carries a cap hit of $3.67 million. If the Bruins want to be more physical on the back end in preparation for a deep playoff run, another solid defenseman might be the addition the Bruins need.
A few defensemen that could be available for Boston are John Klingberg and Kevin Shattenkirk of Anaheim or Jacob Chychrun of Arizona. Klingberg and Shattenkirk are unrestricted free agents, and both are right-shot defensemen. Chychrun has two years left on his contract and shoots from the left. Another option could be Ottawa’s Travis Hamonic, a 32-year-old right-shot d-man who is in the last year of his deal. At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Hamonic would add some size to Boston’s back end.
The Bruins might not need any significant changes to the lineup, but the one weakness in recent playoff series has been an undersized defense that can move the puck but does not necessarily move bodies. Boston has limited cap space but could get creative and add a good, tough defenseman at the deadline.
