Boston Bruins Notable Offseason Moves
Thursday August 22,2013 : NHL Betting: Boston Bruins Notable Offseason Moves
The Boston Bruins have been to the Stanley Cup Finals twice in the last three seasons. In 2010-11, the Bruins won a hard-fought series over the Vancouver Canucks that started the downfall of Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo. In 2012-13, the Bruins went to the finals behind young goaltender Tuukka Rask and lost in six games to the President’s Trophy winning Chicago Blackhawks. The Bruins have been a busy hockey team since the abbreviated 2012-13 season ended and they have made some moves that they hope will get the team a third trip to the finals and a second Cup championship.
2013 Stanley Cup Odds: 10/1
Notable Change #1: Tyler Seguin signs with the Dallas Stars : Talented young wingers who can score goals and play tough in the corners are hard to find. That is why a lot of people were surprised when Tyler Seguin signed with the Dallas Stars. The Bruins also lost Nathan Horton and Jaromir Jagr on the wing, which means that there will be some significant changes on offense for the Bruins in 2013-14. Even though Bruins head coach Claude Julien is trying to play off the Seguin loss as the right move, it will affect the team. The team management is insisting that Seguin’s immature attitude and bad work ethic made him expendable. If it was just Seguin that left, then it would be different, but the Bruins have short-handed themselves on offense and it will hurt.
Notable Change #2: Jarome Iginla signs with the Bruins : When Jarome Iginla was asked where he wanted to be traded at the trade deadline last season, he told the Calgary Flames that he wanted to go to Pittsburgh because the Penguins had the best chance at winning the Cup. Iginla was offered the chance to go to Boston, but he chose Pittsburgh. It is hard to blame Iginla. He has spent his entire career in the Western Conference and does not see the day to day play of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. When his contract with Pittsburgh was up, Iginla righted the wrongs of the trade deadline and signed with the Bruins. He is a welcomed addition to a team that has serious needs on offense.
Notable Change #3: Major overhauls on defense : When the 2013-14 season starts, about the only name on defense that fans will recognize will be Zdeno Chara. The Bruins allowed veteran defenseman Andrew Ference to leave in free agency and dropped some other veteran defenders to make way for younger players. Young defensemen such as Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug showed promise in limited stretches last season, but none of them have played a full NHL season. In 2013-14, the Bruins will move to a younger defense and hope that their prospects can hold up to the pressures of playing every day in the NHL
