By: Danielle DuBois | Follow Me on Twitter @DanielleDuBois
Welcome back to Why it Works, the defensive series! The Bruins added Dmitry Orlov to the team right before the trade deadline. With the newly added defensemen, the series had to be brought back for one last article. So let’s take a look into the new Bruin’s statistics.
The Bruins received Dmitry Orlov in a loaded three-team trade on February 23. Orlov and teammate Garnet Hathaway were traded to the Bruins for a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick, and forward Craig Smith. The Capitals also retained 50% of Orlov’s $5.1 million cap hit.
The Minnesota Wild are the third team in this trade, retaining 25% of Orlov’s salary and sending Andrei Svetlakov to the Bruins in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round pick.
Orlov started his NHL career in 2009 after being drafted by the Washington Capitals. After playing 19 games with the Hershey Bears, Orlov made his NHL debut. In his first season with the Capitals, Orlov played 60 games, scoring three goals and 16 assists. During his ten seasons with the Capitals, Orlov had 1,089 hits and 782 blocked shots. Not to mention his offensive talent with 60 goals and 196 assists.
Bruins’ fans knew that Orlov would be a great addition to the team. The Bruins arguably have the best defense in the league. Their goals allowed per game average sits at 2.09 and is the lowest in the NHL. Now with more depth on the team, head coach Jim Montgomery can start resting some of our older defenders to prepare for the playoffs.
Since joining the team, Orlov has played seven games with the Bruins. In those seven games, Orlov has scored three goals and seven assists. On the defensive side of things, he has 14 hits and seven blocked shots. It’s easy to say that Orlov has taken no time to make himself at home in Boston. With such a hot start for the 31-year-old, fans are excited to see what else he is capable of.
I don’t have many negative things to say about the new Bruins’ defender; however, if I had one worry for the future it would be for clean play. Orlov has had his fair share of hits in the NHL, but occasionally, they cross the line. In 2014 Orlov was suspended for two games for boarding. His most recent suspension was in January 2022 for kneeing a player. While he only has been suspended twice, that is a concern that some fans have. We have seen Brad Marchand get suspended multiple times so it’s not unlikely for the Bruins team.
While Orlov has had two suspensions, he keeps his play clean other than that. His highest amount of penalty minutes was 51 back in the 2016-2017 season. Since then Orlov has controlled himself and has dropped that number. In fact, during the 2017-2018 season, Orlov cut the 51 down to 22 penalty minutes.
Orlov has been an incredible addition to the team and it is clear that Don Sweeney knew what he was doing with this pickup. With the fire and fierceness that Orlov carries, he was born to be a Bruin. While the Bruins push for the cup this season, it would be nice if we could keep Orlov around for as long as possible.
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