By: Declan Flavin | Follow me on Twitter / X @FlavinDeclan
A season ago at the trade deadline, the Boston Bruins made the bold decision to deal away the core they had held on to for so long, a core they had hoped would get a ring for themselves and once again bring the Stanley Cup to a franchise that has felt the heat since 2011. With such a move, the dynamics off and on the ice of losing a player like winger Brad Marchand or centerman Charlie Coyle have been discussed at length, especially for a team amid a rebuild.
Sitting here in mid-November with the Bruins at a shocking record of 12-8-0, the off-ice impact of these veterans is still surely missed by both the franchise and former teammates, but there is something to be said about the present lineup that has come out of the transition made. The flashiness of the forward lines looks desolate compared to last season, but why have things worked to this point? The reality is that when you look at the lineup card for every game this season, you see four lines that are uniquely connected to each other.
What was lost in skill and established ability has been replaced with shared modern traits. Traits that coincidentally align with the Bruins’ organizational vision for how they want forwards to play and contribute.
There’s a prime example in forward Marat Khusnutdinov, who has had to replace centerman Elias Lindholm’s two-way game and has done it well, recording three points in his last five games thanks to strong skating and persistent pressure on opposing defensemen. Another candidate to do the same? Fraser Minten, the centerman now two lines behind Khusnutdinov, who brings similar tools to the table. It wouldn’t be ideal, but this serves as a clear microcosm of the interchangeability of the offensive attack, and the same can be said for if winger Michael Eyssimont replaced winger Mark Kastelic, and so on.
Is this the flashy way to build a roster and work towards putting together a Stanley Cup team? No, but the National Hockey League’s current high-speed trend doesn’t really call for the big-name style of roster construction.
The fact that much of the Bruins’ roster possesses duplicating modern tools could not come at a better time for the franchise. With this and the future infusion of a forward like prospect James Hagens into the roster, the Bruins could reach the league’s peak sooner than many in Boston expected. For now though, the Bruins must overcome new injuries to forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt, presenting another test for the twinning B’s.
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