The Bruins went into trade deadline day looking for two things: goal scoring ability, and offloading at least one of the awkwardly huge contracts they’d acquired over the past season (read: Ryder.)
Neither happened.
The B’s dealt away Derek Morris to the Coyotes for a fourth-round pick (amazing how his stock has dropped since the last trade deadline, when the Rangers acquired him in exchange for Dmitri Kalinin, Petr Prucha and Nigel Dawes). The final move of the day came at 11:30 AM, when Dennis Seidenberg and Matt Bartkowski were traded from Florida for Byron Bitz, Craig Weller and the 2nd-round pick in the 2010 draft which the Bruins acquired from Tampa Bay last year on trade deadline day, in the trade that brought Mark Recchi to Boston.
Those primary colors do wonders for you, Bitzy-Cat.
It’s projected that Seidenberg will be paired with Chara in lieu of Morris; on Florida’s side of things, a source has said that Bitz will wear #12. Apparently this is a point of contention, since Olli Jokinen wore #12, and he’s either loved or hated by Panthers fans. (Any Panthers fans want to step up and confirm or deny this?) He’s slated to play 3rd-line minutes, which is infinitely better than he ever did in Boston, with the exception of those few strange games where he played on the first line.
Craig Weller will likely become a Rochester American, playing with the Panthers’ AHL affiliate there.
Matt Bartkowski is a 21-year-old college defenseman at Ohio State (I wonder if he and ex-Michigan player Matt Hunwick will get along?) who is an incredibly physical player – he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty, but his skating could use work. Definitely a prospect to keep an eye on.
So this is interesting and all, but hey, Chiarelli, where’s our top-6 forward?
The Bruins are sitting in 8th place in the East, barely clinging to a playoff spot, we’ve got the worst goals-per-game average in the entire league. Luckily we’ve got the fourth-best goals-allowed-against per game, but I honestly don’t think at this point that the Bruins are a solid contender for the playoffs this year. It’s not time to completely give up on the season, but….
113 days until the NHL draft. I’m just saying.
Other deadline deals of note: Where are they now?
- Petteri Nokelainen, former Bruin traded to Anaheim at the last trade deadline, is now a Phoenix Coyote.
- Public Enemy Scott Walker is a Capital. I am not a huge fan of this.
- Aaron Ward, relatedly, is now a member of the Anaheim Ducks; here’s hoping he comes back east after the season.
- Andrew Alberts, another former Bruin, is now a member of the Canucks.
- Stephane Yelle has returned to the Colorado Avalanche. And there was much rejoicing in Denver.
Tea Party Throwdown 