BHN Puck Links: Best & Worst Rentals In Boston Bruins History?

NBC’s NHL twitter account sent out a tweet about NHL rental player power rankings and it got us thinking about the Boston Bruins mixed history of trading for rental players over the years.

The 10 BEST ‘one-year rentals’ in NHL history, ranked by the @ProHockeyTalk team.

Full Power Rankings here: https://t.co/gatPma1MKt pic.twitter.com/D7fw1vqwww

— #ThankYouDoc (@NHLonNBCSports) December 10, 2020

Some have worked out incredibly well like Mark Recchi’s trade to Boston at exactly the right time where he eventually helped led a group of primed B’s players to a Stanley Cup in 2011. Others like the immortal Greg Zanon trade in 2012 with the Minnesota Wild didn’t exactly have the same kind of impact for the Boston Bruins.

So, we wonder who were some of the best and worst rental players in Boston Bruins history?

Clearly a guy like Zanon would be in the mix because he was really a non-factor for a team with Stanley Cup hopes, and unfortunately Rick Nash would be in that “worst of” list as well after the Bruins gave up a first-round pick and D-man prospect Ryan Lindgren among other assets for the Rangers power forward. Concussion problems curbed his effectiveness in his short stint with the Bruins and forced his retirement when the Boston Bruins had planned to sign him and keep him in the fold in Boston, so that turned out to be a monumental bust.

Others like Marcus Johansson, Lee Stempniak, Jon Michael-Liles and Drew Stafford in recent years have been pretty good, low cost acquisitions, though they didn’t exactly put the Boston Bruins over the top when they arrived either. Jarome Iginla, famous Boston man on the street during snowstorms, would also fit into that solid one-year rental category. Certainly, Tomas Kaberle wasn’t an elite player when the Bruins acquired him from the Maple Leafs in 2011, but they did win a Stanley Cup with him on the back end through the playoffs.

The Bruins really went for it in 2004 when they traded for Sergei Gonchar and Michael Nylander, who were good in the playoffs as the Bruins lost in seven games to the Montreal Canadiens in a series where an injured Jumbo Joe Thornton put up zeroes across the board.
So, who do you think were the best and worst rental players in Boston Bruins history? Now on to the links:

*Want to see a Wayne Gretzky hockey card that sold for over $1,000,000? Yeah, I thought you would.

As per @darrenrovell there are two O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky Gem Mint 10 rookies.

This one below sold @HeritageAuction was bought for $1,290,000! pic.twitter.com/D9KWiWjchK

— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) December 11, 2020

*The beloved Teddy Bear toss at hockey games is taking on a different look during the COVID-19 pandemic, like just about everything else. (NBC Sports)

*Interesting to keep track of what’s going on in San Jose, speaking of the COVID-19 pandemic. It looks like the San Jose Sharks might have to be flexible in terms of both where their training camp is held, and where they might play their home games this season. Sheng Meng has the story. (San Jose Hockey Now)

*It’s going to be weird if the Florida teams are both outside the Bruins division this season, but that’s what FOH (Friend of Haggs) George Richards breaks down here. (Florida Hockey Now)

*Could the Montreal Canadiens be a potential landing spot for free agent sniper Mike Hoffman? Wouldn’t that be a pain in the B’s behind given the way Montreal has improved this offseason? (TVA)

*For something completely different: Sharon Carter as Captain Britain doesn’t work on multiple levels, but I think it’s cool that the MCU is formulating plans to bring that character into the mix. (The Direct.com)