Boston Bruins

Report: ‘Intensity’ Building As Bruins Seek Shake-up

Published

3 weeks ago

November 17, 2024

Andrew Fantucchio

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

With a mediocre 8-8-3 record, the Boston Bruins have looked largely uninspired on the ice this year.

The pattern of one-step-forward-one-step-back has left the team stuck in place through the first quarter of the season, and the front office has accepted that it’s not due to early rust.

Hoping to get their gears moving, the Bruins are reportedly looking for external options to come in and energize the team.

“They’ve definitely been out there looking to see if there’s something they can do to shake them up,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said of the Bruins on the latest edition of Saturday Headlines.

With so many players on the Bruins underperforming thus far, it’s hard to identify what that big of a change could be or, better yet, where to start.

Up front would be the logical first step. The Bruins have tried a number of different line combinations this season, only for their offense to generate 2.47 goals per game, which ranks 28th in the league.

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As much as Boston needs more of a scoring punch, Friedman pointed out that adding a “forward with edge” would be hard on the NHL trade market, where they are “highly coveted” by sellers.

The Bruins do also have a significant hole on defense. With defenseman Hampus Lindholm recently placed on injured reserve and scheduled to be out for weeks, the team could be looking to fortify their blue line.

Either way, whether it be for a forward or defenseman, any potential Bruins trade will be tricky to execute under the team’s current salary cap situation. According to Puckpedia, the Bruins have just over $23,000 remaining in available space.

Of course, the one move the Bruins could make that wouldn’t cost them anything toward the cap would be behind the bench.

Entering the year on an expiring contract, the ice beneath head coach Jim Montgomery’s feet was already thin to begin with, and it’s only thawed more as the team has struggled.

The Bruins are 2-2-2 in their last six games, and Saturday’s overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues was the latest in a long line of lackluster performances. It also seems, though, that it was one more than the front office could bear to watch.

“There’s definitely a lot of intensity in Boston,” said Friedman.

It’s the first time this year that’s an accurate description of the Bruins in any sense.

There’s motivation within the Bruins front office, and changes may soon be made to ensure they have it on the ice as well.