Boston Bruins: The Boys are Back
By Matt DeCoste
With the disappointing 2014-15 season in the rear-view mirror, change has come to Causeway Street for the upcoming season. General manager Peter Chiarelli was relieved of his duties only to join the Edmonton Oilers front office. Long time Bruins defenseman Don Sweeney was named the successor and promised the Bruins would return to playing with an aggressive, hard to play against mentality that has embodied the Bruins culture since the organization was founded. Sweeney intends to make sure the 2015-16 season will be one to remember.
Soon after he was hired to become general manager of the Boston Bruins, he traded future cornerstone defenseman Dougie Hamilton, underwhelming winger Reilly Smith, and arguably the most imposing player in the NHL, Milan Lucic. Instead of using those draft picks that were acquired in the trades for Hamilton and Lucic to boost the talent at the NHL level, the Bruins decided to stock up for the future, selecting three players consecutively in the first round. Not all first round picks tend to help at the NHL right away like David Pastrnak did a year ago, as all three players have been released from Bruins training camp.
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Depression almost set in as fans cringed at the thought of a rebuild. Another Boston team going from championship contender, to a bottom of the barrel lottery team. Questions began swirling around the team about what direction the Bruins were heading. Don Sweeney understood the frustration of the fans and on the first day of free agency the Bruins made a splash. Matt Belesky would turn into Boston’s most prized possession this offseason while also being a major question mark. He has played mostly a depth role before lining up on the top line last season for the Anaheim Ducks. Belesky ended up scoring 22 goals while playing with two great NHL players and impressing Sweeney with his production during the playoffs. Sweeney wasn’t done, however. He also signed depth defenseman Matt Irwin, while trading for Dorchester’s own Jimmy Hayes and pest extraordinaire Zac Rinaldo.
Rinaldo has come to Boston under much scrutiny, but his play this preseason has been a pleasant surprise. He has stayed in the minds of his opponents with his speed and crushing hits, but has kept out of the sin bin, which ultimately led to his departure from Philadelphia. If Rinaldo can keep this style of play going, he will quickly become a fan favorite, but he has a lot to prove after gaining a reputation around the league as a dirty player.
The Bruins go into 2015-16 a much different team, with new members in the front office and on the ice. Expectations will be high once again for Boston to become a true Stanley Cup contender and the Bruins hope to meet those expectations with the added size, aggressiveness, skill and hard work that this city was founded on.