I know I am probably not breaking any news here, but is there a way to describe the excitement for the return of Marc Savard? Did anyone think he was this valuable a month ago? The last time I wrote, I swore I wouldn’t pass judgment on this team until I was sure I knew what they really had. Figuring it would take about 5-6 games to come to that conclusion; I put my opinions aside and just watched. As it turned out Savard broke his foot, Lucic his finger, and David Krecji got small pox (or whatever Asian Bird Flu/West Nile Virus/Pig Flu thing is turning the world into a panic this winter). I decided that until this team got healthy, we wouldn’t really have a grip on how good they were and therefore I pushed off all my conclusions until everyone got back into the lineup and the real 2009-2010 Bruins stood up. Well actually, all conclusions except one. Patrice Bergeron is not capable of being a bona-fide number 1, point per game, center on this team. And as long as there is a Savard or Joe Thornton on the team with a Krecji or Michael Nylander backing them up, this is fine.
Watching Bergeron out there over the past month made me realize that he is without a doubt one of the more unique, valuable players in the NHL. Coming out of the 2005 lockout, the Bruins lost a number of good players that helped them finish 2nd in the Eastern Conference. I really couldn’t have cared less about losing Mike Knuble and I understood to an extent not signing Sergei Gonchar and Nylander. However, what really opened my eyes and spun my head was Mike O’Connell allowing Brian Rolston to walk when they could have kept him for a little over $3 million per year. Why would you allow a guy like that, someone who can play anywhere, to leave town when you’re going into a season with new rules and there is a heavy demand for adaptable players? In one guy you lost a powerplay point man, top penalty killer and shutdown third line center who ended up with 34-goals and 79-points the following season for the defensive minded Minnesota Wild! WTF! Well then came the signing of Alexei Zhamnov (we should have known we were in trouble when the only one in the league who would talk up that move was his own agent) and we all know how the rest of that story played out. The point is, Bergeron is more in the mold of Rolston (albeit more of a passer than a scorer), point producing center in the NHL. Like I said, I don’t think I am breaking any news here but that became abundantly clear when Savard went down.
Tonight Bergeron is in his familiar spot as the 3rd line center with Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi riding shotgun. Keep an eye on those 3 playing more than usual especially late in the game and expect Patrice to be on the point for some power plays if he is not down low. He will obviously play in all penalty kill situations as long as he isn’t hurt (knock on wood) or in box. Also expect a lot of hitting out of this line on the top 6 Blues forwards and their defense specifically when St. Louis is trying to breakout.
All that said, now that Savard is back in, the pieces down the middle are in place. They are as healthy as they’re going to get with the exception that Tuukka Rask is net for the 4th consecutive game while Tim Thomas is still a little banged up (little conspiracy theory anyone?). No more excuses, its time to find out if this team is a contender or not.
Hub Hockey Contributor
-Mike O'Brien
