Assessing the Off-season (Offense)

Coming off a playoff collapse just a season ago, the Bruins entered the off-season with a sense of urgency, either improve immediately or endure another season of tantalizing talent with no Stanley Cup to show for it. The Bruins of 2009-2010 were good, but not quite good enough, needing perhaps a little something extra to position themselves as serious contenders this coming season. Did the Bruins answer the call in the summer months? Here’s a lookIt’s mind-boggling to note that a team which advanced to the conference semifinals could have finished 30^th overall in goals per game last season. So went the Boston Bruins puck-scoring woes in a season where the offense was, at times, downright offensive. As a solution, Beantown brass decided to bring in right winger Nathan Horton and Center Tyler Seguin. Horton brings a hard-nose approach to the ice, not to mention a scoring pedigree, though he has yet to translate all the talent in the world into actual pucks in the net at the professional level. Entering his 7^th year of NHL service, having spend the last 6 mired in the Florida Panthers organization, the Bruins (and yours truly) are hopeful a change of scenery will be all the youngster needs to make good on his promise. Like Horton, Seguin brings fresh legs to the ice, selected second overall by the Bruins in the 2010 NHL Entry draft. It remains to be seen how prominent of a role he plays in the team’s plans in just his first year in the league, but with Marc Savard still suffering lingering post-concussion effects from last season, there may be more ice time available for the youngster than the team would ideally like to fill. The rookie has drawn comparisons to a duo of better than average Joes, both Joe Sakic and Joe Thornton, two of the better centers to grace NHL ice in recent memory. If he can deliver anywhere near that potential in the early going, Seguin will quickly endear himself to the Boston faithful.The Bruins have also added center Gregory Campbell (coming over in the trade from Florida, along with Horton) and left winger Jeremy Reich (via trade with the New York islanders), both of whom are expected to contribute in a workmanlike capacity to the offense. Were the season to start today, the Bruins would most likely put a projected first line of Milan Lucic/Patrice Bergeron/ Nathan Horton out on the ice.