Welcome to the Family
2014-08-07The Boston Bruins have added three new forwards to help on their quest for the Cup. Already a busy offseason for the Bruins, GM Valente has opted to target specific players via trade rather than compete in the free agent market. “There’s been a lot of change but despite our disappointing finish (to the season) we didn’t want to start all over. We felt we have some great talent, we just needed find them a great supporting cast.”
The Bruins went out and traded for unrestricted free agent Mat Read prior to the entry draft. After some length negotiations, the Bruins were able to secure Read on a 4 year deal. “Mat is a very versatile player and his defensive zone play is what we really love about him. He’s going to give you 110 percent both ends of the ice.”
As free agency opened up, it was apparent the Bruins were determined to continue to be fiscally prudent. After losing out on many coveted free agents to teams shelling out big money, the Bruins were able to sign Bryan Bickell to a 3 year deal worth an estimated $1.7 million per year. “We like what Bryan can bring to this team. He is a consummate professional and a great character guy to have in our dressing room. He’s guy who knows what it takes to win. We feel he will be a valuable addition to our team.”
The biggest move since the summer opened up has been the acquisition of Mats Zuccarello from the Arizona Coyotes. A relief to Bruins fans who watched the Bruins come up empty in free agency. To acquire Zuccarello, the Bruins moved out promising young defender Nick Leddy, buding center Alexander Khokhlachev and swapped Ottawa’s 2nd round draft pick for Detroit’s 3rd of this year. “We weren’t willing to overpay. We are going to compete this year but we are going to do it right. If that means we need to explore other avenues – so be it. We get another dynamic player in Mats. He’s got great vision and skating ability that will really help open things up for us.”
With the addition of the three, it appears the Bruins believe they have settled on the group of forwards. “I think for now we are good up front. We will wait for training camp to open up in a few more weeks and assess what we have then.” With the Zuccarello trade it appears the Bruins now have a spot open on the backend. When asked if he was working on a trade or in talks with any free agent the Bruins General Manager opted not to comment.
scary that zuccarello could actually pass as a family memeber.... says he was born in Norway...maybe he was kidnapped by Italians and forced to play hockey at a young age?
Welcome to the Family
Bruins add three new faces.