Remember when the best defensemen Boston had to offer was the 6'7 pylon known as Hal Gill and a Brian Leetch just above the age to receive the senior discount at your local Dunkin' Donuts? Oh my, how thing's change.The official transformation of the Boston blue-line continues into their third year into 2009-10 under head coach Claude Julien and continuing to be anchored by team captain and Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara.
Under Julien and the ever-so-loved defensive trap style of play, the Bruins have gone from 13th to 8th and from 8th to 1st. While Boston has seen a drastic increase in offensive production from their forwards, the focus of their play remains to be on a strong defense that reduces the oppositions scoring chances greatly.
The rock of the defense, as previously mentioned, is behemoth and the tallest player in NHL history, Zdeno Chara. The Slovak blue-liner, who was harshly ridiculed for his poor play under Dave Lewis in 2006-07 has blossomed under Claude Julien and has seen an overall rise in his level of play due in large part to less minutes per game. Along with increasing his powerplay productivity, Chara has become a more effective penalty killer and taken less unnecessary penalties in the process of attempting to save the day.
Alongside Chara for close to three seasons was veteran defensemen and three-time Stanley Cup champion Aaron Ward. Admired in Boston for his no-nonsense attitude and down-and-dirty style of play, Ward gained popularity rapidly in the Hub of Hockey, spawning a short-lived series of t-shirt's depicting fans as members of the "Psych Ward". However, with his rather unfriendly 2.5 million dollar salary counting against the Boston cap in 2009-10, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli made the call and sent the 36-year old back to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Patrick Eaves and a 4th round draft choice.
While Eaves was quickly bought out, the plan of utilizing the newly freed up cap space to sign Phil Kessel was steadily gaining momentum. It came as a surprise to Boston fans across the map as the money was instead used to bring in puck-moving defensemen Derek Morris on a one year contract worth 3.3 million dollars.
Adding another piece of the puzzle, Morris is expected to bring an added presence on the powerplay to take the pressure off Bruins such as Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman to carry the play from the point. Despite his upside, Morris is coming off a rather disappointing season split between Phoenix and the better of the two New York's. In 75 total games last season, Morris tallied 20 points, five of which coming on the powerplay.
As Morris added at the annual "State of the Bruins" meeting at the TD Garden, it's become more about winning than anything else for him and with an attitude like that and willingness to buy into the Julien system, it'll certainly be interesting to see how he performs for the Bruins in 2009-10.
Behind the two headliners on the blue-line, the B's may possess one of the best unsung hero-defensemen in Dennis Wideman. The former oft-criticized defensemen known for his failure in the shootout had a breakout year in 2008-09, scoring 50 points and finishing with a stellar +32. Although his slapshot is still on par with Happy Gilmore when it comes to accuracy, the Ontario native certainly knows how to dish the puck around on the powerplay and has 30 assists on the powerplay over the past two seasons to prove it.
Likely to be paired with Wideman is outspoken activist and gritty defensemen Andrew Ference. Originally acquired in a trade that sent him and teammate Chuck Kobasew to Boston for Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart, Ference has been the epitome of a team player. Whether he's fighting Sean Avery, Sidney Crosby or carbon emissions, Ference has never been afraid to voice his opinion and let his play do the talking.
While the 5'11 defensemen isn't afraid to lay his body on the line, injuries have hindered Ference throughout his tenure as a Bruin. Considering the fact that this is the final year of Ference's deal, expect the 30 year old to leave it all on the ice even more.
Seemingly poised to breakout is Bruins' "caveman" and bruising defensemen, Mark Stuart. Boston's first round selection from the 2003 NHL Draft, Stuart is coming off his best season with the big club. A natural leader, Stuart experienced an increase in offensive output, more than doubling his point total from all of the season before while remaining to be one of the baddest son-of-a-guns to lace them up on a nightly basis.
Hoping to continue to make strides in the NHL as an offensive defensemen despite his lack of a spleen is Matt Hunwick. The 24 year old is coming off a mini-breakout season in Boston where he passed Matt Lashoff on the depth chart and contributed 27 points in 53 games, including an impressive +15. The seventh round pick from the 2004 NHL Draft, Hunwick was also used sparingly as a forward and could perhaps see more time up there if the Bruins elect to use him as a hybrid of sorts similar to Ian White in Toronto or perhaps Dustin Byfuglien in Chicago.
Joining the big club in Boston is Providence Bruins stand-out and Eddie Shore Award winner, Johnny Boychuk. The arrival of Boychuk into Boston although expected, comes at the cost of fan favorite Shane Hnidy, who earned the nickname "Sheriff" and was actually a popular jersey among the Garden crowd. With the Sheriff now in Minnesota with the new-look Wild, the time for Boychuk to fight his way into the NHL line-up is upon us. Boychuk's numbers in the American Hockey League are nothing but promising seeing as how the 25 year old put up 20 goals and 66 points in 78 games for Providence in 2008-09.
On the farm, the Bruins have new faces with limited NHL experience such as Drew Fata and Andy Wozniewski ready to get the call in the event of a rash of injuries striking the boys on Causeway Street (and no, not the five dollar hat guy). Fata, who has eight games of NHL experience under his belt, all with the New York Islanders, is a known tough guy who's never too shy to drop the gloves in defense of his teammates. Loathed in Toronto, Wozniewski will provide a big body on the Providence blue-line is likely to spend the full season down in the AHL unless a plague of injuries finds their way to Boston.
Along with these NHL-fringers, the Bruins also have Adam McQuaid under contract for the upcoming season and could use him as an emergency call-up to fill in with Boston with his 6'4 frame and physical style of play.
Regardless of the offensive surge in Boston, the Claude Julien philosophy promotes a strong foundation on the blue line. Expect to see more of the same grit, passion, physicality and an added offensive boost from the blue-line of the Garden for the good guys this season.
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