There are just some moments in life that take a little while to process. Three days to be exact.

That is how many amongst the Black-and-Gold faithful felt following the Boston Bruins 5-4, overtime win in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.

The Bruins were dragging all night, but the score was close. Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri then score within the first 5:30 of the third to run the score to 4-1. It was done.

Over.

The Bruins had blown yet another 3-1, 3-0 series lead for the third time in five years. This space was already three-quarters of the way full with an argument about how head coach Claude Julien was going to take the fall and get fired because of the loss, but how blame should lie with general manager Peter Chiarelli. It was the kind of night that just leaves an ugly knot in your stomach for the next week.

The Bruins were flat and the Maple Leafs were dominant in all phases. Show me a person who was still confident in the Bruins midway through the third period of Game 7 and I will show you a liar. How could it be anything but over?

And then…

10:41 remaining in the third, Nathan Horton from Milan Lucic and David Krejci. 4-2, Toronto.

Silver lining as Horty gets a goal in his last game as a Bruins.

1:22 remaining, Lucic from Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron. 4-3, Toronto.

Great, so they lose by one.

Yet, 1:22 is a lot of time, but only a fool’s hope.

0:51 remaining, Bergeron from Krejci and Jaromir Jagr. 4-4.

Holding breath…

0:14 remaining. James Reimer gives up another ridiculous rebound leaving a wide-open bid for an uncontested Rich Peverley, who does not put it away.

That’s the game. A golden opportunity to put away a Game 7 you had no business winning and you fail to ice it and give Toronto time to catch their breath? What was the third line doing out on the ice anyway?!

6:05 of overtime. Bergeron from Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand. 5-4, Boston.

I was rendered speechless for the next couple of minutes, unsure of how to process what I just witnessed. Three days later and I am still not entirely sure.

Maybe they were spurned, hearing the crowds in the streets of Toronto playing the Standells “Dirty Water.” Maybe they were playing the most elaborate game of rope-a-dope there ever was. Maybe they were finally scared they might lose their job if they went down like dogs again.

Whatever it was, the Bruins found the clichéd “extra gear” and the killer instinct that once defined them, but had eluded them the past two seasons, and came through when it mattered.

They might not have deserved it, but the Bruins won it. While Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask may have out battled his Toronto counterpart in Reimer, outside of Game 1, the Maple Leafs as a whole outplayed the Bruins throughout the series. A team that once ran scared from the Black-and-Gold was not the least bit intimidated and looked to be in complete control until those final minutes of the series. Toronto deserves their due credit, but it is Boston moving on.

By no means are the Bruins the unstoppable juggernaut thought to be at the beginning of the season. By and large, with the exception of the Krejci-Horton-Lucic line, who seem to have found life after being a complete disappointment throughout the regular season, and Rask, the Bruins may have gotten the breaks they needed, but are they really playing well enough to go deep in these playoffs?

Sometimes, however, all you need is a fresh start. The Bruins will get that tonight as they play Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the New York Rangers. If they play how they played through the breadth of the Toronto series, Monday night’s theatrics become nothing but a tease. If they can carry the momentum gained from the comeback to start the series anew, there is a good chance they knock another four wins off the 16 needed in the postseason.

Despite some historical numbers – like how they have never scored more than two goals against the Rangers Henrik Lundqvist in the 30 times they have faced the Swede – the matchup should be seen as a favorable one for the Bruins. Both teams play a very similar style. Both teams offensive output seemingly comes from just one spot. Both teams feel the best way to win a hockey game is 1-0.

Lundqvist does present a daunting task. Goals are going to be at a premium, especially a team as offensively challenged as the Bruins can be at times. Yes, Lucic and Horton have found their stride after a two-year hiatus and Krejci is once again ruling the playoffs, but the second unit of Bergeron-Marchand-Seguin was a non-factor against Toronto. The trio combined for three goals in the series, all of which were scored by Bergeron and only one was scored then they were playing together as a three-man unit. That kind of production will sink the Bruins in Round Two and Peverley will not be able to miss out on golden opportunities like the one he had in the closing seconds of Game 7.

All three lines are going to need to contribute and cash in on the limited number of chances Lundqvist and the Rangers give them. The bigger issue at the moment, however, for the Bruins is not how are they going to put pucks in the net, but rather how are they going to keep pucks out?

With all three suffering from the elusive “undisclosed body injury,” the Bruins are currently without the services of Dennis Seidenberg, who went down in the first minute of Game 7, Andrew Ference, who has been out since Game 5, and Wade Redden, and the team has been mum on any sort of time table for their return. Their absence has forced three rookies in Dougie Hamilton, who spent much of the last month of the regular season watching from the stands, Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug, both of whom spent the majority of the year playing in the American Hockey League, into action. Their presence is going to put a lot of pressure on an already fatigued Chara, Johnny Boychuk and Adam McQuaid.

Rask has played well. The Rangers are also not prone to taking many shots, ranking 13 out of the 16 playoff teams in that category, and are also struggling to get production from some of their top end players, with just one goal between Rick Nash and Brad Richards in their opening series. The prospects of three rookie defensemen, however, trying to withstand what could be a physically punishing attack from the Rangers, puts a lot of onus on Rask, Chara, Boychuk and McQuaid – depending on how long the others are out of the lineup – and does not leave the Bruins defense a lot of room for mistakes.

The Bruins have proven this week all 60 minutes of game play count and a game’s fate is not decided until they have done so. The lack of consistency in their effort and level of play, however, makes it hard to accurately judge this team. The decision of how the Bruins will fair in this series comes down to the simple questions of can they be consistent in the way they play and are they going to play the way they did in Game 1 and the final minutes of Game 7?

The faithful will show up in droves to support their team this evening at the TD Bank Garden. Will the Bruins?

May 1, 2013. 6:31pm.

“@TheOnlyPresto: Real simple pre-game analysis for the B’s/Leafs: If the Bruins can’t drop the hammer tonight, abandon all postseason dreams.”

And put the hammer down the Boston Bruins did in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, heeding one scribe’s advice in an authoritative, 4-1 victory on Wednesday night.

Not that I am one to blow his own horn, but as a team that is beloved for its history of guts and guile, the Bruins had shown little to none of that through the regular season, and that just cannot happen if this team wants to have any kind of true postseason success.

The Bruins, on some levels, did have a strong regular season, finishing with the third best record in the Eastern Conference, just one point behind Montreal in the Northeast Division. Yet, third period collapse after third period collapse, what was once amongst the toughest, meanest teams in hockey began to look soft and whiney. Numerous times throughout the closing months of the regular season, the Bruins had games where a win would have given them the division or helped extend that lead. Every time they came up short.

The earmark of the Bruins from 2010-2012 was they never lost a two-goal or third period lead. The 2013 installment never seemed to be able to hold on to one. Their killer instinct was gone. And rather than bare down and grind out a win, the team seemed more content to just give excuses as to why they were not finishing games.

They were tired.

They were fatigued.

It was the condensed scheduled.

Now, however, it is playoff time and that nonsense just will not do. All 16 teams fortunate enough to make it to the postseason are tired, fatigued, banged up and have all played the same 48-game condensed schedule. Quite simply, if the Bruins do not play with that edge that made them famous, if Milan Lucic cannot be the ferocious beast that earned him that $6-million a year contract, but is going to be the wet-blanket who only scored just seven goals this season, if Nathan Horton cannot be the scorer he was in 2011’s playoff run, if the defense as is going to continue to lapse and be porous later in games, this team could be headed for another embarrassing, first-round exit. Never mind making a serious run at the Stanley Cup.

Fires will be lit in Boston. There is no doubt about that. The question is whether it will be one lit within the Boston Bruins or the collective torches of the team’s fan base. If the Bruins do not manage to make some sort of effort in this year’s playoffs and the team does not make it out of the first round, heads will be called for to roll.

The good news is the Bruins have taken that first step. They did come out and lay the hammer down on the Maple Leafs in Game 1. How long, however, will the inconsistent Bruins be able to carry that momentum? Boston could barely string together two strong weeks of hockey during the regular season, let alone the two months they will need to put together in order to get to the Conference or the Cup finals.

Boston does have a favorable match up against the Maple Leafs, a team they have dominated against in recent seasons, with just one loss to their division rival in the past two seasons. Game 2 this evening may be something of a different story, as both teams will make roster changes prior to the game. On Boston’s side, Rich Peverley looks to come down from the ninth floor to replace Kaspars Daugavins on the third line, while either Dougie Hamilton or Matt Bartkowski will get a turn in place of the suspended Andrew Ference. Toronto, on the other hand, who loaded up on grit and toughness to offset the Bruins in Game 1, may look to get a little more skill and flash on the ice to take advantage of Boston’s defensive changes.

As it has been with many teams in Boston’s recent history, the Bruins will only ever be able to go as far as their peak level performance can take them. At their best, the Bruins are amongst the best teams in hockey, able to stand up to the test of any opponent. Anything less than that, however, and most teams can laugh them off the ice. Easily handling the Leafs, as they should, could go a long way in helping Boston prepare for a solid, postseason run. We shall find out in the coming days if they can finally put the excuses away, man up and once again be the Big, Bad Bruins.

If not, it will be golf season in Boston.

As the Boston Bruins faced off against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night at the TD Garden, the result, more than any other amongst the countless games the Bruins have played in their nine decades, could not have mattered less. The chance to clinch a playoff berth on the line and it just did not mattered. The game was played. The highlight was when Rene Rancourt took to the ice to sing the National Anthem, and he did not even sing the whole things.

For days I have been looking for the right words. I was not in Boston on Monday. I was not even in the state. Though I had friends at the marathon and in the city, some close to the Copley Square area, none were close enough to have to be apart of the tragic scene. I am nothing but a guy who wonders whether or not he would have the courage to stand in and fight, helping the victims after such an event as countless folks did on Monday.

Generally my stance when these types of atrocious acts occur, much like after 9/11 or the shootings in Newtown, CT, late last year, given how little direct contact I had with the marathon bombing, how no one close to me was directly affected, I feel guilty getting too emotional. I like to believe that is for the people whose lives were forever changed by these events, not guys like me who just have to try and process what happened.

This one, however? This one hit me.

Maybe it is because I consider Boston home. I am not a Bostonian by birth, but it has always been a place that is special to me. Maybe it is because it took place during a sporting event. I just do not know, but I was rattled.

The lead up to Wednesday night’s Bruins game, however, helped me shake off the shock and finally process what has been going on around us.

I do not like the idea of using this space as some sort of pulpit. The life of a sports writer is meant to be trivial. A life spent pontificating on and romanticizing the actions of men who are, for the most part, behaving like children. I write sports to get away from the real world.

Yet, while their outcomes may have no greater bearing on the world, sports and the games themselves are not without their significant importance to this world.

In order for something to be a sport, it needs to have two different groups competing for a win. By their very definition, sports divide us. In essence, however, what sports really do are unite us. All of us. And if you do not believe me, just go back and check out the tributes in Montreal or at Yankee Stadium, the “hated, mortal enemies” of the Boston sports fans.

The Bruins were the perfect escape and the perfect place for the city to come together and begin to heal. They are a team that has long since been built to reflect the very essence of a city. The team’s “Big, Bad Bruins” identity is one of a team that might not be the most talented team, the most graceful, but one that is gruff, fearless, relentless. A team that will not back down from a fight and a team that is going to band together in the face of adversity, particularly against anyone who tries to pick a fight with one of their own.

The city of Boston has a spirit about it you should want to embody. Tough. Bitter. Where things are rarely good enough and the winters are not for the faint of heart. A city with a chip on its shoulder. A little man/little brother complex. Not without its arrogance from time to time, but underneath a subtle, yet brilliant and beautiful humility and harmony.

If it is not through the Bruins, the city is best depicted by some rowdy drunk in a bar named Sully, who ends up getting punched in the face for his obnoxious behavior. Once knocked on his ass, his buddy Fitzy will pick him up, dust him off and ask “That all you got?” before they go back to their beers.

Boston is a city whose greatness is embodied in guts and guile, something for which every American should be thankful. I am no history buff, but last time I remember someone slapping the city of Boston like this it sparked a war, those responsible were left embarrassed and one of the greatest countries humanity has ever seen was born.

Not that I am hoping for any kind of military conflict as a result of Monday’s attacks. Merely to use this as a point that if whomever is responsible thinks these acts will go unpunished and that Bostonians will not use this as some sort of point to better the community, they could not be more mistaken.

The only thing they are gong to prove is how tough Boston can be.

“I’ve never been to a more proud city. They call themselves Massholes for a reason,” said Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference, who has made the city his year round home since being traded to the Hub in 2007. “It’s tough. It’s brash. Probably thump our chest a lot. I think it’s endearing a little bit.

“There’s a really high bar here that’s set by not only the sports teams and what people demand of us, but also in life. People that are in the hospitals and people that are in the schools and in the universities here, that bar is set so high here and people are always pushing to do as much as they can and be as good as they can. They’re tough as nails and pretty stubborn people. I don’t think something like this is going to knock too many people back too far before they come together even more.”

Evil is a sad reality of this world. We will never know why it exists and while we as a society will continually work to stop it that will not stop it from happening. As I sit and reflect on the past few days, however, part of me thinks that if things like Monday’s atrocious acts have to occur, it could not have happened in a better city. Boston’s attitude and how the city already has and will continue to rally around the bombings will show how little power these evil acts have over the good in this world.

How the arrogant, cowardly actions of one or two villains called to arms 100’s, if not 1,000’s of heroes. There were the runners who completed their 26.2 miles and then ran a few more to the various hospitals around the city to donate blood. The military personal, participating in the marathon while fully outfitted for charity, who flipped the switch and sprung into action as soon as the blasts occurred, despite any fatigue they may have felt after traversing all those miles carrying all of their gear. Police, fire and rescue personal that responded to the scene, not to mention the runners and spectators who were not hit by shrapnel and did what they could to help those that were get to safety. Their actions are really what should make our reflection over the last few days breathtaking.

It was another disappointing third period collapse for the Burins, as they lost in a shootout, 3-2. Rene Rancourt and the five minutes just before puck drop made it all worthwhile. So did the stories of how Bruins players took some of the first responders who were celebrated at the TD Garden out drinking afterwards. I can only imagine how it will be when Jack Edwards gets to do his first broadcast at Friday night’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. And it will not be long before we can make the jokes about how things must be back to normal as the Bruins blow another lead.

Boston will take its punch and feel the sting. Boston will bleed, but Boston will not forget. Boston will not be broken.

Boston Strong.

It was one of the first trades ever made under his watch, about a year after taking over the office. Now in the seventh year of his regime, Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli is finally going to get to see the pay-off as the Bruins formally announced their three-year, one-way deal with Carl Soderberg prior to Saturday night’s, 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. The 6’3, 200 pound Swedish center has finally cleared customs and is en route to the United States.

Despite being traded to Boston in a 2007 swap with the St. Louis Blue that sent goaltender Hannu Toivonen west in exchange for the rights to Soderberg, the 27-year old has never shown any interest in leaving his native land until this spring. After leading the Swedish Elite League in points this season, it seems the time as finally arrived for the Malmö native to finally make his way to the game’s highest level.

The Bruins’ newest savior.

At least that is how some amongst the Black-and-Gold faithful have touted the mysterious Swede since it was rumored he would finally be making his way to North America last month. That dream seems to finally becoming a reality now that all the red tape has been cleared up with the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation, who had been attempting to block the move after Soderberg was released from his contract with Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League team in order to sign with Boston.

For those hoping for great things from Soderberg, his arrival could not come at a better time. As it stands, with just seven games left in the regular season, the Bruins are an offensively starved team, completely devoid of any sort of consistency in their lineup. Head coach Claude Julien, never known to be one to ever change his lineup, has been rolling the dice with new line combinations on a nightly basis in hopes of finding some sort of stability in the absence of top center Patrice Bergeron, who has missed the past six games with a concussion.

The Bruins are in desperate need of some sort of fix up front, but is it really fair to expect a man who has never played a game in the NHL to come in at this point in the season and be the savior?

The B’s offense was struggling two weeks ago when they brought in Jaromir Jagr, a hockey legend for his on-ice accomplishment, and he has not able to bring any sort of stability to the team. How is it Soderberg, a hockey legend in Boston for his enigmatic status, can be the silver bullet?

Truth be told, what is really known about Soderberg?

When he arrives on Wednesday, it will be the first time Soderberg has skated with the Bruins organization since his rights were acquired in 2007. Reports, however, have the Swede listed as a big-bodied center who has some grit and a decent scoring touch, as evident from his 31 goals in 54 games for Linkoping. Coupled with his +18 rating this season – the pivot has not had a minus rating since his third professional season – Soderberg has makings of a player who will fit right in with the Bruins and Julien’s systems.

To be the savior, though, might be a bit much when it comes to Soderberg. To see him as a finalizing piece to a Stanley Cup puzzle, however, may not be too far out of line, albeit unlikely. All of that is going to depend on how quickly he can adjust to life as a Bruin.

There is always an adjustment period for a player when they join a new team throughout the course of the season. Swedish players have also had mixed results when they first jump from the comforts of home and the wide-open ice of the Swedish Elite League to the unfamiliar landscape of the National Hockey League.

At 27, Soderberg is an older, more mature player than most when they first make the jump, which will work in his favor. Yet, he is not scheduled to join the Bruins until Wednesday, which means it will likely be Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the earliest Soderberg will be available for game action. That would give him all of five games and about three weeks to get adjusted to North America before the NHL playoffs begin.

With Bergeron set to return to the lineup in the coming days and the Bruins strong depth at center, Soderberg will also have to be able to transition to playing the wing, as well as his new surroundings, if he is looking for a regular place in the lineup.

If he can make the adjustments, Soderberg can become a valuable piece at the bottom of the Bruins offensive rotation as the team looks to find their edge down the stretch and into the playoffs. He will, however, be just a piece.

Soderberg alone cannot fix what ails the Bruins at this moment and too much of an unknown to be a cure-all for their sluggishness. The current Bruins are still going to need to turn their game around. The best to be hoped for is he can spark some life into the roster and his presence can give Julien a number of options over the team’s remaining games to help nurse his team tired squad back to health.

It is more likely Soderberg’s presence in the Bruins’ locker room will not be felt until next season. Assuming Bergeron and Brad Marchand, also currently out of the lineup with a concussion, can return to full health, with the addition of Jagr, there is little room for a regular spot in the lineup for Soderberg. At best, he would find himself with Jordan Caron and Kaspars Daugavins as more offensive possibilities for a fourth line wing position if Julien decides to keep Shawn Thornton’s grit or Jay Pandolfo’s experience out of the lineup in the playoffs.

None of this, however, should take away from the excitement of finally getting to see what the long-awaited Swede is all about. Much of the Bruins’ early season offensive struggles centered around the team’s inability to find a player who meshed on the third line with Rich Peverley and Chris Kelly. He may not become a superstar or be the savior, but if Soderberg’s game can translate to professional hockey in North America and he can live up to the hype, he becomes a likely candidate to be in the running to help stabilize that spot next winter.

Just temper the expectations.

If I could ask Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien one question today, I would love to know his rational behind his line combinations?

Maybe it is not completely fair to so blatantly question the man. He has a Stanley Cup ring, has more wins behind the Bruins bench than any man in history, save one, and his team is currently ranked fifth in the NHL. None of this, however, eases my curiosity of what goes through Julien’s head when he is putting together his lineup?

I have always had my issues with Julien’s defense first, “win the game 1-0” system. Julien’s complete lack of offensive attack at times, especially when the Bruins are in need of a goal, just does not fit my taste. Julien, however, has been able to prove the system works, so I have learned to live with it, given the Bruins success in recent year. Although, Julien’s strategy has never led to him burying a player who is arguably one of the top five to 10 forwards in NHL history on his third line when he was down by one to a division rival with first place on the line, as was the case Saturday night in Montreal.

The Hall of Fame pedigree Jaromir Jagr brought with him when he was acquired by Boston last week needs no mention. He was already the Bruins leading goal scorer when he arrived in Boston, and Jagr added to that total when he scored the only goal in a 1-0 Bruins win over the New Jersey Devils in his debut. Needless to say, that led to mild outrage when Jagr ended up on a line with fourth line grinders Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille late in the first period on Saturday night, after starting the night with Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand, who Jagr was paired with against New Jersey.

The Czech winger was supposed to come to Boston to help turn around the Bruins’ ailing offense. Even if he has been on the ice for every single second of power play time the Bruins have had since he was acquired, why even bother to trade for a guy like Jagr if he is going to be buried in the line up?

When judging Julien’s lineup, it is important the Black-and-Gold faithful do not fall in love with the Jagr name and think just because of his pedigree that he should be on the ice as much as possible. Though still extremely effective and proved earlier this year when with Dallas he is capable of playing top line minutes, at 41-year old Jagr is not the player he used to be. As of Saturday night, he had been with the organization all of four days, playing in just his second game with all of one practice under his belt. Even players of his caliber need time to adjust to new surroundings. He has also never been a player with the defensive mindset Julien usually likes out of his forwards. It was Jagr’s threat as a defensive liability that supposedly let to his demotion on Saturday night.

The issue with Julien and what he does with his lines, however, goes beyond Jagr’s demotion and Saturday night’s debacle in Montreal. With the Jagr acquisition and top center Patrice Bergeron out indefinitely with what has been termed a “moderate” concussion, what is going to be Julien’s best look nightly if he wants to extend his season well into June?

More frustrating than Jagr’s demotion is Julien’s refusal to break up the trio of Nathan Horton, David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Despite having struggled for much of their time since last year’s playoffs, Julien has without explanation kept the Krejci, Lucic, Horton trio together all season, except for a period and a half of a game in March. Krejci has put together a fine season, being tied for the team lead in assists with 21, tied for second in points with 30, and was leading the team in power play points prior to Jagr’s arrival. The 26-year old pivot’s totals are even more impressive considering how his line mates have struggled.

Lucic’s 17 assists this season are respectable, as are Horton’s 12 goals, but both have been known to disappear for long lengths of time. A former 30-goal scorer, Lucic has just one goal in his past 22 games, with that one tally coming on March 25 after a draught of more than a month without a goal. Horton has not struggled as much as Lucic, but he was mired in a stretch of two goals in seventeen games before a recent four-game scoring streak. And while the duo is third and fourth amongst Bruins forwards in power play time on ice, neither has managed a power play tally all year.

Players do go into slumps and there is something to be said for a coach letting a player try and play through a slump, but how can breaking up of the Krejci, Horton, Lucic line be a bad idea at this point? With how the younger Czech has played this season, how could a coach not be tempted to see what would happen pairing Krejci with Jagr, especially when in need of offense late in the game in Montreal? Lucic and Horton are players who can turn the tide of a game for the Bruins, but right now they are weighing the team down and their complacency needs to be shaken.

None of this matters, however, if Bergeron is out for any sort of extended period. While the Bruins are deep at center, Bergeron and his talents at both ends of the ice cannot be easily covered for or replaced by Julien. Last year’s Selke Award winner as top defensive forward is amongst the league’s best two-way centers. His 61.5% face off percentage leads the league, while his +23 rating is fourth best in the NHL. Bergeron is also the best penalty killing forward on the league’s best penalty kill.

Bergeron’s absence also means Boston is without its leading scorer and takes the trio of Bergeron, Marchand and Seguin, who have been the Bruins top line this season, out of the equation.

The attempted experiment to move Seguin to center in Bergeron’s absence seems to have failed after lasting all of three and a half periods, but reinforcements are on the way as Chris Kelly has been practicing with the team and upgraded to day-to-day after recovering from a broken tibia. If his fourth concussion in the past five years ends Bergeron’s season, however, it will likely end the Bruins championship hopes with it.

Bergeron, along with Zdeno Chara, is a player that cannot be replaced.

Without a healthy Bergeron, all bets are off. With a healthy Bergeron, the Bruins have the depth and the talent to put together a formidable offense that could be amongst the league’s best when paired right and playing to their potential.

Jagr-Krejci-Lucic

Marchand-Bergeron (or Rich Peverley)-Seguin

Horton-Kelly-Peverley (or Kaspars Daugavins, Jordan Caron or Paille)

Shawn Thornton-Campbell-Paille (or Jay Pandolfo)

Why is Julien so stubborn and scared of change when putting together his lines, especially when his team is struggling?

Despite being badly burned the week before when Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero turned him into his personal whipping boy, and the high prices in a sellers’ market, general manager Peter Chiarelli did what he could over the past few days to improve his Boston Bruins squad as they prepare for their stretch run to close out the 2013 regular season.

While he referred to it as the most difficult NHL Trade Deadline he has ever been a part of, Chiarelli made three deals at the deadline. First was the acquisition of Jaromir Jagr from the Dallas Stars on Tuesday for Lane MacDermid, prospect Cody Payne and a conditional pick. On Wednesday, Chiarelli exchanged minor leaguer Maxime Sauve for Chicago Blackhawks minor leaguer Rob Flick, and then sent a conditional seventh round pick to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenseman Wade Redden.

The Bruins are a team who has been struggling of late, but now that the dust has settled on the NHL’s Trade Deadline, how are they looking as a team moving forward the rest of this season?

On the surface, Jagr is just what the Bruins seem to have been aching for much of the season on offense. Not only is he the NHL’s all time leading scorer amongst active players, but he also comes to the Hub tied with Brad Marchand for the team lead in goals scored (14) and with more than double the number of power play goals than any other Bruin (6). Even at 41-years old, Jagr is still a top-six forward with the ability to play anywhere on the top nine and should do wonders for the Bruins’ 25^th ranked power play. The future Hall-of-Famer’s arrival should also help to spark the lethargic play that has plagued some Bruins forwards of late as his mere presence puts ice time in jeopardy for the forwards who were already on the roster. The question is, however, how does head coach Claude Julien fit the right winger into his line up?

For all his skill and success in the National Hockey League, the left-handed Jagr only plays the right wing position, limiting the number of places he can play. With Julien’s propensity to not change up line personal often and the Czech’s defensive prowess not quite living up to the standard Julien likes to see out of his forwards, the early signs pointed to Jagr ending up on the Bruins third line with Rich Peverley and either Jay Pandolfo, Jordan Caron or Kaspars Daugavins, who was recently claimed off waivers from the Senators. Even though he was brought in for an extremely reasonable price, burying Jagr on the third line would make it a waste of a trade.

While Jagr might have been the forward the Bruins needed, he alone does not put the Bruins in the drivers seat for the 2013 Stanley Cup. “There’s no doubt he’s going to help us,” said Julien of the Jagr trade, “but he is not going to save us.”

As satisfying as the Jagr acquisition was in bolstering the Bruins offense, there is still a sense of yearning for defensive help.

There was a time when Redden was amongst the best defensemen in the NHL and that was at a time when he was paired with Bruins captain Zdeno Chara on the Ottawa Senators’ blue line. That, however, was six seasons ago and Redden has struggled for much of his time since.

The Redden acquisition should be compared to Shane Hnidy in 2011 and Mike Mottau last season. Rarely seen or heard from, but a good seventh defenseman. Redden is an upgrade over Aaron Johnson and more experienced than Matt Bartkowski. The question is how much outside defensive help did the Bruins really need?

The Bruins’ top three defensemen of Chara, Dennis Seidenberg and Johnny Boychuk should be considered amongst the top trios in the league and cause little concern for the Black-and-Gold faithful as they set the pace for a Bruins defense that currently ranks third in the NHL, giving up just 2.14 goals per game. There are, however, question marks when it comes to their current bottom three of Adam McQuaid, Andrew Ference and Dougie Hamilton.

Though he has returned to the ice, practicing with the team, and projects to be back to action before the playoffs, McQuaid has been sidelined with a shoulder injury, which can pester a player even after being medically cleared. Ference has been a curious case this year, struggling mightily compared to the defensive stalwart that has anchored the backend end of the Bruins rotation since his arrival in 2007.

Will McQuaid get back to full health? Can Ference return to form? Both are going to need to happen if the Bruins intend on a deep playoff run.

Hamilton has performed well in his rookie season. Generally paired with either Seidenberg or Chara playing in the top four, Hamilton is the team’s second highest scoring defenseman with 14 points and top defensive scorer on the power play, having found his way onto the team’s top unit. Not much more could have been asked of a player during his first year in the NHL.

None of that, however, changes the fact Hamilton is just 19-year old and how much pressure should be put on the kid and how much should he be relied on when the intensity goes up in the playoffs?

It was a good trade. Redden came at an extremely reasonably price and adds experience and good depth to the Bruins defensive corps, but more than likely can not be considered a good, long term replacement for McQuaid, Hamilton or Ference if they are not able to play up to snuff. Redden can come in for a spell and, with his offensive skill set, can be considered insurance if the 19-year old Hamilton struggles in the playoffs, but no one should be looking to the 35-year old to anchor the Bruins blue line in the playoffs.

In the end, the Trade Deadline should be chalked up as a win for Chiarelli. The Bruins are better than they were on Monday and they were able to improve without subtracting anything off of their NHL roster or anything major from their farm system. They got the forward they needed, got the depth defensemen the needed, but how much will Chiarelli’s inability to make a move to bring in a player who can be a viable benefit the top of their defensive rotation hurt them?

As Julien said, the trades help, but they are not the answer. The Bruins have the talent, but they still need to improve upon the sluggish play that led them to a 9-6-2 record in March. Until then, the question of if they did enough to keep up with the rest of the Eastern Conference remains?

Looking at the Boston Bruins offensive options on the trade market seemed a bit fruitless. With more questions than sure things coming from any of their rumored trade targets, probably making it not worth the cost general manager Peter Chiarelli might have to pay after being duped out of Jarome Iginla earlier in the week. Defensively, however, could be an area the team seeks out and makes some improvements prior to the April 3^rd trade deadline.

The norm throughout the Claude Julien Era in Boston is their defensive ability has always far outweighed their offense and this year is no different. Currently ranked third in the NHL, as opposed to their 10^th ranked offense, the Bruins are giving up just 2.19 goals per game. Their top ranked penalty kill is nearly flawless, operating at 91.2%, leaps and bounds above their 23^rd ranked power play, while goaltender Tuukka Rask finds himself second in the NHL amongst regular starters with a 2.02 goals against average.

While putting up good numbers, the Bruins typically staunch defense is starting to become an issue. Injuries are starting to take their toll. Adam McQuaid is likely out for the remainder of the regular season with a shoulder injure and Johnny Boychuk, who may return to the lineup on Saturday in Philadelphia, has been hampered by a foot injury of late. Veteran Andrew Ference has struggled with sloppy play all season. While rookie Dougie Hamilton has played well as one of the Bruins top four defensemen, how heavily does a team with a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup want to rely on a 19-year old rookie in the playoffs?

The Bruins have also struggled to hold leads and close out games this season, with their most recent lost Wednesday night just the latest example of games the Bruins have blow, as they fell to the Montreal Canadiens, 6-5, in a shootout after leading 4-2 heading into the third period of a game with first place in the division on the line. They can be very good at both shutting and wearing teams down, but the Bruins are going to have to be better than they have been on the backend if they want to be playing well into May and June.

If it is to be assumed the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, the biggest concern should not be scoring goals against the Penguins, they are susceptible, but rather quieting their league-leading offense. While it is debatable if there enough on the market to put the Bruins over the top in the quest for their second Stanley Cup in three seasons, finding one, if not two defenseman to bring in and bolster their struggling, but ample defensive core should be Chiarelli’s prime focus from now until Wednesday’s trade deadline.

Once Jarome Iginla was off the market, the next name the Black-and-Gold faithful fell in love with was defenseman Mark Streit of the New York Islanders. With the ability to play big minutes and a big shot from the blue line, Streit does have a certain appeal when it comes to the possibility of coming to Boston. Streit, however, is not the biggest, most rugged defensemen at just 5’11”, 191 lbs. He also carries at -40 rating since the start of last season, albeit playing with a weaker Islanders team.

While not without his upside, it almost seems as though Streit is just a poor man’s version of Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and it is hard at times to see where he would fit in the Bruins rotation. It is also hard to believe the Islanders would be all to willing to let go of their team captain as they, currently tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference, make a late push for their first playoff appearance since the 2006-2007 season, despite his status as an impending, unrestricted free agent.

If there is an Islanders defenseman likely to move, it is more likely to be Lubomir Visnovsky. Also an impending free agent, Visnovsky is another slick moving, offensive-minded defenseman, who could be used like Streit as a backup for Hamilton, if the rookie struggles. Given his disputes with the team when he threatened to sit out the year and tried to have his trade to the Islanders from Anaheim reversed, likely management feels no deep ties to the 36-year old defensemen.

The Islanders, however, are a younger team on the rise and still in the thick of the playoff hunt, so there would likely be a request for a bigger return for either of their top end defenseman. The better bet for aging, puck moving defenseman would be Dan Boyle of the San Jose Sharks. Better in his own end and on the power play, Boyle is a far better option than the Islanders’ duo and would have a much better impact on the Bruins than either Streit or Visnovsky.

Though there have been whispers all season the Sharks are looking to move Boyle, San Jose currently sits seventh in the West and would be looking for pieces to put them over the top in return for their top defenseman. Boston does have a wealth of defensive prospects that could be moved, but is any trade worth it for the B’s if their current NHL talent comes into question?

Boyle also comes with another year and a salary of nearly $7 million. The Bruins are already going to have offseason issues with the salary cap coming down for the 2013-2014 season. He would be a great addition, but Boyle is probably little more than a pipe dream.

The upside is Chiarelli should not be spending much time kicking the tires on more offensive defensemen, but looking to solidify his defensive rotation with a stauncher brand of d-man, which makes the idea of the Oilers’ Ryan Whitney, whose name came up on Wednesday as a possible deal the Bruins were looking to make to supplement the foiled Iginla deal, appealing.

Younger at just 30, but still an impending unrestricted free agent, Whitney seems to be on his way out of town after three injury plagued seasons in Edmonton. Seemingly healthy this year, Whitney has been a healthy scratch on seven occasions, so the price tag may be reasonable if the rumors from earlier resurface and a change of scenery to his hometown team could help spark a resurgence in his play.

His stronger style of play in his own end could make Whitney a better option to fill in for McQuaid than Aaron Johnson and a good insurance policy if Boychuk’s injury or Ference’s struggles persist. Though he is a different type of player, Whitney’s eight years of experience could also make him a good option for Julien if the coach decides to scale back Hamilton’s minutes and tighten up the game plan as the season moves towards the playoffs. The best option by far of any rumored in connection with the Bruins.

While he is what the Bruins should be looking for to solidify their blue line, Whitney – or a player of his ilk – alone is probably not enough of an answer for the Bruins. There would have to be additional moves to supplement the Massachusetts native’s acquisition to feel as though the Bruins really had bettered themselves at the trade deadline.

What that move is remains to be seen. Thankfully, however, while Chiarelli might not be able to do much to building an offense to contend with the high powered Penguins, the possibility seemingly exists for the Bruins general manager to upgrade his defense to a point his team has a shot to beat Pittsburgh in a seven-game playoff series.

They might have lost out on Jarome Iginla, but a few strong acquisitions and some fortitude and improved play by their current roster and not all hope is lost yet for the 2013 Boston Bruins.

Wednesday night.

It was supposed to be brilliant. Diner Wednesday, International Whiskey Day, the Boston Bruins were playing the Montreal Canadiens, Family Dinner and Trivia Night. Not to mention the fact all the paid experts had the Bruins acquisition of Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla all but immanent.

It was as though my birthday had come a week early.

A sinking feeling hit my gut late in the evening as Peter Budaj relieved Carey Price in the Montreal net to start the third period with the Bruins leading 4-2. The Bruins ended up losing in a shoot out and while Iginla was headed east later that night to wear Black-and-Gold, it was not going to be in Boston, as the future Hall-of-Famer opted to go to the Pittsburgh Penguins instead.

Not only was the guy who was going to deliver the title to Boston not going to be suiting up for the Bruins, but he went to the team considered by some to be the only team in their way of returning to the Stanley Cup Final.

Should have known better than to think the night of a full moon was going to be all sunshine and rainbows.

Not time to cry over spilt milk, though. That has already been done. All that can be done now is try and figure out what the Bruins need to do in the next five days before the April 3^rd trade deadline to contend with the Penguins?

It was not that long ago it could have been argued the Bruins did not need to make a move in order to have a good shot at making it to the finals. They just needed improved play from the team’s current roster. Now, however, thanks to the Penguins strengthening their already loaded roster with the acquisitions of Iginla, Brendan Morrow and Douglas Murray, it is hard to believe Boston has a legitimate shot of overthrowing the Penguins without major improvements. The only problem is what moves are out there for the Bruins to make?

Morrow and Iginla were the top two names on the market, and both were in the Bruins grasp before losing out to Pittsburgh. Does the move to put the Bruins over the top even exist?

While it is never good to fall in love with just a name, Iginla fit the Bruins’ forward need perfectly. A tough, experienced winger with a wealth of goal-scoring ability who can play anywhere in the lineup. Who amongst the players rumored to still be available fits that mold?

After Morrow and Iginla, the third player named to be in the Bruins sights is San Jose Sharks forward Ryane Clowe. Rumors of the 30-year old winger coming to Boston began to surface earlier in the season as the Sharks play began to dip and they faded in the West, while the Bruins third line struggled to find any sort of consistency. Somewhat fitting the prototypical mold of the Big, Bad Bruin, bringing in a player like Clowe might have made sense early on to anchor the bottom part of the forward rotation, but at this point the top of the Bruins offense needs as much help finding a spark as the bottom and Clowe just does not help that need.

While the impending unrestricted free agent’s 11 assists would make him the sixth best assist man on the Bruins, Clowe has been battling a shoulder injury for much of the season and has yet to find the net in 27 games played. Not the cure all for the Bruins.

Could Clowe be used? Sure, especially with the injury to Chris Kelly, but what is the asking price?

Ageless wonders Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr of the Dallas Stars have come up at different points in time, as well, but are not the most intriguing of names. While Whitney’s skill set might fit in nicely on the Bruins’ third line, the 40-year old seems to finally be showing his age, playing just 16 games this season, recording five goals. Jagr is a more intriguing name, as the 41-year old Czech does not seem to be slowing down. His 14 goals and 25 points this season would tie him for first and second on the Bruins in those categories, not to mention the pleasant idea of pairing him with Czech national team line mate David Krejci.

More importantly, his special teams experience and six power play goals (which would also rank first on the Bruins) might be enough to spark Boston’s lowly 23^rd ranked power play, which currently operates at just 15.6% rate. The rumors of late, however, are Jagr is currently in talks of a contract extension with the Stars. While that alone does not eliminate him from trade talks, it certainly raises the asking price.

The forward name linked to the Bruins that I find to have the most intriguing upside is Philadelphia Flyers forward Danny Briere. Briere might not be the Hall-of-Famer to be Iginla is, but he does fit the mold of what the Bruins would have hoped to do with the former Flames captain. He has power play experience, the ability to play both center and wing, as well as anywhere in the top nine, just what the Bruins are missing. On top of that, Briere has always been a player who seems to come alive in the postseason, with 50 goals (13 game-winners) and 108 points in 109 career playoff games. Unlike Iginla, Briere also would come to Boston with two years and just $5 million remaining on his contract.

Sadly, the fact he has not scored a goal since February 18 is not the most frightening thought when it comes to making a trade for Briere. The asking price from the Flyers would more than likely be higher than most deals given the years remaining on his contract and Philadelphia still being mathematically in playoff contention. Briere, who has not skated since March 18, was also declared out indefinitely on Monday with a concussion. Certainly not the kind of things you want out of a player who you are pinning your Stanley Cup on.

Prices will be high on any of the few skill players who are moved between now and the deadline and it is more than likely those “skill” players will not be players a team might be heartbroken over missing out on. Is giving up some combination of prospects and/or draft picks worth the risk of a goal-less player like Clowe, aging super star like Jagr or the recently concussed Briere? Even if they are worth the asking price, is it enough to make this team better than Pittsburgh?

In the end, from an offensive perspective, unless there are better sources out there with some more intriguing names that are available at a reasonable price, the best bet for general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien is probably to stick with what they have and do everything they can internally to get their offense back to the form it is capable of when the likes of Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic were scoring 30 goals a year and it finished second in the league in goals per game just a season ago.

While not the caliber of players of Jagr, Iginla, Morrow or Briere, some help is on the way in the form of Kaspars Daugavins, claimed off waivers from the Ottawa Senators earlier in the week, and Carl Soderberg, leading score of the Swedish Elite League this season, who was rumored to finally be headed to North America for the first time since being acquired in a trade by Boston in 2007 once his season in Sweden comes to an end.

They might not be enough to put the Bruins over the top, but the two should be enough to give the backend of the Bruins lineup something of the spark it has been looking for all season. If nothing else, it is the safer bet for the Bruins than to mortgage the future and pay a king’s ransom for nothing more than either over the hill or spare parts.

The good news, I suppose, is I get to save a whole lot of our time as I get to write a trade deadline preview, review, playoff preview and championship review all at once. The bad news, for at least myself, anyway, is it all turns out in favor of the wrong shades of Black-and-Gold.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are your 2013 Stanley Cup Champions.

At least that is where the smart money is going to be over the next couple of months.

Most Boston Bruins fans head straight for the Tobin Bridge when the teams suffers the kind of heart-wrenching loss to the Montreal Canadiens they did on Wednesday night. This time was a little different, though, because while the Bruins were busy squandering yet another third period lead, nearly every so-called expert in the hockey community had it signed, sealed and delivered that Calgary Flames captain Jarome Iginla was headed to the Boston Bruins in exchange for minor league prospects Matt Bartkowski and Alexander Khokhlachev, and a first round pick. According to reports, the only thing stopping the deal from being official was it was “too late” in the evening to make an announcement.

Iginla had been touted around town in recent weeks as the player to put the Bruins over the top in their quest for a second Stanley Cup in three years. The perfect player, who perfectly fit what the Bruins were currently lacking on offense, was en route to the Hub for an extremely reasonable fee. “Too late” to make the deal official, however, was all the time Penguins general manager Ray Shero needed to swoop in and steal a player from the Bruins for the second time in less than a week.

Boston went to bed on Wednesday reveling. It was Christmas in March, the B’s best trade deadline since 2003-2004 when Sergei Gonchar and Michael Nylander came to town. By the time the hockey world woke up on Thursday morning, Shero had poached Iginla for a pair of two college prospects and a first round pick, while the vast majority of TSN’s pundits were left begging for forgiveness from their followers for their reporting errors.

Even Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli seemed surprised by how things unfolded when he said he was “told at Noon [Wednesday] that we’d won the Jarome Iginla sweepstakes,” as he addressed the media at a Thursday press conference to explain how the botched trade attempt unfolded. “We believed that we had a deal.”

In the 12 hours between Chiarelli’s noon phone call on Wednesday with Calgary and 11:45pm that night when he was informed the deal was off, Iginla, who has a no movement clause in his contract and must sign off on any sort of deal, decided he would rather leave the only NHL franchise he had ever known to join the Penguins.

Ultimately, Chiarelli was played the fool, but it was not by the wizardry of Shero, who has torn up the NHL trade market over the course of the past four days. It was Iginla’s call that sent things amok.

Can anyone really blame him? Maybe he would have been a better fit in Boston and maybe one of the “nicest guys in hockey” did somewhat stick it to his former employer, who was happily willing to let him have a better shot a glory for mere cents on the dollar, by forcing a lesser package upon them to get out of their floundering mitts, but what 35-year old, future Hall-of-Famer who has toiled in postseason anonymity for much of his career – just 54 postseason contests in his 16-year NHL career – still looking for that elusive Stanley Cup would not opt to go for what was already arguably the best team in the National Hockey League?

Chiarelli even admitted so much himself when, at Thursday’s press conference he noted, “Well, they’re a lock now, right?”

The Penguins, winners of a league high 13-straight contests and undefeated in the month of March, are currently the best team in the Eastern Conference and have more wins than any other team in the league. Iginla will join an offensive cast that already has the best player on the planet in Sydney Crosby, who seems to be more than recovered from the concussion issues that have plagued him the last few seasons as he leads the league in both points (54) and assists (39) in what is arguably his finest campaign to date. Wingers Chris Kunitz (19) and James Neal (17) are third and fifth in the league in goals scored, while defenseman Kris Letang (25) is third in assists.

The Penguins are no slouch on defense, either, tied for ninth in the league, giving up 2.47 goals again, while goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is 10^th amongst regular starters with a 2.24 goals against average and 11^th with a .918 save percentage.

Despite the Chicago Blackhawks’ impressive start to this season, the Penguins were a healthy favorite for best team in the league with a relentless and dangerous offense thanks to Crosby and company and a fairly intimidating defensive corps with Letang, Brooks Orpik and Paul Martin. And that was all before Shero strengthened an already impressive roster by acquiring two team captains in Iginla and Brendan Morrow (Boston was in the final two to acquire his services as well before being spurned in favor of Pittsburgh), and a quality defenseman in Douglas Murray, giving up all of four draft picks, two low level college prospects and defenseman Joe Morrow, a solid AHL defenseman with a good upside, the only chip of consequence Pittsburgh had to move.

And notice there has been no mention yet of Evgeni Malkin, the 2011-2012 Hart Trophy winner and arguably the second best player on the planet behind teammate Crosby, who has been out much of March with injury.

There is still a month to play in the regular season and just under a week left before the NHL’s April 3^rd trade deadline, but does that even matter? Iginla and Morrow were the biggest, most prevalent names on the trade market and they are now gone. With some many teams still in the playoff hunt, is there any one of consequence left to move? The new rumored names are Martin St. Louis and Jaromir Jagr, but are those aging stars enough to put any other team in the NHL over the top or is Chiarelli right? Given their recent acquisitions, are the Penguins now a lock to win the Stanley Cup? The addition of Iginla would have put Boston in prime position to overthrow Pittsburgh for the Eastern Conference crown, but now that he is a Penguin?

There are still plenty of good teams in the NHL, all of who are more than worthy of a Stanley Cup bid and all who can get the better of the Penguins on any given night – Boston, Montreal and Chicago amongst them – but it is hard to see any of those teams getting the better of Pittsburgh in a seven game series.

If the Penguins have a flaw, it is their defense, their 21^st ranked penalty kill and their inability to keep an opponent off the board. Teams are going to be able to score on the Penguins. Fleury did backstop Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup team in 2009 and did play well during that postseason run, but has had times throughout his career in which he has disappeared and made folks question whether or not he is really amongst the league’s elite goaltenders. His numbers have steadily improved the past five seasons, but Fleury’s career 2.65 goals against average and .910 save percentage (2.68 and .908 in the playoffs, respectively) are not stellar and he has given up four or more goals on five occasions this season.  A timely goal in the playoffs can turn a series and the Penguins are susceptible.

Unfortunately, for the rest of the NHL, the Penguins are more likely than any other team to score that timely goal. The fear when facing the Penguins should not be scoring on them, it is whether or not they can be stopped. Or even slowed down.

There is a reason they play the games. There is never a sure thing in sports. Jarome Iginla to the Penguins, however, could be the first. Who in the world will dare oppose them?

The clock has started ticking for NHL general managers as the dominos have begun to fall in the NHL trade market thanks to the Pittsburgh Penguins – already one of, if not the most feared teams in the Eastern Conference – acquiring Brendan Morrow and Douglas Murray over the past two days. While it is not unreasonable to believe the Boston Bruins are a team needing to make a move before the April 3^rd trade deadline to still be considered amongst the top contenders in the Eastern Conference, there are certainly moves out there to make for general manager Peter Chiarelli to act.

And one of the questions that should be rattling around in Chiarelli’s mind is, for the right piece in return, does he have the intestinal fortitude to let go of Milan Lucic?

Conceptually, we are lead to believe Lucic is a franchise cornerstone type player. Once voted the most feared player in the league by his NHL brethren, Lucic is a hulking power forward, who is seen as the perfect blend of both rough-and-tumble and scoring prowess. Neither afraid to mix it up with the toughest folks in the National Hockey League nor, at the very least, throw his weight around, the presence of Lucic is made even frightening as he combines his physicality with a scoring touch that saw him score a combined 56 goals in the previous two season.

When at his peak, Lucic is the kind of player who can change momentum with one shift, can take over a game. The kind of player a GM would be foolish to quit on.

Lucic, however, seems to play to at that peak less and less these days and has quickly become the most frustrating Bruin to watch.

The Vancouver native began to take heat in Boston after a sub-par postseason in 2011. Lucic faults, however, were easily overlooked that season as the Cup came to Boston. The 24-year old then seemed to redeem himself during the 2011-2012 regular season, finishing third on the team in goals (26) and fourth in points (61), while the Bruins placed second in the Eastern Conference. Lucic then struggled again in the playoffs, with just three assists in last season’s disappointing first round exit in which the Bruins were desperate for offense.

This year, Lucic is once again bringing his physical presence, leading the team with 107 hits heading into Monday night’s matchup with Toronto. While he came out of the gate strong with two goals in the first three games of the season, the left winger has scored only three times since and his goal Monday against Toronto was his first since February 24, more then one calendar month prior.

Just before this fall’s lockout, Lucic signed a three-year contract extension that will kick in next season and carries a cap hit of $6-million. That number will make him the second biggest weight on the Bruins’ salary cap behind captain Zdeno Chara. It is also a number that puts him in the same ballpark as the likes of Patrick Kane (fifth in the NHL in points), Jonathan Toews (eighth in the NHL in points) and the Sedin Twins (one of whom is a former Hart Trophy winner).

A lot of coin for a guy who has as many goals this month as Martin Brodeur.

It is not fair to say the sub-par play of Milan Lucic is the sole blame for the Bruins offensive woes as a whole in the month of March. Guys do have slumps and one lousy month should not define a career. Not to mention how difficult it must be to bring the kind of intensity that endeared Lucic to Bruins fans every night. This, however, is not the first time questions have been asked about Lucic’s ability to maintain his pace and presence as a top-flight player.

There is nothing wrong with a general manager having players he deems “untouchable,” particularly when it comes to a team like the Bruins, which has a nucleus comprised mainly of young players who are either just entering or still approaching their primes. Should Lucic really be on that list for Chiarelli?

To get a player, you have to give up a player and, for the right package, the Bruins should not feel as though they are tethered to Lucic. The more it seems as though he has lost the ferocious spark that embodied his early career, the more he is seemingly a player content to rest on the successful laurels of the past, Lucic is becoming more of a potential threat than an actual threat. A $6-million decoy.

The important part to note is “for the right package.” As frustrating has he has become and as much hope has been lost in his abilities, that potential threat of Milan Lucic, the punishing horse who can change a team, is a valuable chip that could yield a quality return.

Given the years left on his contract and the fact that many teams are still in the hunt for the playoffs, it is more than likely that “right package” will not come about before next week’s trade deadline, so it may be a moot point. A package involving Lucic for a player like Calgary’s Jerome Iginla, who many pundits believe is the Bruins top trade target, would not be a win for Boston. The Bruins need to improve and deepen their roster over the next week. The aging, free agent to be Iginla would certainly do both of those things, and Chiarelli should be willing to pay a good price for the Calgary captain, but not at the expense of any of the Bruins’ top six forwards. Should a proven and promising younger talent, say in the mold of a Bobby Ryan, who is always rumored to be on the move from Anaheim, come available, though?

(NOTE: A Ryan for Lucic deal is unlikely to happen as Anaheim needs to get out from under his contract, not replace it with another inflated one. Just an example.)

Two periods on the third unit were enough to spark Lucic to life against the Maple Leafs on Monday. At this juncture of the season, a game like Monday night’s could be what Lucic needs to get going. The fear, however, and possibly the most annoying part of Lucic’s play, is it can be hypothesized the only thing that might re-light that fire in Lucic and get him to play like the first line player he is moonlighting as is the burn of getting traded. That fear, however, should not stop Chiarelli from making the right deal. It is unlikely Lucic will move anywhere this season, but the loss of Milan Lucic would not destroy the Boston Bruins.

He can be a devastating force, can be a $6-million a year player, can be considered “untouchable,” can be the kind of player most NHL teams are desperate to have on their roster. Milan Lucic, however, needs to start actually being that guy. Regularly. There is no need to run him out of town and dump him for spare parts, but if he is not going to be that guy, why keep him around?

Unleash the Beast or be gone.