The 2014-15 season would be a forgettable one for the Boston Bruins if it wasn’t so chock-full of painful memories that continue to linger.
The Bruins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since the 2006-07 season, and it cost former general manager Peter Chiarelli his job.
So what led the once Big Bad Bruins to limp to the finish and lose nine of their final 14 games en route to missing the playoffs? According to winger Brad Marchand, in speaking with Joe Haggerty at CSNNE.com, the 2014-15 Bruins were hardly a cohesive unit behind closed doors.
“In the past years, we were family, but for some reason this past year we were definitely a little bit divided, and had different cliques,” Marchand said of the Bruins last season. “It could’ve been because we had a lot of guys coming up in different times from Providence; they felt a lot more together, and it seemed like the older guys didn’t do a good job at integrating other guys.”
Of course, two prominent under-25 players found themselves shipped out of Boston this past summer. New GM Don Sweeney sent 22-year-old potential cornerstone defenceman Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames in a trade, and he also moved winger Reilly Smith, along with Marc Savard’s contract, to the Florida Panthers for Jimmy Hayes.
Marchand stopped short of naming names, but noted that a lack of everyone being on the same page effectively cost the Bruins a shot at the post-season.
“It was really tough,” Marchand said. “In our group, with the team we have in this organization, we expect guys to come in every night and be prepared to lay their bodies on the line. The majority of the guys wanted nothing more to be in the playoffs last year and even if you have one passenger, that’s enough to ruin your chances.”
While it’s easy to sit back and point fingers after the fact, the loss of pending-UFA defenceman Johnny Boychuk before was a blow to the blueline. Chiarelli moved Boychuk to the Islanders in a trade out of fear that the cash-strapped Bruins wouldn’t be able to afford him. It’s something that former Bruin Milan Lucic believes struck a blow to the club right out of the gate.
“I think we struggled [as a team] getting over the Johnny trade,” Lucic told Haggerty last season. “I know I did personally because he was a really good friend of mine. What I learned the most… is that I can’t rely too much on other guys.”
Lucic was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the 2015 draft in exchange for the the 2015 13th overall selection (Jakub Zboril), goaltender Martin Jones, and defence prospect Colin Miller.
It was a rapid fall from grace for the Bruins, who Chiarelli helped transform into a juggernaut that won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the 2013 Final. A combination of missing the playoffs last season, the Boychuk deal, and the trade that sent Tyler Seguin to the Dallas Stars in June of 2013 spelled the end for Chiarelli, who was hired by the Edmonton Oilers in April.
The Bruins will look to regroup for the 2015-16 season with off-season additions Matt Beleskey, Hayes and Zac Rinaldo. The window isn’t quite closed yet, but they’re running short on excuses with which to keep it propped open.
