Now that’s a statement.
With speculation swirling around everyone in the Boston organization from Peter Chiarelli to Claude Julien to Zdeno Chara, the Bruins stormed into Chicago on Sunday and pounded the Blackhawks 6-2 to end a six-game slide.
With the Malcolm Subban experiment over, at least for now, the Bruins looked a lot more like last season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners in the win. There have been multiple reports suggesting that CEO Charlie Jacobs will fire both Chiarelli and Julien despite their impressive record together if the Bruins don’t make the post-season.
Beyond that, there remains a lot of speculation that the B’s are looking to make an impact trade prior to next Monday’s trade deadline. Chara won’t be asked to waive his no-trade clause, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, but defenceman Dennis Seidenberg says he will if asked and Loui Eriksson is another possibility if Boston can find a trading partner.
Chiarelli, meanwhile, has indicated he won’t fire Julien, and he also won’t trade the team’s first round pick.
Complicating all this is another injury to David Krejci, who didn’t play against Chicago after a collision with St. Louis forward Alex Steen. Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported it’s a knee injury and could cost Krejci much of the rest of the regular season.
It’s going to be fascinating to see what moves Chiarelli can make before the deadline and how the Bruins respond.
Other weekend takeaways:
Wild child: Buffalo defenceman Nikita Zadorov was suspended again on the weekend by the Sabres after first being suspended for reporting back to the team late following the all-star game after a holiday in the Dominican Republic.
The former London Knight, who resisted a return to junior hockey earlier this season while being repeatedly scratched, missed Sunday’s game against Nashville.
This will get ‘em talking: Defenceman James Wisniewski, already a target of trade speculation, was a healthy scratch for Columbus against the New York Rangers on Sunday. Wisniewski leads Columbus blueliners in scoring and has a $5.5 million cap hit, with two more years.
Montreal is one team that has been linked to the right-hand shooting defenceman. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, meanwhile, expected back for Blue Jackets this week.
Supply outstripping demand: While sellers are looking for available first round picks by the NHL trade deadline, it appears there aren’t many to be had. One exception could be Tampa Bay, which has it’s own first round pick and the first round selection of the New York Rangers, acquired in last year’s Martin St. Louis trade.
An opportunity slipping away?: It was a potentially disastrous weekend for Florida, which lost in Ottawa on Saturday then was routed 5-1 by Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
Combined with Boston coming to life with an impressive 6-2 triumph in Chicago, the Panthers are now three back of the Bruins and have a home-and-home with the Blackhawks this week.
The suddenly hot Flyers, meanwhile, are now just a point back of Florida with Steve Mason expected back this week. Florida GM Dale Tallon is looking to make moves, with winger Sean Bergenheim having asked for a trade, while Philly GM Ron Hextall has said his team won’t be a buyer before the deadline.
The value of a second look: Advocates of using video review for goalie interference calls got more ammunition Saturday after a seemingly obvious shove by Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader on Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen Saturday night went uncalled.
It allowed the Red Wings to tie the wild contest 6-6, a game they ultimately won in OT. The issue of video review for such calls will be a topic of discussion when NHL general managers convene in Boca Raton next month.
Friendly fire: Ryan Miller likely won’t be making a return to Buffalo on Thursday after suffering an apparent knee injury in the second period against the New York Islanders on Sunday after a collision with teammate Jannik Hansen.
Miller made 10 saves before being replaced by Eddie Lack, who made another 27 stops en route to a 4-0 shutout victory.
Gonna kill ‘em if they’re not careful: Winnipeg was a perfect 4-4 on the penalty kill Saturday night but still lost in OT to the struggling Maple Leafs.
The penalty killing figures are noteworthy for the Jets, who continue to be penalized more often than any other NHL club but have seen their penalty killing deteriorate drastically in the second half of the season.
Adding a good penalty killing forward, like Toronto’s Daniel Winnik, could make sense. Winnik seemed to make a case for himself on Saturday with a Gordie Howe hat trick.
Back to junior: The return of Sam Bennett to the Kingston Frontenacs on Saturday will not only help the Fronts, who were one of the CHL’s top ranked teams last fall before losing Bennett and suffering a variety of illnesses and injuries, but it will also give NHL scouts a different way to evaluable draft eligible winger Lawson Crouse.
Crouse, with 22 goals in 44 games, is viewed as possibly a top five pick, but some question his ability to finish and whether he’s actually a first-line NHL player. Assuming he’ll get some time with Bennett when the centre returns this Wednesday against Belleville, Crouse will get a chance to demonstrate his prowess around the enemy net.
Still on the move: There appears to be little evidence to back the speculation that defenceman Jeff Petry might sign an extension and stay in Edmonton past the trade deadline. Both Petry and GM Craig MacTavish seemed to indicate contract talks might yield a new agreement late last week.
Uncertainty in Motown: Concussed Detroit forward Johan Franzen isn’t skating and Red Wings management doesn’t know when he might be back. That might push GM Ken Holland to find a forward before the deadline, although young forwards like youngster Teemu Pulkkinen (30 goals, 44 games) give him some options within the organization.
Both Pulkkinen and veteran Henrik Zetterberg, however, were injured against Dallas.
Under 23 scenarios: As Sportsnet’s Friedman also reported on the weekend, Hockey Canada and U.S.A. Hockey seem to have decided to go without a set quota for Americans or Canadians when they put together an under-23 team for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The two organizations did a series of mock drafts, and the selections seemed to produce relatively even numbers from both countries. Tampa’s Jon Cooper appears to be an early frontrunner to coach the team.