The Boston Bruins have been one of the elite teams in the NHL for nearly 16 years and they have some memorable games and achievements, but the team has just one Stanley Cup during that span.
The 2011 postseason was a brilliant one that ended with a Stanley Cup triumph against the Vancouver Canucks, but it was 13 years ago and the memories are becoming quite distant. Since then, they were beaten in the Stanley Cup Finals twice. The loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 was painful enough, but the defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues in 2019 still has Bruins fans shaking their heads in disbelief.
They fell in seven games, and the final loss came at home when Blues goalie Jordan Binnington repulsed every Bruins scoring opportunity in the first period and that allowed the Blue to gain control of the game.
Since that loss, the Bruins had an incredile 2022-23 regular season in which they set the record for points and victories. They were heavy favorites to bring home the Stanley Cup but they suffered a brutal first-round defeat to the Florida Panthers.
That opponent defeated the Bruins again in the second round of this year's playoffs, and the painful endings to both seasons have allowed the team's management to get a clear picture of the team's strengths and weaknesses.
Bruins still have talent, but more scoring is needed
The Bruins knew that the 2023-24 season was not going to be as strong as the previous year. Stalwart centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both retired, and the Bruins had to get by without them.
While many expected the Bruins to either sneak into the playoffs as a Wild Card team or miss the postseason without those two brilliant players, the Bruins were an excellent team once again and finished second in the Atlantic Division.
However, the combination of Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha did not have quite the same firepower as Bergeron and Krejci. They played with effort, emotion and skill, and both exceeded expectations, but they were not superstar players. The Bruins could be in the market for a couple of big-time scorers who can help the team light up the scoreboard more than they did last year.
Could Leon Draisaitl come to the Bruins?
The Edmonton Oilers had a brilliant postseason run, overcoming the Los Angeles Kings, Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars before they extended the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to seven games in the final round.
Nevertheless, changes could be at hand for the Oilers. They parted company with general manager Ken Holland days after the Stanley Cup Finals ended, and there are rumors that several trades could be at hand.
The idea that they would trade Draisaitl seems strange because he is their No. 2 offensive threat behind Connor McDavid, but Draisaitl has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate.
The team at the top of the rumor mill is the Bruins. Former NHL tough guy Georges Laraque mentioned that the Bruins were the lead team in the Draisaitl sweepstakes if the Oilers decide to move him, and SportsBetting AG listed the Bruins as the favorite to land the high scorer at odds of 3-1.
Draisaitl has scored 105 points or more in five of the last six seasons. He is coming off a 41-goal, 65-assist season with the Oilers, and that came a year after his career high of the 128 points (52 goals and 76 assists).
The Bruins may also be interested in Trevor Zegras of the Anaheim Ducks. The 23-year-old center scored 23 goals and 61 points in 2021-22 and 23 goals and 65 points the following year.
He played in just 31 games last season after suffering a broken ankle and was held to six goals and nine assists. However, it is not an injury that is likely to have any long-term impact. He could become a top offensive threat in the years to come.
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