The Boston Bruins have seen a decline in their defensive performance over the last two seasons. Head Coach Marco Sturm is implementing a new hybrid system that requires more man-to-man coverage. The defensemen struggled to maintain consistency throughout the season and allowed an alarming amount of high-danger chances. On Thursday, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Bruins were not retaining Assistant Coach Jay Leach, who coached the defense the last two seasons.
However, the real area of improvement is in the personnel. Boston needs a change within the roster that allows them to play tougher and more structured along the blueline. The Bruins showed interest at the trade deadline in Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson, but the 30-year-old would come with a big price tag and a lengthy term. Same for Tampa Bay D-Man Darren Raddysh. Expect the Bruins to make a play for one or both, but the likelihood of signing either is slim. Therefore, trades might be the best avenue.
New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec is available, it seems. An initial report that Nemec requested a trade was later disputed, but rumors persist that the second pick in the 2022 NHL Draft will be moved. Nemec is a restricted free agent as of July 1 and will need a new contract. The 22-year-old scored 11 goals with 15 assists in 68 games this past season and has the potential to be a solid top-four pairing. The Bruins will probably not bring back Andrew Peeke. The team could use Mason Lohrei as a trade chip, and Henri Jokiharju and Jonathan Aspirot will return next season.
The issue with bringing in Nemec could be that the Bruins need a penalty-killing defenseman with the departure of Peeke. Nemec is offensive-minded and would be an upgrade over Lohrei. Boston has the cap space to sign Nemec, and the 6-foot-1, 190-pound right-shot defenseman would be a good fit with either Hampus Lindholm or Nikita Zadorov. The question will be what kind of package the Bruins are willing to part with in a trade.
Regardless, Boston needs defensive help and expect them to want to acquire younger players with high upside like Nemec or Chicago’s Kevin Korchinski, the seventh overall pick in the same draft, who seems to be odd man out with the Blackhawks.
