Boston Bruins: 5 Ways to Improve the Team After the 2012 NHL Playoffs

The Boston Bruins' Stanley Cup defense ended in disappointing fashion Wednesday night when they were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in Game 7, the third home loss of the series for Boston.

Despite the disappointment, there are many positives looking ahead to the 2012-13 season, but certain aspects of the team must be changed to ensure a deep playoff run next year.

Let's look at five changes the Bruins need to make in the summer.

All quotes obtained first hand.

Replace Joe Corvo with Dougie Hamilton

Joe Corvo was brought in via trade last summer to replace Tomas Kaberle on defense as an offensive force on the power play. Kaberle failed in Boston and the Bruins thought Corvo would be a big upgrade.

However, they were quite wrong since Corvo proved to be a turnover machine who couldn't play well in his own zone. His offensive production also wasn't great.

The Bruins need to replace him with top prospect Dougie Hamilton, who led the OHL in points among defensemen this season for the Niagara IceDogs.

Hamilton is a legitimate No. 1 caliber D-man who is a tremendous two-way player. His ability to work the powerplay and join the attack looking to score is phenomenal.

If he can continue to get stronger this summer and improve his skills, then there's no reason why Hamilton shouldn't dress for the Bruins on opening day next year.

Fix the Power Play

Boston's power play was brutal in the playoffs just like it was last year, but this season, the Bruins weren't able to overcome their struggles with the man advantage.

The Bruins were 2-for-23 on the power play versus the Capitals.

"We finished in the middle of the pack in the league this year, and, you know, somehow it doesn’t seem good enough, and it shouldn’t be good enough," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien following the Game 7 loss to the Washington Capitals. 

"You always strive to make your power play better, but, you know, we’ve got to start winning some battles on the power play."

The Bruins needed to get more bodies in front of Capitals rookie goaltender Braden Holtby, and they needed to throw more pucks at the net. They did neither consistently, which made it easy for Holtby to see the puck and make the save.

Boston needs to add a quality passing defenseman and a true goal scorer in the summer. Top prospect Dougie Hamilton could be the puck-mover the team needs.

Find a Top-Six Forward in Free Agency or Via Trade

The Bruins' top offensive players in the Capitals series were terrible for most of the seven games. Injuries and underperforming hurt the Bruins' offense in the playoffs, and it's clear it needed a whole lot more from their big guns.

"I think we had some (of) our best players, we probably needed more out of some of those guys, and, you know, we didn’t get..." said Julien. "You need to have everybody playing well, and we didn’t have that in this series here."

David Krejci, Brad Marchand, Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron combined for just four goals in this series, with Seguin having two of them. Lucic and Bergeron had zero goals.

The Bruins don't have an elite goal scorer or an elite offensive talent like an Alex Ovechkin or Alexander Semin of the Capitals.

Seguin is getting there but he's not an an elite level yet. The Bruins could find a top-tier forward in free agency, but the pool of unrestricted free agents isn't very deep, with Semin and New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise as the best players available.

Either by trade or through free agency, the Bruins need to add a star forward whom they can rely on to score consistently.

Re-Sign Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille

Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille, along with Shawn Thornton, make up the best fourth line in hockey. They bring a high level of energy and physical play to the Bruins that gets their teammates going and the crowd into the game.

Campbell and Paille are unrestricted free agents this summer and must be re-signed, which won't be an expensive move.

Both are solid penalty killers and can hold their own offensively. It's crucial that general manager Peter Chiarelli doesn't break up the fourth line this summer because having four quality lines gives the Bruins strong depth and the ability to keep guys' legs fresh late in games.

Trade Tim Thomas, Make Tuukka Rask the Starter Next Season

The Boston Bruins need to move forward and re-sign backup goaltender Tuukka Rask to a new contract (he's a restricted free agent) and trade Tim Thomas to a team desperate for goaltending.

There's several teams one goaltender away from being a legitimate contender, such as the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Thomas' no-movement clause in his contract expires this summer, so the team has the ability to trade him if desired.

Even though Thomas has a salary cap hit of $5 million next season, his actual salary is $3 million, which is affordable for any NHL team. 

We know that Rask is a legitimate No. 1 goaltender and a future star of this league. He's experienced, talented and knows the pressures of playing in a major hockey market.

It's time for Rask to develop into the star he's destined to become. To keep Thomas and put Rask's development on hold for another year would be a terrible idea.

It would be tough to trade Thomas, but it's a move that helps the team now and in the future.