Holiday Wish List for the Boston Bruins in 2014-15

The Boston Bruins have just capped off their worst 30-game start to a season in Claude Julien’s eight-year reign as head coach. They entered their current road trip through Nashville, Minnesota and Winnipeg at 15-13-2 on the year.

In no previous season under the current bench boss have they failed to win the majority of their first 30 contests. In addition, the Julien-era Bruins have not let their regulation loss total exceed 10 this early until 2014-15.

This means reacquainting New England puckheads with old territory amid the holiday season. For the first time since this franchise’s renaissance circa 2007-08, December and the approach of New Year’s is a time to prioritize a list of needs ahead of wants.

Julien’s tenure has seen a few spurts where mere playoff qualification was in question. This year’s circumstances, however, surpass its predecessors, as Boston is presently in a footrace for a wild-card position.

Of course, roughly five-eighths of the regular season remain. The entire second half of the schedule will still be waiting when 2015 is a full week old.

Nonetheless, this unprecedented stumble has exposed a small, yet substantial, assortment of shortcomings in Julien and company’s corner. The sooner the Bruins address those inhibitions, maybe with a little aid from fate, the better their odds of upgrading their immediate outlook this winter.

But even when a recently prosperous entity takes a bump, it is only natural for luxurious cravings to linger. For that reason, the Bruins’ wish list shall include one fun item after the business needs.

Veterans Playing Like Veterans

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For the purposes of this slide, a veteran shall be defined as any player who has previously logged a full season in a Boston uniform. This means everyone from Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Reilly Smith through Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic.

Some players, such as alternate captain and two-way connoisseur Patrice Bergeron, are virtually given to deliver an earnest effort each night. One could make the same claim about Zdeno Chara and David Krejci, who sport their own letters of leadership.

But regardless of who is in commission, the Bruins need every returnee from 2013-14 to play like former President’s Trophy winners with unfinished business. To date, there have simply been too many individual slumps for the team’s characteristic depth and balance to shine through.

Most recently, collective underachievement on offense has induced a 3-5-2 slump through Boston’s last 10 games. In that span, the Bruins have blown seven of their last eight leads, only widening three of those advantages to a multi-goal margin.

A little more consistency from the likes of Smith, who only recently splashed a 10-game pointless drought, and maybe they would have beefed up a few more of those leads. Then maybe they would not be leaning too much on their defense and, in turn, testing Hamilton and Krug’s prowess in the attacking zone a little more.

Where they are at this stage in the season, and how they got there, has given the Bruins a straightforward ultimatum. It’s finish or be finished.

How they handle that will gauge the growth of their young, yet generously seasoned, strikers more than anything.

Health and Continuity

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Chara, the team captain and minute-munching defenseman, made his return to game action last Thursday after a knee ailment held him out for exactly seven weeks.

Krejci, the top center who appeared in only 11 of the team’s first 30 games, joined the journey to Nashville on Tuesday. The team’s website reported Tuesday that he will miss the Predators game, but he clearly hopes to end his hiatus during this week’s three-game road trip.

Given how long they have each been out, neither of these players will be back in their top form in the immediate future. It does not help anyone’s cause to know that stay-at-home blueliner Adam McQuaid will not return to action until at least the first week of January.

As the previous slide indicates, this does not do much to absolve the rash of underachievement. The Bruins have dealt with similar slews of injuries in recent memory but have never logged results as wretched as their current record.

That notwithstanding, getting every key cog back to the neighborhood of 100 percent health would be a doubtless morale booster. As long as that development does not induce complacency among others (there we go again with the last slide), it would be a welcome one.

A Bona Fide Top-Six Right Wing

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First, they let Jarome Iginla get away via free agency. Then presumptive replacement Loui Eriksson proved himself better suited in a depth role, flanking third-line center Carl Soderberg.

Since then, the Bruins have resorted to a rotation of raw, green talent to try to complement Milan Lucic as the other top-line winger. As recently as this past Saturday’s matinee against Ottawa, Craig Cunningham joined Lucic in flanking Chris Kelly while Krejci continued to nurse his injury.

At other times, second-year pro Seth Griffith has assumed the right side, opposite Krejci and Lucic. There were some momentary glimmers of hope in that arrangement, such as a three-point night on Oct. 28, but it simply has not lasted.

If they want to replenish their powerhouse persona this season, the Bruins cannot keep banking on rookies in this fashion. Neither Cunningham nor Griffith nor Matt Fraser project to blossom quickly enough to fit a permanent top-six role in 2014-15.

Of course, the only other logical option is a trade, which may be the most wishful item on the club’s wish list. As of Tuesday afternoon, CapGeek lists a mere $912,167 in open space on Boston’s payroll.

One or more pieces would inevitably need to go if the Bruins are to accommodate a player of the caliber they need. A deal is equally dependent on the market opening in a timely fashion, for the trade deadline may not be soon enough for this team.

Hosting Rights to the 2016 NHL Winter Classic

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Last Thursday, TSN guru Bob McKenzie proclaimed that Boston is the most likely site of the 2016 Winter Classic. At the conclusion of the segment on his network, he hinted that a formal announcement will come later this season to cement the deal.

Per ESPN.com’s Scott Burnside, Bruins president Cam Neely said the next day, “We have told the league we would love to host another Winter Classic. As of today, I have not heard anything back regarding next year.”

A host of other teams have played multiple outdoor games within the past decade, but only one has been the outright home team more than once. Chicago was the site of the 2009 Winter Classic and then held a Stadium Series contest in 2014.

If McKenzie is right, then America’s longest-tenured NHL market will become the league’s first market to host two Winter Classics. The Bruins previously claimed a 2-1 overtime victory over Philadelphia at Fenway Park in the event’s third installment on Jan. 1, 2010.

Being the first to hold two of these New Year's festivals in one's region may not be the most coveted historical distinction. But merely reliving the experience is an understandable desire, one that is liable to intensify whenever reputable sources state the possibility.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics for this report were found via hockey-reference.com and are through games of Monday, Dec. 15.