Boston Bruins: Three Defensemen Better for Them Than Tomas Kaberle

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli has pulled the trigger on one trade by acquiring center Chris Kelly from the Ottawa Senators in return for Boston's 2011 second round draft pick. Now Bruins fans around the globe await the trade that everyone in the Boston organization has been talking about all season and that is trading for that all but elusive "puck moving defenseman."

In today's National Hockey League, that type of defenseman is getting hard to find.

Most coaches want their defensemen to concentrate on the defensive part of the game, which is a defenseman's primary job, but most rearguards lack the skill or the confidence to make plays with the puck.

Watch an NHL game and more often than not you will see a defenseman chip a puck off the glass in order to get it out of his zone and into the safety of the neutral zone. Most often, they do so because they are told to "make the easy play." It is a "safe" play when it is the only option available, however it is also turning the puck back over to the opponent, giving them another opportunity to regroup and attack the zone and get at least a scoring chance or worse, a goal.

There are a few blue liners who have the confidence and more importantly, the ability to gain control of the puck in their defensive zone and survey their options.

These players will skate the puck up the ice looking to move it to a forward, or they will keep it and carry it into the offensive zone themselves and create scoring opportunities.

The legendary Eddie Shore, was one of the first defensemen to do this and did it deftly.

The following generations have seen defensemen such as Doug Harvey, Pierre Pilote, Brad Park, Dennis Potvin, Larry Robinson, Paul Coffey, Ray Bourque, Chris Pronger, Niklas Lidstrom, and of course, the greatest of them all, Bobby Orr, not only create plays but score almost at will.

Most NHL teams are in need of this type of defenseman but the Bruins have the means to make a deal that will secure such a player. The question is, who will that player be?

The name that is most bandied about in the media is that of Toronto Maple Leafs blue liner, Tomas Kaberle.

Kaberle, 32, is in his twelfth NHL season. It has been reported that he has waived his no trade clause but only if that trade is to Boston.

Including this season, Kaberle has played in 878 career games and has scored 83 goals, amassed 437 assists for a total of 520 points. Solid numbers for the smooth skating native of the Czech Republic.

Kaberle is the quarterback of the Maple Leafs power play and would certainly lend immediate help to Boston's power play which has been sputtering as of late. 31 of his 83 goals have come on the man advantage. 

The only concern is can Kaberle be a number one or two defenseman on a Stanley Cup contender? Most people in and around NHL team offices believe the 6'1'', 214 lbs defender is a number three rearguard at best on an upper echelon club.

If Boston management agrees with the assessment that Kaberle cannot contribute as one of its top two defensemen, there are a handful of others who are rumored to be on the Bruins' wish list and may be able to step in and give Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg a much needed rest.

Both players are getting around twenty minutes of ice time each game. They could use some reduced minutes now in order to be rested come playoff time.

The other names being mentioned as possible future Bruins are Ottawa's Chris Phillips, Phoenix's Ed Jovanovski, Florida captain Bryan McCabe, St. Louis captain Eric Brewer, Carolina's Joni Pitkanen, Atlanta's Ron Hainsey, and Atlanta's Zach Bogosian.

All are solid NHL players, some with established careers such as, Brewer, Phillips, Jovanovski, and McCabe.

Any of the four would be good additions to Boston's blue line but their effectiveness is questionable. Each player is over 30-years-old and has been in the league for at least ten years. The wear and tear of the position has taken a toll on these men as each appears to be past their primes.

This leaves Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli to choose from the three remaining names on our list.

Hainsey is the oldest at 29 and checks in at 210 lbs 6'3'' tall.

Atlanta is his third NHL team, having played in Montreal and Columbus. Overall, Hainsey is in his eighth NHL season and has totals of 462 games, 32 goals, 126 assists, for 158 points.

20 of Hainsey's 32 career goals have come on the power play. The only negative career stat is that of plus/minus. The Bolton, Connecticut native carries a -31 which can be explained by the fact that he played on some very weak Columbus and Atlanta teams.

Hainsey is remembered by Boston fans as an offensive defenseman while at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. In his two seasons at UML, Hainsey had 47 points in 66 games. The university is only twenty miles north of Boston, therefore Hainsey is familiar with the Boston area.  

Joni Pitkanen, of the Carolina Hurricanes, is 27-years-old and hails from Oulu, Finland.

This is his seventh season in the National Hockey League, having broke into the league with Philadelphia, played one season in Edmonton, and is in his third season with the Hurricanes.

Pitkanen's career totals of 48 goals and 199 assists equal 247 points in 461 games.

He has scored 15 goals on the power play and this defenseman would bring a +5 to Beantown, if he is moved there.

For a big man, 6'3'', 210 lbs, Pitkanen is a smooth skating player as most Europeans seem to be. He has very good agility and quickness, and can lead a rush into the offensive zone. Pitkanen fits the mold of a team's number one defenseman.

Atlanta Thrasher Zach Bogosian is all of 20-years-old but when scouts discuss this player, the word most often used is, "upside."

Drafted 3rd overall in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Thrashers, Bogosian made the leap from the Ontario Hockey League's Peterborough Petes to the NHL as an 18-year-old blueliner.

This Massena, New York native has NHL size at 6'3'', 215 lbs and uses it to dish out heavy hits in the corners and in open ice. He is an excellent skater with above average speed.

Bogosian is a very good puck handler who sees the ice well and makes good tape to tape passes.

He has a strong shot from the point and never hesitates to use it.

Bogosian has 53 career points on 23 goals and 30 assists and on the power play, he has scored five times.

The numbers may not be as impressive as fans would like, but they must keep in mind, Bogosian has played on consistently under achieving Thrashers teams while he learned the game at the NHL level.

Like Hainsey, Bogosian is also familiar with Boston. He played his prep school hockey at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, which is in the central part of the state. Zach Bogosian has the potential, that "upside," to be a star in the National Hockey League.

The contracts of the three young players, Hainsey, Pitkanen, and Bogosian, will fit within Boston's salary structure which is the primary concern of all GM's and owners when considering a new player.    

One can see that, although everyone from Boston management on down to the fan on the street, is focusing on Tomas Kaberle as Boston's next great defenseman, there are other names to choose from. Kaberle would be a good fit in a black and gold uniform but there may be a better fit.