With the departure of winger Benoit Pouliot, the Bruins now have a vacancy on the third line. While most expect that Jordan Caron will get the job, his play thus far in his career hasn't shown the potential that he came with when he was selected 25th overall by the Bruins in the 2010 Entry Draft. The young winger had just 15 points in 48 games for the Black and Gold, and that isn't nearly enough production for someone looking to stick around the NHL full time.
It seems as though this past season lacked a veteran presence in the Bruins locker room. The retirement of Mark Recchi appears to have left a void that wasn't replaced, even by Brian Rolston or Mike Mottau. The team lacked a certain drive for most of the season, the drive to keep pushing and win the Cup again. Recchi provided the presence of an aging player hungry to go out on top, and that was very clearly missed this season. That is why the Bruins should take a hard look at UFA forward Jamie Langenbrunner.
Langenbrunner played on the Dallas Stars from 1995-2002, where he won his first Stanley Cup in 1999, the New Jersey Devils from 2002-2010, and the St. Louis Blues in 2012 after spending the second half of the 2010 season with the Stars. Signing Langenbrunner would provide added depth to the bottom six, as well as some extra scoring on top of that. While his production has dropped off considerably since 2009-2010 when he finished with 61 points, the 36 year old could still give the Bruins some decent production in a reduced role.
General Manager Peter Chiarelli stated publicly over the weekend that the team is not in the market for top free agents, saying "I'm not actively looking for anything. If something can improve our team I'll - we'll consider it.", while adding "The secondary market ... again I would take the same approach. Not actively looking, but whether it's the secondary market in free agency or the next market with respect to trades, we'll continue to look at that stuff." (Quote via Ty Anderson of The Hockey Buzz)
Langenbrunner fits the mold of the secondary market referred to by Chiarelli. He isn't a big name player and his production is far from worthy of the money the top free agents will eventually sign for. Even when not playing, Langenbrunner would provide some much needed depth on the forward front that sparked the mid season trade for now free agent forward Brian Rolston. His decent production is not far from what Benoit Pouliot provided the B's with this past season (16 goals and 16 assists for a total of 32 points), and rotating him with a young gun such as Caron, Ryan Spooner, or Jared Knight would keep him fresh and help prevent veteran fatigue, because let's face it, not many veteran hockey players keep themselves in the shape that Recchi or Nicklas Lidstrom kept themselves in.
Bringing in Langenbrunner could be a key component in fueling another run at the Stanley Cup. With his career likely coming to a close in the next couple of years, he would likely love to finish out on a high note. And what higher note than becoming a three time Stanley Cup Champion?
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