Panther vs Bear!
Well the Bruins made their first deal of the off-season, as TSN broke that story that Boston is sending much maligned defender Dennis Wideman, the 15th overall pick and another pick to Florida for 2003 third overall pick Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell. The Horton deal has been rumored all week, with some people forgetting Savard has a no trade clause and suggesting Savard was going to Florida. The deal gives Boston even less cap room, so we’re betting they’re not done. We’re also guessing that trading Wideman means new deals will eventually be in place for Boychuk and Stuart. In Gregory Campbell the Bruins get certain suspension protection as he is Colin Campbell’s son. The fact that he is a restricted free agent is a bit curious, which makes us wonder if the B’s let him walk and this trade ends up being Wideman and picks for Horton.
We’ll soon find out.
In Horton, the Bruins get a forward who has averaged at least 20 goals over the past five seasons. The knock on Horton is that he is a bit lazy and injury prone, but if we were playing in Florida we wouldn’t be pumped about that. Word has it that Horton wanted out of Florida, so maybe playing in a real hockey town will reignite the fires. Although with 57 points last season Horton would’ve led the Bruins. Kind of sad, eh?And he did that in just 65 games. Horton has not played a full season since 2007-08 but could be the type of player that will flourish in Boston. We’ll see in October. Wideman had a down season last year. That is an understatement. And the Bruins blueline was getting more crowded by the day. With the Seidenberg signing and Boychuk still without a deal, we probably should’ve seen this coming. Wideman could probably use a change of scenery himself. There were rumors going around that Wideman also had some off ice problems that affected his standing with the team. We won’t know about that. And its his personal business, so we shouldn’t know. He certainly won’t be missed by most Bruins fans. We were eager to see if he’d rebound this season, but instead he’ll be missing the net in the Sunshine State. Our only real complaint with the trade is the 15th pick. There were sure to be some good prospects there at 15, although sounds like the Bruins wanted someone who could help them now in Horton.
When healthy, Horton can be a big boost. We basically agreed with what Mike Giardi said on Twitter:
Not loving giving up 15th pick in this deal. That might have been better served as sweetener to move Tim Thomas or Ryder.
Horton is still just 25 years old. He could be entering his prime and the Bruins needed better wingers. Horton is an upgrade over Sturm and Ryder, at least from last year’s perspective anyway. Playing with guys like Savard, Bergeron and Krejci could certainly boost his point totals. We’re excited to see what Horton can do in the black and gold. Chiarelli promised change this off-season and so far he certainly looks to be trying.
Again, Horton is certainly an upgrade on the wing for the Bruins. He is listed as a center but can play right wing as well which is probably where he’ll be. Imagine Horton on one wing, and the Looch we saw against Philly on the other wing. Good stuff in our minds. Add in that Horton is locked up for another few years and there’s great potential there.
We couldn’t NOT make this picture. Sorry.
But we like, and every other hockey fan in the world, has said we doubt Chiarelli is done. Looking forward to the draft!
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