The Boston Bruins, even before their recent slump, were a team with more than one need.
But the problem for B’s general manager Don Sweeney has been a lack of capital. And in more ways than one.
After repeated ‘win now’ moves and home run swings — his biggest coming last year between deadline deals for Dmitry Orlov and Tyler Bertuzzi, as well as bonus-laden deals for Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci signed with the intentions of maximizing their options for 2022-23 — the Bruins are short on both draft picks to trade and cap space to add.
So, for the Bruins, it’s about exhausting every internal option before looking elsewhere. And the Bruins added a new option to that list Sunday with the signing of P-Bruins forward Justin Brazeau to a two-way contract.
Oct 2, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Justin Brazeau (55) against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. (Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports)
When it comes to Brazeau, the first thing that pops off the page is his size.
Listed at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, Brazeau immediately becomes the biggest forward in the B’s organization.
Tied 2-2 on Brazeau’s 15th. #AHLBruins
— Ryan Ames (@_RyanAmes) February 17, 2024
pic.twitter.com/oPA2xhJB7cConsidered a project when the Bruins first signed him, ‘skating’ was the biggest knock on Brazeau, according to those I talked with regarding the intriguing prospect. But by now, it’s clear that the Bruins have seen enough progress in that department to feel that Brazeau could be an effective NHLer.
It’s only fair to assume that — even with those statistical improvements — they wouldn’t have converted his deal to a standard, NHL contract had they not been satisfied with those developments this season.
Sep 27, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins forward Justin Brazeau (55) passes the puck past New York Rangers center Gustav Rydahl (15) during the third period at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
It’ll also be interesting to see just how quickly the Bruins get the 26-year-old up to Boston for a look.
Unless the Bruins got word that another team was going to sign Brazeau to an NHL contract had the Bruins not done so first, it stands to reason that the Bruins signed Brazeau when they did so that they could get him up to Boston for an NHL run. Boston’s decision to put Oskar Steen on waivers on Sunday, especially with Jakub Lauko currently dealing with an upper-body injury and a questionable status for Monday, only adds to that belief.
Brazeau would also fit a potential (or glaring, depending on who you ask) need for a space-creating, big-bodied wing who throw his weight around and answer the bell in the Black and Gold’s bottom-six forward group.
This has been a need for the Bruins since they lost Milan Lucic to an injury and a domestic violence incident that will keep him away from the club for the rest of the season, really. And while Brazeau is not of the Lucic mold as a heavyweight fighter (Brazeau uses his frame and size as a physical threat more than his fists), he does allow the Bruins to go back to a fourth-line look that’s more speedster-speedster-bruiser, which was Jim Montgomery’s ideal mix when he created the effective Lucic-Beecher-Lauko line to start the 2023-24 season.
