Bruins Impress, But Fall Just Short of 2021-22 East Crown

With the finishing touches officially placed on the 2021-22 EHE season, GM Trevor Cook's Boston Bruins finished just one point back of their second division title, posting a 50-26-6 record for 106 points, a 16-point improvement on Cook's first campaign.

Without the shadow of an expansion draft looming, GM Cook was able to take some of the sizeable prospect capital his team had and transformed his squad from one that was talented, but still building, into one that could be seen as a legitimate contender with some splashy trades.

The Bruins dealt Sam Girard and Connor Brown to the New York Rangers for Filip Forsberg as the focal points of an 8-piece deal, with an eye on acquiring a star left winger. They later added to the forward group by bringing in Blake Coleman and Sean Kuraly in exchange for Colton Sissons and Tobias Bjornfot. Forsberg and Coleman would prove to be big parts of the Bruins' success, with Forsberg putting up 25 goals and 71 points (third on the team) and Coleman putting up 43 points in 51 games after being acquired, in addition to logging big minutes on the PK. In fact - while by no means the most talented forward on the team - Coleman led Boston forwards in time on ice after the deal, thanks to his versatility and ability to play in all situations at a high level.

Their biggest move was the acquisition of John Carlson from Colorado, who came along with Brandon Tanev in exchange for Josh Morrissey, Dylan Cozens, Sonny Milano, and two 2nd round picks. Cook often expressed that the team had no interest in moving Cozens - and they were quite high on Morrissey, too. But Carlson was too good to pass up - an elite defenseman signed for 4 years at a perfectly reasonable $7,000,000 per season. He finished the season with 77 points in 78 games, leading EHE in defenseman scoring (it was the 7th highest point total by a defenseman in EHE history).

While the Bruins started the season a little on the slow side (they were 21-16-4 at the halfway point), they went on a tear to end the season, going 29-10-2 in the season's second half. They were especially dominant at home, winning their last 15 home games and posting a league best 29 home wins. That may ultimately make missing out on the division crown by 1 point (and the conference crown by 2) a little bit disappointing, but it was a pretty successful regular season, all things considered.

Though sacrificing some high-end prospects, especially Cozens and Anton Lundell (in a previous headline-grabber of a trade for Jason Robertson), Cook did not go all-in for just a year or two of contention. There was still an eye to the future in those big moves: Forsberg and Carlson both came with 4-year terms and are players showing no signs of slowing down. In Robertson, he acquired a 22-year-old first-line calibre left winger still on his entry-level contract. The impact of the Robertson acquisition won't truly be felt until next year, but he is a future superstar. And while he did move on from Cozens and Lundell when, ideally, he'd have held on to one or the other, the Bruins did manage to make those additions while keeping Brennan Othmann, Xavier Bourgault, Justin Barron, and two lottery picks in the 2022 draft in the organization. The quantity of prospects and picks is certainly much lower - but the quality in the system feels like it's still there.

The Bruins will now turn their attention to a best-of-7 series with the Detroit Red Wings. Last year's squad snuck into the playoffs and was eliminated quickly in the first round. This year, the goal is certainly more than that. "I think we're built to make a run this time around," says Cook. "There is a lot of talent here, a lot of grit, and guys that know their way around a playoff series. Our conference is going to be a battle and there are a lot of good teams out there. Those guys - Detroit - are not going to be easy to beat, but we have faith in our squad and we're really looking forward to dropping the puck on the best time of the season."