SANDERSON: GIVING UP ON SEGUIN AVOIDABLE DISASTER
You can include Bruins great Derek Sanderson, a gentleman who had a passing familiarity with nightlife and bright lights, among those who regard the B’s jettisoning of Tyler Seguin as a disaster for the organization. Largely because of his risky off-ice behavior, of course, the Bruins traded Seguin to Dallas July 4, 2013. Basically, they got back Loui Eriksson (now departed for nothing via free agency), Reilly Smith (who was subsequently traded for a lesser quality winger in Jimmy Hayes) and Joe Morrow (now hoped to assume a useful role on the team’s defense).
And Seguin quickly became one of the NHL biggest stars — making this, strictly in terms of on-ice talent, one of the most lopsided NHL trades ever.
“You can’t recoup from (losing) Tyler Seguin,” Sanderson said. “That’s a real hit to take. At the time, I don’t think he got a shot at center, and he is a centerman. As a center, you play the whole ice.
“The Bruins tried to make him a winger — and he was 18 years old, weighed 170 pounds and he was facing guys 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. He got killed. No wonder he didn’t want to go into the corners. As soon as he went to Dallas, they made him a center. Oh, look at him now. He almost won the scoring title.
“I don’t know what he was doing. You know something? I heard a lot of unfounded rumors. I was one who also suffered the consequences of unfounded rumors. I heard the rumors. I can’t verify one of them. He was 18 years old. Boston is a great town. It’s easy to run amok. Those were developmental years for him. He tried to do what they asked him to do, play tough in the corners, but that wasn’t part of his game.
“So anyway, Seguin is gone. Now what do we do?”