B’s breaking in new guys
Coyle knows what it’s like to be traded
The Bruins added two new players at the trade deadline, bringing in Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase in separate deals from Anaheim.
No one knows what that process is like more than the guy they traded for a year ago: Charlie Coyle.
“It depends on who you are and if you have family or not, it’s a lot easier if you’re just a guy and have to move,” said Coyle. “It’s still a big deal. But I think if you’re a guy who has a family and you have to worry about this or that, do you get a house, there’s so many different things you have to leave behind or take with.”
Coyle was traded to Boston from Minnesota at last year’s trade deadline, and the fit was so good he signed a long-term extension at the start of this season.
Part of his fit also had to do with being from the Boston area as well, a perk not many guys in the league get when they get traded. But, for years until he was shipped to his home state, he had no idea where he might end up, and that anxiety before being traded might be the most difficult part.
“If you know there’s a really good chance you’re going to be dealt, but if you’re not, worrying doesn’t do anything, stressing doesn’t do anything,” said Coyle. “It just hurts you. If you can train yourself to mentally be not as worried, stay calm and focused on the task at hand, because if you’re thinking about something that might not even happen you’re wasting time. There were years I was in trade talks and I feel like as the years went on I got calmer. If it happens it happens, if it doesn’t — stop worrying and wasting the time.”
Some guys have the luxury of never being traded, like Patrice
Bergeron, drafted by the Bruins in 2003 and he’s been in Boston ever since.
He’s seen several guys get traded away and plenty join the team, like Coyle a year ago, and is part of the leadership that welcomes in new players as they become a part of the group.
“You’re always looking forward to bringing them in and making them feel comfortable,” said Bergeron. “Obviously it always takes a little bit of time to adjust, it’s only been a couple of days. …
It’s going to take some time but at the same time we try to make them feel as comfortable as they can be.”
It can be jarring to be traded in the NHL, especially when you’re skipping over three time zones to go from somewhere like Anaheim to Boston. Every trade is different, and it’s easier or tougher depending on the location or living situation.
But no matter what, for every player being on the move is a radical life change, and it’s not only on the ice.
“You’re living in one place and it changes in an instant,” said Coyle. “Then you have to live somewhere else.”
Jackets injury list grows
No one has had worse luck this season than the Columbus Blue Jackets.
After making noise in the postseason last year, Columbus lost most of its core in the offseason and there weren’t many hopes of contending. Then Elvis Merzlikins stepped in net and it seemed the Jackets might be one of those teams of destiny to sneak in and surprise everyone.
Then the injuries never stopped. Currently, Columbus is already without Brandon Dubinsky, Cam Atkinson, Alexander Wennberg, Seth Jones, Dean Kukan, Alex Texier and Ryan Murray. They’re still in the wild card race, but without all of their top players, and Josh Anderson — who originally had a fourto-six week recovery time from January — now looking at possible shoulder surgery, will make it tough for them to stay in the race.
Where do Panthers go?
After the Panthers shipped Vincent Trocheck to Carolina at the trade deadline, it’s tough to make sense of what direction the franchise is going in.
Leave out the fact the Panthers have a realistic shot at the playoffs still, but they sent away one of their best players who has an affordable cap hit and some time left on his deal.
The Panthers invested plenty into this season, signing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky at a hefty cost, and though they’ve had ups and downs, the potential is there for a run if they get the third spot in the Atlantic, which is very possible. While Lucas Wallmark and Erik
Haula are fine players too, this was perhaps the most headscratching move of the week and it leaves everyone wondering where the Panthers plan to go from here.