Stop the presses, everyone. The Boston Bruins have brought in a veteran defenseman. Do not let your eyes deceive you because that above-mentioned statement is accurate.
Unfortunately, it may not be the name a fan of this team was expecting.
The Bruins announced on Friday night that they are bringing in Christian Ehrhoff on a professional tryout agreement, more commonly referred to as a PTO. Now, the upside to this is that the Bruins are not committed to this player if the team decides things will not end up working out. Also, having another veteran defenseman in training camp might push the plethora of young blue liners littered all throughout this organization.
However, this minor move comes with some demerits.
If the Bruins are bringing in Ehrhoff based off the performance of Team Europe during the World Cup of Hockey, then that might not be a concrete portrayal of this player over the last couple seasons.
The German-born D-man posted only three assists in six games for Team Europe in the tournament. To be honest, the Cinderella story of this team was immediately nipped in the bud by Team Canada earlier this week. Team Europe possessed an average age of over 30 years, making it the oldest team in the tournament.
With a squad like Team North America represented up in Toronto over the last couple weeks, were the Europeans afraid of being upstaged by a bunch of kids? Was this the last hoorah for these veterans? Team Europe may have played slightly over its head in reaching the finals.
Anyway, this is about Ehrhoff and his PTO with the Bruins.
The decline in his game was evident last year as he only posted two goals and 10 points through 48 games last season for the Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks. Ehrhoff, 34, is no longer the top-four guy he once was, most notably as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
At the same time, Ehrhoff is a left-shot defenseman and the Bruins already have an abundance of those players. Ideally, a right-handed, puck-moving blue liner is what this team needs. However, they are a rare find. The B’s would need to put together a rather substantial package to go and trade for one.
As previously stated, this move will not be a detriment to the team. If he performs well in camp and during the rest of the preseason, then he has a shot to earn himself a contract. It becomes a win-win situation for everyone. Ehrhoff is due to report to Boston at some point this weekend.
