It was an odd trade deadline for the Boston Bruins. After being a buyer for so many years, general manager Don Sweeney ended up being a seller this season. When push came to shove, boy, did he sell and blow things up.
A couple of days before the deadline, Sweeney sent Max Jones and Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers, and the night before the deadline on March 6, he sent Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild. Then came the actual deadline day, and some key members of the team not only over the last six years, but also the 2011 Stanley Cup winning team.
Defenseman Brandon Carlo was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and captain Brad Marchand went to the Florida Panthers in two odd trades with Atlantic Division rivals. Last but not least, Charlie Coyle was sent to the Colorado Avalanche for a return that included promising prospect Will Zellers. With the regular season coming to an end this week and the playoffs beginning this upcoming weekend, Coyle is turning into the player the Avalanche hoped he would.
Charlie Coyle is on a seven-game point streak for the Colorado Avalanche
As it tends to happen when a player gets traded, Coyle started off slow in his new environment in Colorado. However, over the last seven games, the Boston native is on a heater. He has a seven-game point streak intact with two goals and nine assists. He had a three-point night with a goal and two assists in Colorado’s 4-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday night.
It should not be surprising to Bruins fans that the 33-year-old Coyle is starting to turn things around, with the Stanley Cup Playoffs set to begin in less than a week. Is he going to keep up the production at this pace? Probably not as things tend to tighten up when the postseason begins, but he certainly is playing at a level the banged-up Avalanche need him to.
A steady player as it gets, he provides Colorado with the ability to play boht at center and on the wing as he did this season in Boston. A strong face-off guy, so it was not surprising to see the Black and Gold move on from him, but now that he’s starting to find his groove with the Avalanche, they’ll need that against the Dallas Stars in the opening round.
