Bruins' Depth Will Be Tested with Seidenberg Injury

Terrible news emerged from Black and Gold this weekend as defenseman Dennis Seidenberg has a torn ACL/MCL and will miss the rest of the season. Seidenberg has been a key component of the team's success as the number 2 defenseman. He plays in all situations and is a prototypical "big game" player, elevating his play in the playoffs and in key moments.

Luckily for Boston, the program has a deep list of options in the system to help fill in the gap. David Warsofsky, Marshfield native and BU alum, was brought up and has played in 3 games with the big club. Though undersized, he is skilled and speedy and got to highlight his skills with his first career goal Friday night.

Then there is Zach Trotman, another Providence call-up who came up this weekend and filled in seamlessly. He played a great game Saturday night with the big club and then played a game with Providence yesterday and recording an assist.

Just this morning, the Bruins recalled Kevan Miller, who was up earlier this season and played tremendously but got sent down to avoid the rookie minimum and having to go through minors. With this call up, he will be up for the foreseeable future.

B's Captain Zdeno Chara has also missed a game with an undisclosed injury but is expected to be back. This is on top of Dougie Hamilton who is still out but expected to return soon.

So now the D corps looks like this:
Chara-Boychuk
Krug-Bartkowski
McQuaid-Miller

When Hamilton comes back that's still a pretty solid group of defenseman, but I don't think Chiarelli will be satisfied. Seidenberg played in all situations and is a respected leader on the team. He plays physical, smart, and is just as good offensively as he is defensively.

So will they make a trade? Probably. But with the depth they have, they won't force anything soon. Like always, Chiarelli and Julien will see what they have in-house before making any major moves.

One option that has been brought up is Dan Girardi of the Rangers. He would be a great option as he is a selfless player who blocks shots and can kill penalties. However, he is a key part of the Ranger's roster and they're unlikely to part with him. New York is more likely to try to trade Michael Del Zotto, the struggling young offensive-defenseman. As far as MDZ is concerned, I'm all set.

Some cheaper options may be Henrik Tallinder on Buffalo, NYI's Travis Hamonic, Gleason or Hainsey from Carolina, or maybe even Mark Giordano from Calgary. All of these teams are in the basements of their respective conferences and might be looking to ship some salary.

All in all, the Bruin's have the luxury to at least wait and see what their needs are. At any rate, the Olympic trade freeze is about to take place and that'll give Chiarelli and Co. some time to assess their roster and test the market.

But don't be surprised if something happens at the trade deadline. The Bruins have the chips to make a major deal if necessary and they'll certainly be wise to build the best team they can heading into the playoffs.