Bruins Built for Longevity

Reigning Cup Champs Built to Remain Contenders

When you think of a Stanley Cup Champion team, the names of some of the greatest players in NHL history come to mind.

Gretzky, Lemieux, Beliveau, Messier.

But behind the names on the ice are general Managers who construct the winner based on a formula. More succinctly, most Stanley Cup Champion teams have a very similar, if not exactly the same, template that their team is based on.

This usually means strong goaltending, a top passing defenseman and a scoring center.

Looking back over the last few seasons, teams like the Penguins, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Duck and Lightning, all built their team around top scoring centers.

Crosby, Toews, Getzlaf, Lecavalier. These players have all been key to building a winner and, the scoring center is a player that the PowerScout Hockey system has identified as a key building block for any Stanley Cup winner.

So what about the Boston Bruins?

Are you going to tell me that David Krejci, with his 13 goals and 49 assists last season, is a top scoring center?

Hardly.

So how then did the Bruins win the Cup last season, without what PSH has identified as a key peice to any Stanley Cup winner?

The short answer is that to have an incredibly creative and smart GM, such as Peter Chiarelli.

The longer answer has to do with conpensating for the "weakness" at center by loading up in other areas.

What follows is PSH founder, Terry Appleby, devling deeper into the formula that truly makes the Bruins perfectly built:

The "Perfectly Built" Bruins

by Terry Appleby

A central premise of the PSH system is that not all the positions contribute equally to winning. Our research found the wing position to be the weakest.

This led to the 1st commandment of PSH...."thou shalt not build a team mainly through the wing position".

Also, that teams can only win consistently with strength at wing provided they also have strong play from their centers. 

So a question came up. What about the Boston Bruins? Their strength at wing is 76% above league average while at center they're even with the league average....doesn't this disprove the concept?

Good question but the Bruins have done a brilliant piece of roster optimization.

They've analyzed their roster and made some important changes that aren't readily seen. Its included building at an already strong position - their wing position. Here's what they did.

1. Hiding weak skating

In the PSH system although a coach prefers speed at all 3 forward positions, his first priority is to place his speed at the wing position -slower skaters at center.....the Bruins have done this - Bergeron and Krejci, average skaters, are playing center, Seguin andMarchand, two quick skaters are at wing.

2. Hiding lack of experience (rookies)

Our research found experience to be very important at center, much less so at wing. Again Bergeron and Krejci are veteran journeyman players and playing center. Seguin and Marchant are two rookies at wing.

3. Managing payroll

A team makes good roster moves when the cost of adding players to the team is less than the value they bring in production. In Seguin and Marchant the Bruins have two players with entry level contracts. With bonuses they cost the team about $6M under the salary cap.

We estimate that based on their current MAX values of 35 and 32,  respectively, their trrue value to the team is about $10M.

The advantages of this situation are obvious.

Not only does the team gain in production but it's as if the team is allowed to be $4M over the cap amount and not be penalized for it. It also means it's advantageous to build at an already strong position if circumstances allow. 

4. Strength at the back end

The Bruins have the league's best goaltender flanked by 3 strong defenseman

- Chara, Ference and Corvo who have MAX values of 43, 39 and 32, respectively, compared with the league average for their position of 22. Our research found that being strong down the middle is the key to winning and that's precisely what we see on this team.

Taken together these changes and a #7 ranked PK unit have launched the team into the upper reaches of the league. 

However in time the true value of Seguin and Marchand's performances will have to be brought under the salary cap. Then the team will have to make some lineup decisions.

A trade of Bergeron opens the top center position for Seguin. At that time he will have the experience to play the position well, will still be a top scorer, and have a Crosby-like desire to shoot. In other words a budding future annual All Star. The team will have a strong figure they can then build around.

Based on Peter Chiarelli's outstanding creativity the Bruins look set for the next 10 years.