The Boston Bruins took a chance on former sixth-overall pick Brett Connolly by trading two second-round picks to the Tampa Bay Lightning just before the deadline Monday. At 22 years old, he still has some potential to reach and maybe he could flourish in an elevated role with the Bruins.
He won’t be playing a role of any kind for the rest of the regular season, however. Before he could even suit up in a game, Connolly suffered a displaced fracture in his right index finger during Wednesday morning’s practice with the Bruins. He is expected to miss six weeks.
The young forward had 12 goals this season as a member of the Lightning and was part of just two trades of note made by the Bruins prior to the trade deadline Monday.
It’s been a season of bad luck for the Bruins made worse by some of the maneuvering the Bruins have had to do underneath a tight salary cap figure. It’s also a rough one for Connolly, who probably felt he had something to prove after being bounced by the team that had invested so much time and energy into him as the first draft pick of the Steve Yzerman regime.
The Bruins will have to dip into their AHL pool again, but some of their primary options are also gone. Jordan Caron was traded as part of the deal in which Boston acquired Maxime Talbot. Additionally, Craig Cunningham was claimed off of waivers by the Arizona Coyotes. Perhaps they’ll give Zack Phillips a look. He was acquired in a trade that sent minor leaguer Jared Knight to the Minnesota Wild on deadline day.
It probably hasn’t been all that fun to be Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli this year.
