Things are looking increasingly grim for the Boston Bruins as the playoffs slip, like the sands of the hour glass, slowly from their grasp and GM Peter Chiarelli searches frantically for an NHL trade deadline deal to upgrade the roster and push the franchise to yet another postseason berth.
TSN's Darren Dreger appeared on Toronto's TSN 1050 Wednesday and revealed that if Chiarelli fumbles away an opportunity to add a piece that could keep the Bruins in contention and, further, cement their status as a Stanley Cup-caliber team, the organization could be facing wholesale changes - it was reported Tuesday they're already shopping Loui Eriksson and Dennis Seidenberg - and Chiarelli could wind up paying the ultimate price.
"I think he gets fired. I think that they opt for a full-scale front office change," said Dreger, per NicholsOnHockey.com. "And look - none of this would come as a surprise to Chiarelli, and maybe to Claude Julien as well. Julien just signed an extension not long ago, but he's also so highly-respected. If Boston were foolish enough to make that decision on either Chiarelli or Julien, then another team would snatch those guys up relatively early in the offseason.
"But honestly fellas, I think we've seen enough level of emotion coming out of that city and out of that organization from senior management and ownership to form the opinion that something is going to break here. And if Chiarelli doesn't execute a deal that doesn't keep the Bruins in the playoff picture - if they were to miss, then I think there'd be full-scale changes in the offseason."
Full-scale changes - that's not a notion you often want to hear associated with your beloved NHL franchise, but the Bruins are perhaps suffering from their own recent success - a team expected yearly to compete for the Cup doesn't simply miss the playoffs.
Fans rebel, the media digs in and, more often than not, heads roll.
Yes, early injuries to Zdeno Chara and David Krejci hindered the group initially and kept them from really hitting their stride.
Yes, Milan Lucic has looked out of sorts and shockingly ineffective for long stretches, hinting at either a possible injury or a simple decline in his power forward capabilities.
And yes, the defense has been forced to rely on a bevy of younger players perhaps not yet fully prepared for the task.
However, those reasons a legitimate playoff-less excuse does not make.
This is a talented roster, made even more so by the addition of David Pastrnak and the continued growth and development of Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton. There is little to no reason the Bruins are struggling just to keep possession of the final NHL playoff spot, a mere two points ahead of the Panthers and six ahead of the Flyers, in the East.
Something is amiss in Boston this year, and if Chiarelli and Julien can't bring the team and the city a playoff spot, there's no telling what changes - full-scale or otherwise - the offseason might bring.
