Early Saturday afternoon, Johnny Boychuck was traded to the New York Islanders for second round draft picks in the 2015 and 2016 drafts as well as a third round selection next season.
The 6 year Bruins veteran had been a fixture on the Boston blue line through 4 lengthy playoff runs and had long ago become a fan favorite. Though he scored just 19 goals in Boston, his slap shot, labeled the “Johnny Rocket” by NESN announcer Jack Edwards was second only to that of Zdeno Chara. His skills in the neutral zone contributed to a nearly constant 10+ assists per year while his devastating physicality defending his own blue line struck fear into the hearts of any who challenged.
He had a hammer for an arm when games boiled down to fist fighting and a cannon for a stick when they boiled down to track meets of scoring.
But Saturday afternoon, those days melted from Bruins present to Bruins history.
Arthur Staple, a reporter for New York news outlet “Newsday” tweeted out the news that Boychuk had been traded.
Boychuk will become a free agent at the end of the year and will likely fetch well above 4 million dollars on the open market. The Bruins who have been living just below the salary cap for years now had, by virtue of several large deals handed out by Peter Charelli very little option but to trade him. They would not have been able to sign him in free agency.
The Bruins have now lost another core player ahead of a season that many fans are demanding success in.
The team will likely be answering many questions along that thread this afternoon when they conduct their 4:30 press conference ahead of their preseason finale in Detroit.
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