Its a fact: Claude Jullian and Peter Charelli never really liked Tyler Seguin. In fact they hated him so much that they were willing to trade away a guy who literally undermined everything that Claude stood for gaining instead a guy of slightly lesser skill yet still one who might as well be Jullian's son.
Born on July 17th 1985, Erikson, now 27, has played 4 more years of NHL hockey than Seguin did and through those 4 years has literally been Mr. Consistency. The Stars always knew what they were getting out of him. 36 goals in '09, 29 in 2010, 27 in 2011, 26 last year and 12 in this 48 game shortened season. Through the last 5 seasons, Eriksson has missed just 3 games and all of them were in one season. He has no relay history of injury and unlike countless players on the Bruins roster will not be a guy you have to worry about concussions with. He reliably scored upwards of 70 points in a year and despite his natural position being left wing has shown he can perform at any position (a fact that the Bruins will love seeing as at this point in time they pretty much have NO right wings.)
Nevertheless while we all know Eriksson may be the guy we have been waiting for (ie. a 30+ goal scorer) but really the underrated facet of Eriksson's game may be his ability to play defense. You see while in time, Seguin's speed may develop into a useful tool to assist him on the back-check, the departed Bruins draft pick was definitely one of those guys who would wait at the blue line and let other guys work the puck out in order spring Seguin up on a breakaway. For Coach Claude, that style would be hard enough even if Seguin scored on those plays yet what made things harder for Bruins coach was the fact that no matter how hard Seguin tried to position himself for a breakaway, he never was the 50 goal scorer he had the potential to become and that's a problem.
In Claude's eye's, Tyler Seguin might as well be a monster walking the earth, while another name on the Bruins roster in the complete and total opposite: Patrice Bergeron.
Now a 9 year veteran of the NHL, the former 2nd round pick by the Bruins, plays a very similar style to that of Eriksson, all be it with a little less emphasis on the scoring aspect of it all. He will spring out on a breakaway if given the opportunity but not afraid to go work in the corners, not afraid to take a hit to make a play.
"He's an unbelievable guy, the perfect Bruin" Claude Jullian once said and judging by the standard set up by various signings by the team, that could not be more true.
Nevertheless as Bruins fans learn more about Eriksson, the Boston front office is already singing the praises of their incoming budding star.
"Loui’s a big, strong skating, left-shot, right wing. He can play both sides, but he would be playing right wing for us. He's had four [straight] seasons of 25-plus goals. We got a real good two-way player," Peter Charelli said last night. "I had a certain idea of a player and the type of player that we want," he then went on to say when asked for some insight into the trade.
Nevertheless as I hinted at before, the one big dilemma now spread before the Bruins organization is: where to play Eriksson? In those 9 years in Dallas, he played his natural position: center. Yet with his talents now shipped off to the B's, he may be used to fill a crucial hole in the Bruins lineup: right wing.
"With Nathan [Horton] gone, we've got to look to our right side to see and assess how we are going to reconstruct the right side. We got some players from within that may be able to fill. I want to do a sweep of these players that will be available in trades and free agency. I’d like to think that we’re a destination for an older player - old, relatively speaking - that wants a chance to win. So I've got to canvas that. It’s about turning over all the stones and going through the free agent list player by player. We’ll have our [staff] in here. We met all day [Tuesday]. We will meet again [Wednesday]. You make calls and you gauge how the market’s going. You act when you think you have to act. I’m going into it with the approach that we are going to be diligent in talking to these guys and seeing what the trade opportunities are also."
So Horton gone, Jagr likely soon to follow and now both Tyler Seguin AND Rich Peverley traded away, the Bruins right wing position is mostly empty: MOSTLY! This is where the versatility of Eriksson once again will likely make Claude Jullian smile. If the chips fall as they stand, the Bruins will begin next season with Eriksson playing with either Bergeron and Marchand or Krejci and Lucic therefore filling the roles of Seguin or Honrton respectively.
Seguin is gone, off to places where he will hopefully someday thrive. In the words of Peter Charelli "he is a good kid" but the Bruins were never the team for him so, not wanting to delay his success any longer, the rid themselves of the controversy and speculation surrounding Seguin gaining in return a guy who will probably not score 40 goals but will regularly get you 25 or more. For the Bruins and Loui Eriksson, this is a match made in heaven and as a fan, i cannot wait to see this one pan out.
"These are moves that are predicated on being a successful franchise going forward and making the prudent moves in a timely manner so that you can capitalize the market as it stands. Let me say a little bit about Tyler, because I think Tyler comes in here with much fanfare. He’s a real nice kid, dimensional speed, dimensional skill and he’s only 21. He’s got the whole world ahead of him. Probably better suited as a center but he did well for us as a winger. We find ourselves a little bit - because of the cap going down - we've got to make some hard decisions so we got some very good return and lower cap numbers with trading Tyler. I had a talk with him. I think he understood - maybe in five years, he’ll understand better. He’ll thrive there [in Dallas] and he’ll thrive playing center." ~ Peter Charelli on Tyler Seguin
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