Mid-Season Team Report Card: GDC Bruins (Mike)

Calgary (CP) The Bruins have made some big deals that have help land them in first spot so far in the league. A place that I expect will be hard to displace him from come April.

Click Here to view Mike's Pre-Season Team Report Card.

Significant Roster Changes:
+ Henrik Sedin
+ Zdeno Chara
- Daymond Langkow
- Michael Nylander

Analysis:
After the devastating loss of Patrice Bergeron early on in the season, the Bruins reacted quickly by bringing in Henrik Sedin. In addition, Mike finally landed his big stud defencemen in Chara that addresses concerns on the back-end on a team with few weak spots. It should surprise nobody that he on top of the pack.

Grades:
+ Forwards (A): Ranks 3rd in G, 1st in A. The B's may not have a lot of Superstars, but he has many high-end forwards capable of breaking the 100 PPt plateau this season. Boyes, Stillman, Parise and Lupul have all been excellent.
+ Defence (B+): Chara has really added so much to this corp that now boasts a revived Pitkanen and the rookie Johnson. As with the theme of his forwards, everyone is playing to their max potential.
+ Goalies (A): Ranks 3rd in W, 8th in L. After a slow start, Luongo is making another case for MVP. Between Roberto and Rick, the Bruins have no worries here since each will play a minimum of 70 games a piece.
+ Special Teams (B+): Ranks 3rd in PPG, 4th in PPA. Between Savard and Sedin, Mike will never have to worry about PPA. Its the production of Parise and Lupul on the PP that is really holding it together in this area though.
+ Goon Factor (C): Ranks 6th in PIMs. I really thought Johnson would have more of a mean streak. Ah well. Nothing lost to many of his competitors since there is a virtual tie in this category.
+ Overall (B+): According the the weightings/rankings, the Bruins and Leaf Haters are in an exact tie for Team Report Cards... with Kevin being within a "good night/bad night" combination striking distance in the standings that matter. Should be fun to watch both GMs battle it out heading down the stretch.

Fur Engee (CP)