Bruins Trade Neal, Acquire Shattenkirk In 4 Player Deal

The Bruins have today finalized a deal that will be very interesting to follow down the road. We were fairly happy with our forward group, but felt our defense could use some skill and more youth.

We have moved winger James Neal along with d'man Kevin Bieksa to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for d'man Kevin Shattenkirk and winger Brett Connolly.

In Shattenkirk we get a top d'man who can be used in all situations and is still fairly young at 26 years of age. We like the fact that he gives us more stability and consistency now and hopefully moving forward.

Moving the 34 year old Bieksa for a younger guy helps our long-term vision of the Bruins. He was protected in the dispersal draft this off-season, but we never really felt comfortable with his long-term play.

We take a bit of a gamble on Brett Connolly who is a former 1st round pick (6th overall) in the NHL. He has finally become a regular and at only 23 years of age, we feel he's a bit of a late bloomer who might turn into a solid goalscorer for us down the road. He's got a good shot and when given top six minutes, he should hopefully be a good addition.

Losing Neal and his goalscoring abilities obviously hurts, but it's no secret we've have been looking at the possibility of moving him this off-season if the right deal came along.

If Connolly can become a consistent goalscorer for us, we're fairly confident the deal will help us now and in the future.