It’s the curse of the Presidents Trophy once again. Well, I’m not sure there’s really any curse but it’s certainly uncommon, and the last team to win both the Presidents Trophy and the Stanley Cup was the 2012-2013 Blackhawks. Leading up to the end of the pandemic-halted season, the Bruins seemed to be nearly unstoppable. 100 points on the dot, primed to go well over that margin, 44-14-12 with 12 games remaining on the season, Pastrnak in a heated battle for the Richard Trophy set for is first 50+ goal season… then an invisible, silent enemy sweeps its way across the globe and shuts the world down; and along with it, the Bruins hopes at a 7th Stanley Cup.
I want to put the blame on someone, but I just can’t do it. I can’t expect any team to pick up exactly where they left off with an unexpected and mandatory 4 month break. Did the Bruins squander their chances by not taking the round robin games seriously? Maybe. Did the Bruins also run into the team that would’ve likely (almost indefinitely) halted their Stanley Cup run last season? You bet they did. I have to be honest, this was likely the result the Bruins would’ve had, had the Columbus Blue Jackets not shocked the entire league and swept the Lightning in the first round last year. Keep in mind, last season the Lightning also had a very healthy Steven Stamkos.
I have to address Tuukka Rask leaving, and I don’t think it truly played as big a factor as most are going to believe it did. I’m going to say about 95% of the goals that Jaroslav Halak let in were unstoppable. Late tips, deflections, breakaways, screened by five bodies… the hockey gods were not exactly with Boston and Halak. That series is by no means on Halak’s shoulders, and Rask’s presence would not have made much of a difference.
Tampa Bay proved its depth to be as dangerous as advertised, and Boston proved to lack that same trait. Bad penalties, bad puck luck, and perhaps even a lack of motivation equated to the demise of a great Bruins season.
Is this the last time we’ll see all six foot nine of Zdeno Chara in the black and gold? Is it the last time we’ll see him on the ice? I’m not even sure he knows right now, and I’m not going to predict that decision for him. I also think Tuukka Rask has a monumental decision to make. He absolutely lost a great deal of fans and respect (justified or not) when he left the bubble. My bottom line is family is always first, but apparently that only goes so far with the people who pay to watch him play for three hours at a time. Rask, if you’re reading this, (and I’m not sure how you found this), you still have my full support to return, and prove why you deserve to stay. Lest we forget he’s now backstopped this team to two Presidents Trophy seasons and two Stanley Cup Finals appearances. That’s worth something.
What does next season hold in store? I have absolutely no idea.

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