Jaffe: Dennis Seidenberg Not Yet In Hockey Shape
BOSTON (CBS) - All is not well in Bruinsville to start the 2014 season.
The team is averaging just one goal per game, some of the core players have been invisible and a tough October still lies ahead.
But perhaps the biggest concern lies with the defenseman group post-Boychuk trade.
A misplay of the puck by Matt Bartkowski in the final seconds of Monday's contest led to a Danny Briere goal in a heartbreaking loss to Colorado.
The B's are now 1-3 on the year and another concern is the health of defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.
Billy Jaffe of NESN came on 98.5 The Sports Hub Tuesday morning with Toucher & Rich to discuss the ailing defenseman, starting with how long it'll take for him to get back on track.
"Probably close to a full season," Jaffe said of Seidenberg's recovery. "We've joked about it, that he's one of the greatest pieces of German engineering that I've ever seen -- forget Mercedes and BMW. Seidenberg is a bit of a freak. He's healed, and I don't think he came back too soon by any stretch, but big knee injuries take a long, long time. I talk to players regularly about that and it usually takes them close to a full season before they feel completely normal again."
Jaffe says endurance is clearly a factor for Seidenberg's poor play so far.
"He's in shape, he's just not in hockey shape. He's not in game shape," said Jaffe. "By no means is it an excuse. He's gonna have to work through this. It's gonna be difficult for him to get results for the Bruins because he is rusty. It's just a long injury. It takes time."
Stop when you've heard this before, but Jaffe also says the team is lacking a pure goal scorer, which is something maybe they'll try and address by the trade deadline.
Listen below for the full discussion:
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