Connolly Hoping Lightning Doesn't Strike Twice, He Can Help Bruins Make Playoffs
WILMINGTON (CBS) -- The Bruins' inability to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last April was painful enough for every member of the organization.
Imagine, though, if you were a late-season addition to the Bruins' roster, and then in addition to the Bruins' failure to reach the postseason, your old team advances all the way to the Stanley Cup finals.
Forward Brett Connolly knows firsthand what that feels like.
The Bruins acquired Connolly last March from the Tampa Bay Lightning for second-round picks in 2015 and 2016. The Lightning went on to win the Eastern Conference title before falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.
Connolly had conflicted feelings about the organization that drafted him No. 6 in 2010 having so much success after his departure.
"You know what, it was hard watching," said Connolly after a captains' practice at Ristuccia Arena on Tuesday. "Obviously they had such a good run and a lot of guys that I grew up with and played with and I'm very close friends with still. Obviously it was tough to watch them for that far. Obviously I'm not sure really how I would've felt if they won, but when it was finally over I was obviously happy for it to be over. They made a good run and they've got a good team over there."
The Bruins had a lot of turnover during the summer, starting with Don Sweeney replacing Peter Chiarelli as general manager. Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes have been imported to give the Bruins' forward corps an offensive jolt. In some ways, Connolly is still a newcomer. Before he could get into his first game with the Bruins, he was hit in the hand by a Dennis Seidenberg shot in practice. He wound up playing five goal-less games at the end of the season, as the Bruins failed to qualify for the postseason.
Connolly, who had two assists with the Bruins, had 12 goals and three assists with the Lightning in 50 games prior to the trade. Still he didn't show enough to earn a multi-year extension as a restricted free agent over the summer. Connolly, now 23, settled for a one-year contract. He said he's looking at the one-year contract as a chance to prove himself to the Bruins, and it wouldn't hurt if he also proved the Lightning wrong.
"Yeah, obviously it's something that I guess it wasn't just meant to be," said Connolly, who had 18 goals and 14 assists in 134 career games for the Lightning. "It was something where they felt that I was a guy who they could move and get something for and [GM] Steve [Yzerman] chose to move me. Obviously I was in the organization for a little while and didn't have as much success as I would've like there. But that's the good thing about change. I'm very excited to be here and can't wait to get going. There's a lot to prove to not only myself but there's a lot of people out there that maybe, including Tampa, that I want to prove wrong."
Like many of the Bruins' forwards, Connolly will have to find a set spot in the unsettled lineup. Perhaps he'll be a rugged right-wing companion for David Krejci. Maybe he'll find his two-way game alongside Patrice Bergeron. Or he could be a big body to protect speedster Ryan Spooner who could cash in on some of the youngster's feeds. Connolly didn't want to campaign for any center in particular, which has been the public approach taken by all the other Bruins' forwards.
"There's some good centermen on this team, so an opportunity like this doesn't come around a lot and you want to take advantage of it when it's given to you," he said. "Again, wherever I slot in I'll be happy to play. I'm looking to hopefully find some chemistry with one of those guys. It starts in training camp and I'm hoping to get off to a good start and find chemistry with one of those guys."
If Connolly can find the right spot in the Bruins' lineup and produce the way a No. 6 pick is supposed to, it'll go a long way toward making sure he won't have to watch at least the early portion of next spring's playoffs.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
