The Bruins Are So Good They Just Picked Up A Totally Unnecessary Defenseman

Well, maybe not "totally". But adding Dmitry Orlov was a luxury flex for the team that already has everything.

With the NHL trade deadline rapidly approaching, it was hard to figure what might be on the Boston Bruins’ shopping list. The team currently ranks either first or second in the following categories:

• Adjusted Goals Above Replacement from forwards (1st)

• Adjusted Goals Above Replacement from defensemen (1st)

• Adjusted Goals Above Replacement from goalies (1st)

• Offensive adjusted Goals Above Replacement (2nd)

• Defensive adjusted Goals Above Replacement (1st)

The only subcategory of GAR where the Bruins don’t rank among the Top 2 is offensive GAR specifically from forwards — there, they rank all the way down at No. 3 in the league. In other words, this team is absurdly stacked.

Which made it all the more interesting that Boston swung a 3-team deal with Washington and Minnesota on Thursday to receive Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway a week before the deadline. Hathaway is fine as a depth winger; he’ll probably slot into the fourth line and maybe kill some penalties too. But Orlov’s addition was of more note, just because the Bruins already have six solid D-men in their lineup (again, they’ve gotten the best offensive, defensive and overall GAR from blueliners among all NHL teams this year).

In fact, compared with the GAR produced by the Bruins’ defensemen before the trade, Orlov wouldn’t even crack their top six. His adjusted GAR of 6.5 this season is actually lower than Derek Forbort’s 6.8 mark:

That’s a bit of an oversimplification, of course. There are reasons why Orlov gives the Bruins something they might have wanted — he is a lefty shot, always coveted in the world of NHL defensemen, and he offers more offensive potential than Forbort or Connor Clifton (the left-side D-men he might be rotating amidst). There might even be concerns about how top-pair left-D Matt Grzelcyk will hold up in the playoffs, with Orlov serving as insurance there.

Plus, that 6.5 adjusted GAR also represents a very down season for Orlov: He had 12.8 last year and 11.5 the season before that. (He also had 12 adjusted goals both years, which is very good output from the blueline.) Orlov was hurt earlier in the year, but has been off injured reserve since December.

So yes, Orlov is probably better than his 2022-23 stats give him credit for. But even so, defense was not a problem area for a Boston team that has started the same lineup of left-side defensemen in 36 straight games. Adding Orlov to that mix was a total luxury, though it was also a sign that the Bruins are determined to win the Stanley Cup this season — and solid mid-season additions like Orlov certainly have a history of helping teams get over the hump in that regard.