This is not to say that the Bruins knew that they would lose Patrice Bergeron (foot), Charlie McAvoy (knee), Brad Marchand (upper-body) for a game, and suffer in-game injuries to Zdeno Chara, Jake DeBrusk, and Torey Krug this past Tuesday. There's just absolutely no way of knowing when an injury is going to strike in a stretch run.
But after the seeing the way that the Bruins have been able to handle exactly that, is anybody going to sit there and still act like the depth moves Don Sweeney made at and/or before the deadline are not already worth the price paid by the Black and Gold?
And if so, should we even bother taking them seriously?
As we are wont to do, it didn't take much for us to declare that the Bruins overextended themselves to acquire Nick Holden from the Rangers. It took all of about four minutes. You were told that Holden, while obviously miscast as a top-pairing defenseman for the Rangers, was nothing close to equal value for the 24-year-old Robbie O'Gara and a third-round draft pick. Especially if Holden was acquired to sit in the press box.
Holden has since played in six of 10 possible games since joining the Black and Gold, and has recorded four assists (three of which came on the power play). His 19:12 of time on ice per game also ranks as the third-most among Boston d-men over that span, and his four points are tied with Matt Grzelcyk for the fourth-most among blue liners.
But Holden saved his best for Tuesday in Carolina when injuries to Chara and Krug forced him back into a top-pairing situation, and with the 30-year-old finishing the game with a team-high 24:05 of time on ice. 10:01 of that came in the Black and Gold's third period, where they outscored the Hurricanes 5-1 en route to a 6-4 comeback win.
By now, it should be obvious that Holden is here to be more than a seventh defenseman. And if it's not, it's clear he's worked his way out of such a role.
He's done this without taking a job from Grzelcyk or stunting the growth of McAvoy, too.
That latter point is the biggest takeaway you should have here.
When we needlessly worked ourselves into a frenzy over depth additions (this excludes Rick Nash but includes Holden, Tommy Wingels, and Brian Gionta), it was often under the false presumption that these players were going to take minutes from the young kids. And undo almost a full season of commitment to living -- and dying -- with the kids.
But Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy has not shown any sort of willingness to do that.
Cassidy sat Danton Heinen for one game of what has undoubtedly been the most challenging portion of his first full NHL year, yes, but he did not waste time going right back to him a game later. That decision came with a corresponding move to put Wingels back in the press box as a scratch. That came after Wingels' hot start, and after he looked like a solid fit with David Backes and Gionta on the third line, no less.
Cassidy's belief in Heinen carried over to Tuesday in Carolina, as well, when the Bruins lost DeBrusk to injury in the middle of the game and needed a winger for David Krejci.
With tons of options -- Tim Schaller is having a career year from a scoring standpoint, the 39-year-old Gionta is similar to DeBrusk in his net-front skill and ability to tip pucks, and Rick Nash can play the left side as well, making a David Pastrnak move to the right and Nash shift to the left possible -- Cassidy instead gave the keys to Heinen.
The 22-year-old Heinen rewarded Cassidy's trust with his first goal in 15 games, and instead left Wingels and Gionta to be what they have been for the Bruins' bottom six.
This, again, is the most important detail in all of this.
Contrary to what many believed, the Bruins have not strayed from their path and decided to trust aging complementary pieces more than their youth. They just understood exactly what was coming their way in a downright brutal March schedule.
It's already paid off with results that O'Gara, a third-round pick, and a conditional fifth-round selection (which becomes a fourth should Wingels suit up in a playoff game or sign an extension with the Bruins) could simply not deliver this time of year.
All while the Bruins sit mere inches from the top spot in the Eastern Conference with injuries that should keep them anywhere but.
