On this day in 2014, the Boston Bruins traded defenseman, and fan favourite, Johnny Boychuk, after six seasons with the club.
The Bruins sent their top-four defenseman to the New York Islanders in exchange for the Philadelphia Flyers' second-round pick in 2015, the Islanders' second-round pick in 2016 (along with a conditional third-round pick in 2016 if the Islanders had traded Boychuk to another Eastern Conference team).
This was a rare scenario where everyone won, as the Islanders improved their defence, and the Bruins got out of the cap crunch while acquiring picks. Which also ended up pretty well with Brandon Carlo (2015) and Ryan Lindgren (2016).
General manager at the time, Peter Chiarelli, knew it was a tough trade to make, but one that had to be made:
''How does it impact our team? He's very well-liked, and I'm sure the guys are bummed, and they're probably a little bit bummed at me for doing it.''
''You know it's about making the team better now, tomorrow, the next day, the next day. Arguably this doesn't make us better now, obviously. But it's something when I look at it in a series of steps; I think it was the right move.''
In six seasons with the Bruins, Boychuk was a menacing presence on the back end. Both physically and with his booming hard shot. The Edmonton native was crucial in the team's 2011 Stanley Cup Championship, playing in the top-four alongside guys like Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference, Tomas Kaberle and Adam McQuaid.
In 317 games with the Bs, Boychuk recorded 19 goals, 56 assists, 198 penalty minutes, 543 blocks and 593 hits. In the next 6 seasons with the Islanders, he was even better. In 404 games, he registered 35 goals, 96 assists, 133 penalty minutes, 782 blocks and 873 hits.
