FLUTO SHINZAWA - SUNDAY HOCKEY NOTES
In the NHL, trading futures for rentals can be risky
In the NHL, trading futures for rentals can be risky
As a 35-year-old defenseman, John-Michael Liles has experienced a lot in his 800-game NHL career. But until Feb. 29, Liles had never gone through being moved at the trade deadline. Little he had seen before helped him prepare for such a system shock.
Liles had to help wife Erin and 9-month-old daughter Ava move from North Carolina to Boston. At the rink, Liles had to adjust from the Hurricanes’ man-to-man coverage to the Bruins’ zone defense. For Liles, who was used to closing on opponents, sitting back and letting the play come to him required deep thinking to process what came naturally to his practiced teammates.
“It’s a whirlwind,†the short-term Bruin said of shifting from one organization to another with a little more than a month left in the regular season. “You’re going from one system to something completely different. You’re going from one team you’ve played with for several years and players you played with several years to players you’re trying to learn on the fly and systems you’re trying to learn on the fly. You’re trying to get your reads and things like that. It’s not an easy experience. But it almost refocuses you because you’re learning so much at once and learning so many new players.â€
Acquiring Liles and Lee Stempniak made sense for the Bruins. Liles brought an experienced, puck-moving presence to the back end. Stempniak projected to be the three-zone No. 1 right wing needed to play next to Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.
