Although he might want to hold out for a cooler nickname, Dennis Seidenberg was called “a horse” so many times during the Bruins’ run to the Stanley Cup championship that you can’t really call him anything else.
It should be easier to take that nickname considering he wound up in the winner’s circle.
While playing just two seconds less per game than captain Zdeno Chara, Seidenberg still managed a plus-12 rating in the postseason. That only partly factors in the job that he and Chara did to completely shut down the Sedin twins in the Stanley Cup Final and the job the Bruins’ top pair did to slow down the likes of Steven Stamkos and Vinny Lecavalier in the Eastern Conference Final.
Along the way, you’d be hard-pressed to find a handful of mistakes made by Seidenberg at either end of the rink. While he endured a roller-coaster regular season, Seidenberg proved he’s a legitimate No. 2 defenseman and well worth his four-year, $13 million extension he signed last summer.
Seidenberg was one of the silent heroes of the Bruins’ Cup run because he doesn’t say much or do anything flashy on the ice. But the Bruins couldn’t have ended the 39-year drought without him.
Stats
Regular season: 81 GP, 7-25-32, plus-3
Playoffs: 25 GP, 1-10-11, plus-12
Contract status: Signed through 2013-14 at a cap hit of $3.25 million
Best regular-season moment: Down 2-0 heading to the third period in Pittsburgh Jan. 10, the Bruins rallied for four goals and the victory. And Seidenberg was right in the thick of the comeback. He drew the penalty on Jordan Staal that led to Mark Recchi’s game-winning goal and assisted on two scores, including Recchi’s tally. For the night, Seidenberg was plus-2 with three hits and four blocked shots.
Best playoff moment: In what most consider to be the closest the Bruins played to a perfect game, Seidenberg was at his defensive best in the Game 7 win over the Lightning. He logged 27:57 of ice time in the 1-0 victory and helped out Tim Thomas with eight blocked shots.
Worst moment: The Bruins had tied the score late against Pittsburgh March 5 to force overtime, but then early in the extra session Seidenberg coughed up the puck to Dustin Jeffrey in the neutral zone. The Penguins forward skated down and scored the game-winner.
Regular-season grade: B-minus
Playoff grade: A-minus. Seriously, second for second Seidenberg was the Bruins’ best defenseman throughout the postseason run. He made some mistakes, but for the most part was always in the right spot at the right time.
Carnac predicts … the Bruins will try again to split Seidenberg and Chara next season in order to better balance their defense corps for the grind of the regular season.
I think you can also make the argument that Sidenberg also brought a limited amount of offense despite averaging well over 25 minutes of playing time per game in the playoffs. I think that’s the minus in the A minus.
I like “SeidenBeast”
Karl – I think Boychuk might need a better baby sitter than AF – I like him better paired with Seids, but I agree on the top pair.
Seidenberg didn’t even play in the POs the previous year, and they would have walked past Philly if Krecji hadn’t been hammered by Richards. This is a really good club.
chara-corvo/kampfer
sides-quaider
af-boychuk
I’d like the B’s to get an offensive forward to go along with either Seid or Chara. Throw an offer sheet out there to Doughty or Webber. Make moves and bolster that blue line to be one of the best in the game along with Boychuck and Ferrence.
Favorite regular season moment was this….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4m4VJNr-t0
he tried it again in the playoffs and smith almost bit again!
I also think he should get an A for the playoffs.
There is a really good youtube out there of spectacular Thomas saves (I think they were mostly if not all from the play offs). The one thing I noticed was just how many times Seids was there to clear the puck after a Thomas save. Watching that video makes you appreciate not just Thomas but Seids.
I don’t think Seids does all that well when anchoring the second pairing-he is functional and can certain eat up the minutes, but Seids and Chara together are shut down monsters and I think they complement each other very well.
Oh and I almost forgot…who could forget his tackle of Burrows during the fight with Timmy. Priceless!
I like that McTeagle!! They do look alike.
I agree with an A grade (forget the minus).
Matt – you write “you’d be hard pressed to find a handful of mistakes” and then you give him a minus for “some mistakes”.
This guy was brilliant in the playoffs. I never worried when he was on the ice. Steady, reliable, and a shot-blocking machine.
He was an A in the playoffs. The only bad moments I can remember from him were in the game or two against the Habs, before they got him away from Kaberle.
I liked his contract extension at the time, and I love it now.
And btw, I think he should be called the Transporter. They look like they could be brothers.
A- MINUS???? tough grader, glad I didn’t have you for 9th grade english!