Dennis Seidenberg, who signed a one-year deal with Florida this past summer, leaves Florida as the top ice-time getter, averaging 22:54 played a game. The German Olympian adds just two goals to the Bruins' lineup, but has 21 assists on a low-scoring team. He is very good at getting the puck out of the zone and moving the puck up ice, but will not contribute much to the Bruins and their 16th ranked power-play.
Byron Bitz was once considered a good prospect for the Bruins, but has fallen down on the team's depth chart. He has seen mostly checking line time in Boston, but will add grit and flexibility to a low-scoring Panthers wing-core.
While Weller and Bitz will add depth to the Panthers' lineup, they also don't give much more in the scoring department, which is what the Panthers truly needed. Bitz's contract goes through 2010-11 though, so he has time to develop in a new system.
Boston did give up some depth for Seidenberg, but may have upgraded over Morris. Seidenberg was as good as he could be for Germany in these past Olympics, which may be the reason this trade was made by Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli. Boston may have edged Florida in this deal, although the verdict will be out until Seidenberg can prove that he can compete in the NHL playoffs.
Keywords: Boston bruins, Byron Bitz, Craig Weller, Dennis Seidenberg, derek morris, Matthew Bartkowski, peter chiarelli
