Bruins Head Coach Bruce Cassidy. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- The NHL trade deadline is Monday, but the Bruins made a move this week when they acquired defenseman Nick Holden from the Rangers for minor league blue-liner Rob O'Gara and a 2018 third-round pick.
I spoke with B's head coach Bruce Cassidy on WBZ recently and asked him how big a difference a rental player with just a few short months left on his contract can make. Someone like Holden.
The coach said that can depend on several factors.
"You know, who you're bringing in, what's his comfort level with the team he's coming to, what's going on with his family," he said. "There's a lot that goes into it--that's why some guys have varied levels of success when they leave."
EXCLUSIVE: Bruce Cassidy On Bruins' Success, Trade Deadline Needs
The team went down this road last year, and Cassidy said the results were mixed.
"I don't have a lot of experience at it," he said. "Obviously last year we brought in Drew Stafford. I thought he helped us, he was a good player for us. Certainly didn't affect the team in a huge way, obviously bumped a player out of the lineup and that happens, but at the end of the day, we got in the playoffs, and he pitched in, did his part, and I can't speculate whether we would have with or without him."
Drew Stafford scored 4 goals and added 4 assists in 18 regular season games, then scored twice in a playoff loss to the Senators.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Adam Kaufman reports