How the trade affects the team

The trade leaves our defense in a bad situation. Andrew Ference is a solid defensive defenseman, but his offensive skills do not compare to those of Stuart. This means Paul Mara is going to have to take on more responsibility. Which, in fact, might be a very bad thing. Also those extra minutes that Stuart would log are now up for grabs, with Jason York likely to receive them. Our 2nd unit on the powerplay is going to suffer as well. It use to be manned by Stuart and now that will be given to Mara. Will Ference be his partner on the PP? Only Dave Lewis knows that, which probably means it will be York.

As for the forwards, Kobasew is currently injured. He will be out 2-3 more weeks. He is a right-handed shot, which the Bruins' have way too many of by the way. The Bruins' need depth for the leftwing position. Hopefully with Primeau finally gone, we will be able to see more of players like Chistov, Bochenski, and even Tenkrat, and less of players like Axelsson, Mowers, and Donovan. Look for Mowers to take over Primeau's center duties on the "checking line".

Here are what Dave Lewis' lineups will probably be:
Axelsson-Savard-Murray
Sturm-Bergeron-Kessel
Reich-Mowers-Donovan
Tenkrat-Boyes-Bochenski

Alberts-Chara
Ference-Mara
Allen-York

Hopefully these won't be the exact lines he throws out there or the way he utilizes them. Mowers line should see a lot less minutes now(hopefully). Stan Chistov needs to be given a chance to prove what he can do with 12 minutes of hockey a game. But it is very apparent Lewis is not the biggest Chistov fan and continues to have him be the healthy scratch. When Kobasew returns from injury, Axelsson should be moved off the first line(if not before then). He hurts the first line and used too much by Lewis. Also with his return, it could give the Bruins' 3 solid lines of offensive type players and 1 solid line of defensive type players, as long as Lewis puts the correct players in their roles.