WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli sat in his perch in the corner of the rink during the team’s practice Friday at Ristuccia Arena and watched directly below him as rookie Seth Griffith demolished captain Zdeno Chara into the boards, dropping Chara to the ice.
The hit occurred during a battle drill between the generously listed 5-foot-9, 192-pound Griffith and the 6-foot-9, 255-pound defenseman.
It was the kind of hit that Chara rarely sustains. When he got to his feet, he was covered in snow, and the drill was still going on. He gave a sharp stick tap to Griffith’s legs before the play stopped.
Everyone saw the hit.
“I’m sure for a split second there [Griffith] was extremely scared. I know I would be,” said Bruins assistant captain Chris Kelly with a smile. “The great thing about Z is he battles hard and he expects you to battle hard. You need to practice how you’re going to play and that’s great [Griffith] is playing like that. I’m not asking you to go run Z, though, please don’t do that again.”
Chiarelli was actually on his cellphone at the time, which is something he’s doing a lot of these days, probably talking with other GMs about possible deals to help improve the Bruins.
It’s no secret Chiarelli is looking for a skilled and productive player to insert on the top line’s right side. For the majority of this season, at least when everyone is healthy, Griffith has been given the opportunity to prove his worth. If he wants a future in the Bruins’ lineup, he'll have to continue the type of energy, physicality and relentless style of play that showed against Chara on Friday.
In 27 games this season, Griffith has scored six goals and added three assists for nine points. Most of his highlight-reel goals have been impressive enough for “SportsCenter,” but there have been times this season that Griffith has found himself in the bottom six, or even demoted to Providence of the AHL.
“Obviously, the first 10 or so games I was really nervous. As of late, I’m starting to relax a little more and just enjoy the game a bit more because I was holding my stick a little tense. It’s helped me, confidence-wise, just going out there and relaxing.”
Griffith has received plenty of advice from the veterans on the team. They understand it’s never easy when a younger player is inserted into the lineup and he’s not sure of his role, where he’s going to play or how much.
“He’s finding what he needs to do to be effective,” Kelly said.
During Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden, Griffith played well on the top line. He was strong on his stick, hard on the puck, and was out-muscling his opponents while creating offensive chances for the Bruins.
“He can obviously shoot the puck extremely well and score goals, but it’s about finding that all-around game that helps guys become better and better and I see that coming into his game,” Kelly said.
Krejci said recently it doesn’t matter who is on his right side, whether it’s Griffith, someone else on the team, or if Chiarelli brings in another player, as long as it's someone he can trust and feels comfortable playing with.
Griffith has been able to find time and space while playing with Krejci and Lucic, and it’s evident that trio is getting more comfortable and finding better chemistry.
“Griff has competed hard and certainly not been a weak link on that line by any means,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien.
Earlier this season, Griffith was given the opportunity to play on the top line and showed glimpses of his ability to play with high-caliber talent. Now that Julien has reunited the top trio, Griffith admits it’s easier this time, knowing he can compete and contribute.
“Going from first line to the fourth line, and bouncing around is tough, but
[I’m] gaining experience, especially at a young age, and playing with two guys like that is obviously a lot of fun. If you want to play with them you’ve got to have confidence every night because they want to make stuff happen.”
With rumors swirling that Chiarelli will make some changes to the roster, Griffith is trying to ignore the outside distractions and focus on his game, while the GM works the phones.
“Obviously, they have confidence in me if they’re putting me in that position off the get-go,” Griffith said. “I just have to have the confidence to go out there and show them that I deserve to be in that spot. You have to show them you’re good enough to play in that position night in and night out. Even in practice they’re watching all the time. You’ve just got to be ready every chance you get and hopefully it pays off in the end.”
With all the changes the Bruins have dealt with this season, Julien is hoping to now have some consistency in his lineup. If Griffith remains a part of the solution, and despite all the role changes he’s dealt with this season in the NHL and AHL, Julien believes it will make the rookie a better player.
“In the end, it’s going to be a great growing situation for him to have been through all those situations,” Julien said. “I don’t think it’s affecting him more than it’s helping him grow into being a better player.”
Griffith is always one of the last players off the ice after practice. On Friday, he took a little more time than usual after the 45-minute session to exit the ice. Maybe he was giving the captain some time to cool down.
