Nathan Horton missed the final 36 games of the regular season with a concussion, and it was clear the Bruins missed him offensively in a big, big way.
Boston was never truly the same without their top line right winger, and finished with an 18-16-2 record after his Jan. 21 concussion suffered against the Flyers. The Bruins averaged only 2.67 goals per game during that span of 36 games and never truly recovered their dominant level of play achieved with Horton in November and December.
So it can only be taken as good news Horton is coming along well in his recovery from a concussion during the offseason. Horton was shut down at the start of the playoffs when his post-concussion symptoms hadnt completely subsided after the blind side hit from Tom Sestito.
But the Bruins ended the playoffs with Bs general manager Peter Chiarelli voicing expectation that Bostons Game 7 playoff hero would be ready to go for September training camp.
Hortons agent, Paul Krepelka, told CSNNE.com that the goal-scoring forward is still on track for a healthy start to next season with three more full months of rest and recovery still in front of him.
Nathan is coming along, wrote Krepelka in a text message while keeping tabs with his client this offseason. We would hope he is good to go at the start of training camp.
With Rich Peverley forced to take Hortons spot alongside Milan Lucic and David Krejci during the playoffs, it effectively weakened both the first and third line for a team that had succeeded with depth during last years Cup run.
Boston Bruins
A healthy Horton could make all the difference for the Bruins in a free agent contract year where the 27-year-old will be motivated to prove hes healthy and ready to resume his productive combination of power and skill.