By the conclusion of his new team’s five-stop road trip, Dmitry Orlov will have played eight of his 12 games for the Bruins on the road. This has not left the ex-Capitals defenseman much time to look for an apartment in Boston.
Getting out of his downtown hotel and into a proper place is a priority for Orlov. His wife, Varvara, and son, Kirill, who are still in greater Washington, will relocate to Boston once he does.
“Little one goes to kindergarten. Lot going on with them,” Orlov said with a smile at United Center before the Bruins’ 6-3 loss to the Blackhawks on Tuesday. “We’ll see. We’re going to be fine.”
Whether Orlov and his family adjust to Boston could play a big part in determining whether his Black-and-Gold stay stretches beyond this season. That will be entirely up to him. The Bruins want Orlov back, just like they’d like Garnet Hathaway and Tyler Bertuzzi to put pen to paper.
“Absolutely,” general manager Don Sweeney said of wanting to extend the relationship with his three acquisitions. “It has been a positive thing for our club that players get here, acclimate and they feel good about what we’re trying to accomplish. And they want to be a part of that. If you have the cap space and the ability to negotiate effectively, then you’d like to bring them on board. So it’s a little bit of a tryout for both sides.
“You hopefully identify (a good fit) prior to (trades), otherwise you’ve probably made a mistake in bringing a player in. But we feel good about these guys coming in to push our group.”
Before this season, the Bruins had extended three of the past four players they acquired on expiring contracts: Hampus Lindholm, Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly. Josh Brown, the depth defenseman they got from Ottawa, was the only player who signed elsewhere following his arrival.
That trend may not continue.