It's been quite a season for Nathan Horton who went from being the big offseason acquisition to the answer to the Bruins’ scoring woes to incapable of scoring and ultimately to becoming one of the great clutch athletes in Boston history. Unfortunately for Bruins fans, the year is over for No. 18, and too soon.

With the Bruins announcing the obvious – that Aaron Rome’s blindside (yes, Mr. Murphy) hit to the head knocked the winger into next millennium – the B’s are suddenly without their first line’s right wing and the team’s second-leading goal scorer this postseason for the rest of the Cup finals. 

It’s as tough a break as the Bruins could receive. Horton hadn’t done anything through the first 125 minutes of the Stanley Cup finals, but his abilities to come through in key moments (three game-winning goals this postseason, two of which came in Game 7’s and two of which came in overtime) combined with his physicality made it clear that Horton could be a major factor in the series. Instead his first taste of the postseason is over.

As captains practices began late in the summer, it was hard exactly to tell what the Bruins were getting with Horton, a former No. 3 overall pick who had a reputation for not working hard in Florida. He obviously took his conditioning seriously, but the thing that stood out most was his attitude. He was a walking, always-smiling cliché machine, and it seemed the only thing he had to say aside from, “I’m in a hockey market,” and “this opportunity is so special” was “thank you,” which he said to each person to ask him a question. 

On the ice, his talent made it seem that as long he didn’t turn into a ghost who was indifferent to the idea of winning, the Bruins may have gotten a good deal (Horton at three years of $4 million and Gregory Campbell for the 15th overall pick, Dennis Wideman, and a third-rounder). He showed throughout the preseason that if he could get a chance from the hashmarks to the high slot, his wrist shot would take care of the rest. He began the season with three goals in the first two games, scoring the Bruins’ only two in a disappointing season-opening loss in Prague. He laughed when asked about scoring 40 goals, as so many expected him to do once he got a chance to play with a healthy Marc Savard. The standard answers remained the same, no matter how well he was doing: happy to be in a hockey market, this is why you come to the rink, Milan Lucic is the best, etc.

As is the case with any big-name player adjusting to playing in Boston, it seemed that it would take a Bruins’ losing streak or a slump to see the Nathan Horton whom many in Florida were happy to see leave. Horton admitted to WEEI.com during the season that he did take shifts off in Florida, as he was accused of doing. The reason? It was hard for him to stay motivated. All he saw was losing and turnover, and if it looked like he didn't care, maybe it was because he didn't anymore. Aside from not speaking to the media once after a game (which, to be fair, the team said was due to medical treatment) during his 20-game stretch with just one goal, Horton never showed that side since arriving in Boston. The guy with a reputation of not caring about his own play or his teammates quickly settled in as a very popular guy in the Bruins’ room. 

By the end of the season, Horton had scored only 26 goals, a disappointment based on the expectations. But he proved in the playoffs that he was more of the guy that scored eight goals in his first 15 games than the guy who scored three the next 22. He and Lucic became fast friends and take pride in their roles as power forwards in today’s NHL, and when Lucic was slumping in the playoffs, Horton was stepping up.

Now, with Horton out, the question is what to do with the first line. The two obvious options are Michael Ryder and Rich Peverley, and the money here is on Ryder getting the first chance to play with Krejci and Lucic. One could also look at leaving the lines the same and putting Seguin in Horton’s place, but the Bruins need consistency. You won’t get that when the coach doesn’t trust the player and with potentially half of the series’ remaining games on the road. Julien isn't comfortable playing the rookie 17 minutes a night, so the idea of having Seguin on his first line when he doesn’t have last change would seemingly be a nightmare.

No matter who the Bruins put in Horton’s place, the dynamic of the line will change. If they go with Ryder, the first line will feature another sniper, albeit a slower one. Peverley can fly, so his speed would be interesting for Krejci to work with.

As for separating Seguin and Ryder, the two undoubtedly have great chemistry, but they had nine games after Game 3 of the conference finals to show they shouldn’t be split up, and they did nothing with them. Seguin with Peverley on that third line will give them tremendous speed but would clearly be the least gritty of the Bruins’ four lines.

Don’t kid yourselves, Bruins fans: this team has as uphill a climb as it gets now. Winning the Cup without Horton will be incredibly difficult, and if the Bruins feel the odds are stacked against them (Lucic actually didn’t take the bait Tuesday), it’s because they are.