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Farewell, Merlot: Bruins parting ways with Paille, Campbell

Carolina Hurricanes v Boston Bruins

Carolina Hurricanes v Boston Bruins

NHLI via Getty Images

The Merlot Line has officially been put out to vineyard.

On Monday, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli announced that UFA forwards Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell -- who, along with the already departed Shawn Thornton, once formed Boston’s popular fourth line -- wouldn’t be re-signed this summer.

Paille, 30, has been with the Bruins since 2009 and achieved some good success, emerging as a useful contributor during the 2011 Stanley Cup victory and the ’13 Finals appearance (Paille scored four goals and nine points during that latter run, averaging 12:32 TOI per night.)

Campbell, 31, spent the last five years in Boston. A gritty checking forward, he forever etched himself in Bruins lore with this shift against Pittsburgh in the ’13 Eastern Conference Final -- in which he played on a broken leg:

This year, though, Campbell and Paille struggled. They were two of the club’s worst forwards in terms of possession (click here) and neither produced much offensively; Campbell scored just six goals in 70 games while Paille had six in 71.

In the wake of Boston missing the playoffs for the first time in eight years, Paille and Campbell aren’t expected to be the only changes -- but their departures are still significant. Aside from being the first (and, speediest) moves by Chiarelli this offseason, the two veterans contributed largely to Boston’s identity over the last five years.

Now that they’re gone, only a handful of regulars remain from the Cup-winning team: Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Dennis Seidenberg, Adam McQuaid and Milan Lucic -- the latter of whom has already seen his name appear in trade speculation.