What if the Bruins hadn't traded for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell?

June 22, 2010, didn't seem like the most franchise-altering day in Boston Bruins history. It was three days before the NHL draft, where the Bruins were about to take Tyler Seguin second-overall from the Toronto Maple Leafs first-round pick. They had just blown a 3-0 series lead against the Philadelphia Flyers and knew they were a couple of pieces away from breaking through in the postseason, which made their own first-round pick expendable.

Peter Chiarelli packaged the first-round pick, a third-round pick, and Dennis Wideman to acquire Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell from the Florida Panthers, and the rest is history. It's safe to say that the Bruins don't win the 2011 Stanley Cup without the services of Horton and Campbell.

Nathan Horton - Bruins Playoff Hero

Horton wasn't an unknown when he joined the Bruins, as he had 295 points in 422 games with the Panthers. However, Florida wasn't the power it is now in 2010, as the team was still lagging behind its in-state rivals, and people in the area were starting to lose interest in the team. It was a move for the Bruins that should've come with more fanfare, but it took an unbelievable 2011 playoff run to make Horton a legend in the city.

It started when he scored the overtime winner in Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. A moment like that will always make you a fan favorite, but then he did it again in the Eastern Conference Final with a goal in the dying minutes of Game 7 to put the team ahead 1-0 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Horton's run ended abruptly on the hit from Aaron Rome in the finals, but it was that play that awoke the Bruins from their two-game slumber to start the series and motivated them for the comeback. Who can forget Horton pouring the garden ice in Vancouver prior to Game 7?

Horton wasn't just a one-year wonder, but he did fail to return to his past glories after that hit. He had one more resurgence in the 2013 playoffs when he helped the Bruins to another Stanley Cup Final, scoring seven goals and 12 assists along the way. It would be his last year in the black and gold, and he played just 36 more games in Columbus before having to retire from injury.

Gregory Campbell - Anchor of the Merlot Line

It wasn't always pretty, but the playing style of Campbell was always going to be a fan favorite in Boston. Claude Julien stuck him alongside Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille and the trio wreaked havoc for years with the Bruins. Campbell had just four points during that 2011 Stanley Cup run, but his reliable defensive play and elite penalty killing helped turn the Bruins into the juggernaut that they were.

Campbell was also in the middle of an impressive offensive outburst in the 2013 playoff run, recording three goals and four assists in 15 games. However, it was cut short after his famous penalty kill shift where he broke his leg on a shot block and kept playing.

It says something about Bruins fans that Campbell was one of the favorites of the era given his low point totals and fourth line role, but the truth is that he is one of the players from the 2010s that will always be met with fanfare when he returns to the city.