After mi sing the playoffs in two of the past three seasons and losing in the first round the one year they did make it theBruins are back as one of the NHLs elite teams.Entering playTuesday night, Boston isright in the thick of the Presidents Trophy race with Tampa Bay, Nashville and, shockingly, Vegas.The Bruinswon just six of their first 17 games, but are 21-3-4 since, including a 12-0-3 run in their past 15 games. They have not lost a game in regulation since Dec. 14 and are exhibiting all of the traits you expect to see from a Stanley Cup contender.THE OLYMPIAN: Just a couple of years ago, Fred Lynn Jersey not far removed from their second trip to the Stanley Cup Final in three years, the Bruins looked like an organization that had completely stalled out. Their salary cap situation was ugly andthe defense wasgetting older, going from one of Boston's biggest strengthsfor so long to its biggest weakne s.They clearly needed to do a little retooling, if not an all-out rebuild.It has not taken them long to retool back into a powerhouse.It is a fascinating development because of the way this team has been a sembled. Specifically, the players that are not a part of it and the sometimes disregard the organization seems to have for elite skill.When you look at the talent the Bruins have squandered over the years, their succe s is truly a marvel.No matter who the general manager has been over the past 15 years (Peter Chiarelli, Don Sweeney heck, even go back to Mike OConnell), the Bruins have had a habit of trading the type of high-end talent most teams are desperate to acquire.MORE:Joe Thornton? Traded.Blake Wheeler? Traded.Phil Ke sel? Traded.Tyler Seguin? Traded.Dougie Hamilton? Traded.And that list doesnt even include the goodbut not quite as dominant players like Milan Lucic and Johnny Boychuk.Lets just look at the last four names mentioned: Seguin, Hamilton, Lucic and Boychuk, all of whom were traded within the past four years. Today the only player on the Bruins roster that was acquired as a result of any of those trades is defenseman Brandon Carlo, selected with one of the draft picks acquired in the Boychukdeal.The return on the Seguin trade has already completely evaporated Loui Erik son left via free agency; Reilly Smith was traded for Jimmy Hayes; Hayes was released; Matt Fraser was lost on waivers; Joe Morrow left as a free agent.None of the draft picks acquired as part of the Hamilton and Lucic trades (a Carl Yastrzemski Jersey return that amounted to two first-rounders and a pair of seconds) are currently on the NHL roster. They could still be in the future, and could still be important players at some point, but they are not currently making an impact on a Bruins team that is among the best in hockey.MIXED BAG: It goes beyond that.Since Seguin and Hamilton were selected with draft picks acquired in the Ke sel trade, that means the Bruins currently have nothing to show for one of the biggest blockbusters of the last decade. And since Rich Peverley was acquired for Wheeler (along with Boris Valabik, who later left as a free agent), and Peverley was traded to Dallas as part of the Seguin trade, that means the Bruins currently have nothing to show for Wheeler, either.(It is worth pointing out that Peverley did play a role on that 2011 Stanley Cup winning team not a huge role, but a role nonethele s).You would be hard pre sed to find an NHL team that has traded that many elite players Boston Red Sox Hats over a single 15-year stretch for what amounts to so little.There is a future Hall of Famer in there (Thornton).Wheeler, Ke sel and Seguin are all among the best offensive players in hockey right now.Hamilton is a 20-minute-per-night defenseman who finishedin the top 10in Norris voting a season ago.MORE:For most teams that trade that level of talent,it probably decimates them and sets them backa decade. Or more.But during that time period, the Bruins have been to two Stanley Cup Finals, won one of them and since 2007-08 havenever finished with fewerthan 90 points in a season (the 2012-13 lockout season doesnt count;they were on a 106-point pace that season and went to the Stanley Cup Final).That recent trade history should have ruined their chances for consistent, sustained succe s.But it hasnt.How have the managed to do it?They still have the best line in hockeyIt is a testament to the Carlton Fisk Jersey amount of talent the Bruins have a sembled over the years that they could trade that many great players and still have three of the best forwards in the NHL on their roster in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchandand David Pastrnak.They all happen to play together regularly as a trio to form the NHLs best, most dominant line.Bergeron has been one of the NHLs best two-way players for more than a decade, mixing a nearly unmatched combination of shutdown defensive play and high-end offensive talent. He is a 30-goal, 60-point top-line center who can simultaneously render your best player usele s and ineffective on any given night.Marchand can be a loathsome player if he is not on your team, andalways seems to be one shift away from doing something stupid that is going to get another call from the Department of Player Safety. Those shenanigans take away from the fact that he has arguably been one of the 10 best players in the NHL over the past three years, scoring at close to a 40-goal pace over 82 games each year while also driving po se sion and playing great defensive hockey.MORE: Then there is Pastrnak, the youngest of the trio and perhaps the most gifted offensively. He is still only 21 years old and has already established himself as a 35-goal talent.When that trio is on the ice together this season during 5-on-5 play, they have outscored their opponents by a 22-3 margin and controlled 60 percent of the total shot attempts.Since the start of last season, the three haveoutscored teams by a 48-22 margin when they are on the ice together. When none of them are on the ice? The Bruinshave been outscored 128-110. It is a truly dominant, game-changing line when it is together. And on the occasionthe Bruins decide to split them up, they can all still contribute on their own.You need elite players to win, and even after all of those trades over the past decade, the Bruins still have three of the NHLs best. And they dominate.Infusion of young talent,underrated draft David Price Jersey succe sA couple of years ago, the Bruins needed to get younger and cheaper in a lot of areas, and even though there may have been a mi step or two along the way (sometimes a big one), they have found a way to make that happen.When the Bruinstraded Lucic and Hamilton after the 2014-15 season, it helped give them three consecutive picks in the first round (Nos. 13, 14, and 15) and six of the top 52 picks in the draft.That particular group offirst-round picks has beco