Wild forward Charlie Coyle has had a rough start to his season with just 13 points through 29 games. As a result, the team is dangling him in trade talks according to Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). Russo notes that three Atlantic Division teams are believed to have shown some level of interest in Boston, Montreal, and Ottawa.
The Bruins have been looking for forward help for some time and have been linked to Coyle previously; his ability to play both center and the right wing would also be a plus for them. Russo adds that Montreal has shown interest prior to this season although they’re a couple of weeks away from having a bit of a logjam up front when Joel Armia returns. Ottawa’s long list of injuries continued to grow last week with Bobby Ryan and Matt Duchene set to miss a fair bit of time so they could certainly be on the lookout for some help up front as well.
Coyle is only two years removed from a 56 point season but he has struggled since then and his trade value has likely taken a hit since then. However, he carries a reasonable cap hit of $3.2MM through next season (with a $3.75MM salary this year and $4.25MM in 2019-20) so it’s not a surprise to see teams showing some interest in him as he’s an intriguing potential reclamation project. The 26-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020.
New GM Paul Fenton opted to not make any notable changes when he took over the team from Chuck Fletcher last offseason. Now that he’s had a chance to assess the situation, it appears that Coyle could be the first notable change made in his tenure.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
The Bruins should look for a ONE FOR ONE deal with the wild for this MA guy. Coyle is a solid player, pretty versatile playing center or wing and good for double digit goals and assists. Would be stupid NOT to add him for Boston if Minny isn’t being too unreasonable with their asking price for him. Maybe the wild would go for something like hard hitting Acciari and puck moving d-man Kampfer for him.
So you’re suggesting the Wild accept a 4th line centre and a 7th-8th d-man for a top 6 forward who can play wing or centre and who kills penalties and plays the power play? You must be a Bruins fan.
We had Kampfer at one time and never cracked the lineup. Charlie is a top 6 guy with good term and amount for a contract. Your top prospect will be what we ask for.
@hockeydad Highly doubt that…. but IF they ASK for it, as usual, the wild will be forever wallowing in mediocrity IF they think the Bruins OR ANY NHL ORGANIZATION for that matter, is surrendering their “top prospect” for Charlie Coyle. See, this is WHY Minnesota LOST the Northstars in the first place…. lol too soon?
I can understand wanting a future draft pick and maybe a decent young player INSTEAD of a Kampfer/Acciari/Kuraly etc, but a top draft pick/prospect? HAHAHA. Maybe smooth skating Nordstrom and a pick gets it done?
@manos Uh….. Coyle is a bottom six guy, possibly playing on the 2nd line in a pinch. Therefore, Boston shouldn’t expect a ton of production from Charlie IF they’re forced to use him there. Did you think a guy whose top input was 21 goals ONE SEASON and 56 points total in another was getting a top 10 draft pick? LOL must be a wild fan.
At the MOST, a draft pick and maybe a guy like Gabrielle, Blidh or the like would be enough for the Bruins to surrender for Coyle.
You nailed it…Coyle is at best a 3rd line center. Has some grit but he’s no savior. Just like most of the Wilds forwards…mediocre to slightly above average. A 2nd or 3rd round pick and Gabrielle is the best they could hope for from a guy like Coyle. as for the North Stars…it was actually a douchepickle named Norm Green that screwed us on that one. I still can’t get over them leaving. We got hockey back but it’s been a “spinning your wheels” operation since day one.
Bdd1967 At long last, a reasonable/sensible hockey fan on these boards, regardless of sports alliance. I like Coyle as a player, local guy, think he’s a “jack of all trades”, but no need to act like he’s McDavid with ideas of grandeur/top picks, lol.
I agree about the North Stars being moved, I’d be mad too if it was my favorite city/state…. Minnesota like Massachusetts, has a ton of great American hockey talent, no disrespect intended. MN is one of the great hockey states like MA or MI. Really sucked that Green/dallass stole your team AND NAME/COLORS, that whole situation was as backwards as the seattle supersonics being relocated to Oklahoma… super sketchy and screwed over the fans badly. Then again, I want the Whalers to come back home to MA, lol. Good luck to your wild this season.
I would settle for Keyser and a third rounder.
Hey, a man can dream, haha… I’d initially say “go for it”, but Kaakaa Rask is nearing the end of his time in Boston, soon to be traded, so the Bruins need to develop their goalie of the future…..NOW. Highly doubt anyone in the AHL is being handed the reigns. Not saying Keyser is that guy because he’s obviously young/raw, but who knows? If Boston were to give up Keyser and likely another piece or two, they’d likely need more back from the wild than just Coyle, IMO.