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Trade Deadline Primer: Boston Bruins

March 2, 2022 at 10:00 am CDT | by Zach Leach 12 Comments

As the calendar turns to March, the trade deadline is inching closer. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Boston Bruins.

The Boston Bruins have learned the hard way this year that every player has an expiration date. The sudden departure of David Krejci to Europe this summer and the failed comeback attempt of Tuukka Rask removed two of the team’s core players, despite both still performing at an elite level just last season. It left only two names remaining from their 2011 Stanley Cup roster: Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. While both are still at the top of their games, there is no way for the club to know just how long that might last. Bergeron and Marchand have been back to two Cups since 2011, but a second title has eluded them and the chances to win it all one more time are running out.

Locked into a playoff spot in the East – albeit likely a wild card spot – the Bruins can’t waste an opportunity to provide these veteran stars with another shot at a championship. With considerable salary cap flexibility, especially compared to most other contenders, and a full collection of draft picks, Boston looks primed to make some noise. However, they will also try to keep an eye on the future and protect what few blue-chip prospects they have. Can they make a big enough move to win a Stanley Cup this season without mortgaging the future?

Record

32-17-4 (.642), fourth in Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$3,357,753 today, $5,036,630 in full-season space, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, CGY 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th
2023: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th

Trade Chips

The most obvious trade chip for the Bruins is forward Jake DeBrusk. DeBrusk formally requested a trade from Boston earlier this season and by all accounts, that request still stands. While a slow start coming off a down year in 2020-21 didn’t inspire the bidding war that the Bruins might have hoped for, the status quo is beginning to shift. DeBrusk has been red hot of late and potential suitors who were previously hesitant of acquiring DeBrusk given his lofty qualifying offer may be rethinking their position or at least looking to get creative.

Of course, DeBrusk’s strong play in recent weeks could also force the Bruins to change their approach to the trade request as well. Boston is under no obligation to honor the request in a given time period and could be looking to play out the year with DeBrusk while he is finding success. If he continues to score, the Bruins could still trade his restricted free agent rights or perhaps even re-sign him if the relationship has improved. If DeBrusk cools off, as he has been known to do, the team could always let him walk, essentially treating him as an internal rental. If DeBrusk is moved before the deadline, the Bruins will have to immediately replace him with another top-six winger anyhow.

The Bruins do not need to move DeBrusk to accomplish their goals at the deadline. With a full complement of draft picks (thanks to the Calgary Flames replacing a missing 2022 third-round pick), the team can package picks and prospects to acquire help. Which picks and prospects they are willing to part with will ultimately determine who lands in Boston. With a shallow system when it comes to elite young talent, top prospects Fabian Lysell and Mason Lohrei seem safe, but may not be entirely off the table.

More likely to move are some of the Bruins’ older, NHL-ready prospects. The Bruins have been able to showcase some promising pro talent this season in forwards Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen. The team would normally not be in any hurry to move them, but face an impending roster crunch next season when all three become eligible for waivers. If the team won’t have the roster space to keep them all safely in the NHL next year, it could make the trio more susceptible to being traded this year. Of course, the alternative would be to move some of those young players who they could replace. Injured defenseman Jakub Zboril was playing well before he was sidelined and will be in line for a roster spot next year as well if still in the organization. Or could the affordable Connor Clifton instead be on the move, allowing Vaakanainen and Zboril to play in Boston next year? Upfront, if Studnicka and Steen have been prioritized for roster spots next year, could Trent Frederic instead be the odd man out?

Though unlikely to make much of a difference, it is worth noting that DeBrusk is not the only Bruin to have requested a trade. Fellow 2015 first-rounder Zach Senyshyn would also like a fresh start and it would not be surprising if he is dealt at the deadline as a minor piece in a package. The speedy, two-way winger has admittedly not received much NHL opportunity, but also hasn’t done enough to earn it.

Others To Watch For: F John Beecher, F Jakub Lauko, F Quinn Olson, D Jack Ahcan, D Victor Berglund

Team Needs

1) Top-Four Defenseman

The Bruins believed that by re-signing last year’s deadline addition Mike Reilly and adding Derek Forbort to a defense corps that already had Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk they would be in good shape on the blue line this season. While the early returns suggested the same, especially with Zboril also impressing, as the season has worn on the defense has become the main point of concern for this Bruins team. Zboril is now out for the season, Vaakanainen is also sidelined, and Clifton has struggled in a regular role. At the very least, the Bruins need to add a more reliable option for the right side of their third pair. However, the team should aim higher to take some pressure off of McAvoy, who is playing huge minutes and in all special teams situations and is the only blueliner regularly contributing on offense. A veteran top-four defenseman that can produce and eat minutes would allow the Bruins to shift other defensemen down the lineup to build a deeper, more reliable starting group. The team could even look to add both a starter and additional depth option on the blue line.

2) Top-Six Right Wing

If DeBrusk is in fact traded, this becomes the Bruins’ biggest need – if not already addressed in the DeBrusk return. Boston has found great chemistry in its current second and third lines of Taylor Hall–Erik Haula–David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic–Charlie Coyle–Craig Smith. However, with Pastrnak and Smith playing lower in the lineup, a hole was created beside Bergeron and Marchand on the top line. DeBrusk took the job by default and has taken advantage, but his previous struggles on his offside and with consistency are a concern. If the team opts to sell high on DeBrusk, they will need a new right-wing for the top line. Even if DeBrusk is not traded, it still would not be a bad idea to add some security with a depth scorer. Former Bruin Phil Kessel is one name that has been linked to Boston.

3) Long-Term Top-Six Center or Top Pair Defenseman

If the Bruins decide to go all out at the deadline and address long-term needs rather than just short-term solutions, a young, left-handed defenseman and a proven second-line center are the organization’s most glaring holes. As previously noted, McAvoy needs a long-term defense partner. Perhaps even more pressing though is the depth down the middle, where there is no heir apparent to the aging Bergeron with Coyle and Haula limited in their ability and prospects such as Studnicka, Frederic, and Beecher yet to show top-six upside. The question of course is whether Boston wants to fill these gaps via trade at great cost to their pipeline or if they will instead wait for the free agent market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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Boston Bruins| Deadline Primer 2022| Don Sweeney

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Comments

  1. Poundsy24

    11 months ago

    Chychrun? Him and McAvoy would be a good first pairing for a few years.

    Deal with Coyotes:
    Kessel with salary retention and Chychrun (6.8+4.6=11.2)
    For
    DeBrusk with extension, Studnicka, Vaakanainen, two firsts (3.675+.9+.75=5.325)

    Cap addition = 11.2-5.325= 5.875
    Space= 5

    Need an additional ~1 mil to make this work and if I’m ARI I’d probably want 2023 and 2024 and not the 2022.

    DeBrusk offers immediate support in a middle six role, Studnicka and Vaakanainen are high draft picks who haven’t carved out their role but have promise, and ARI gains two future firsts from an aging Bruins core.

    Bruins receive immediate improvement to DeBrusk in a rental with Phil Kessel. Secure the top-pair d-line for the next few years, but sacrifice it’s better prospects and draft capital while having an aging core. This makes the future in Boston look pretty bleak in two years time unless they get creative.

    Overall though, I think some other team will offer more individually for both Chychrun and Kessel and a deal like this is outside of Sweeney’s realm.

    Reply
    • joe mcgrath

      11 months ago

      Well let’s see. The latest rumor on Kessel was that AZ would take a 3rd round pick and pay half his remaining salary just to get rid of the fat slob. So in essence you are proposing DeBrusk, Studnicka, and Vaakanainen and 2 first round picks for Chychrun. Wow shocking you aren’t an NHL GM.

      3
      Reply
    • bruin4ever

      11 months ago

      Great pint Joe, as I was getting ready to type exactly what you said!

      Let’s make sure Poundsy24 never becomes GM in Boston, lol

      Reply
    • case7187

      11 months ago

      I love clowns like you who talk sh it about others ideas but to much of a chicken sh it to post your ideas real winner clown you and ur lil sidekick bruin4ever couple basement beating tools

      Reply
    • joe mcgrath

      11 months ago

      Feel better?

      Reply
    • Poundsy24

      11 months ago

      If AZ was really willing to take a 3rd and retain half his salary he’d be in a different uniform already…

      Also let’s be honest here… Studnicka has had a lot of opportunity in Boston and hasn’t taken advantage of it. Vaakanainen his hurt every other week.

      You’ve gotta offload DeBrusk’s contract to make the money work and two firsts are for 3 years of a top-pairing defensemen at less than $5/year.

      Tell me what’s wrong here bud? No upgrading current roster for now and future, keep your top prospects, and you got pay something to get something.

      You also have the chance to resign Kessel for cheaper $$ in the off-season if he does well.

      Reply
    • joe mcgrath

      11 months ago

      First of all the reason that fat dog Kessel isn’t in another uniform for that price is no one wants him. I didn’t make up that price I heard it from both Darren Dreger and Elliotte Friedman who know far more about the NHL than you or I. Maybe you can tell what your fascination this loser is because I’ve been a Bruin fan for over 50 years and want no part of him even for the rest of this season let alone the future even if he paid them to let him play. He is one one the biggest wastes of talent I have ever seen in all the years I watched the NHL. Complete trash.

      Now for Chycrun. Taking the fat slob Kessel out of the equation your proposal becomes a 5 for 1 from a team that has aging stars and almost no prospects other than maybe Fabian Lysell. The also have no realistic shot at the Cup this year anyway. Like Chycrun a lot. Think he would be a good add, Very doubtful AZ would take DeBrusk since he’s a pending RFA and would be unlikely to resign there. Maybe you can trade him somewhere else and then maybe consider Studnicka, Vaak, or something similar and 1 number 1 making it a 3 for 1 deal.

      Reply
  2. Johnny Z

    11 months ago

    DeBrusk wiih 1yr extension (prove it deal) at current cap hit to Detroit for Leddy and Nemestikov both 1/2 salary retained. This only works if DeBrusk is still RFA summer of ’23……otherwise his extension should be 2 x $4.1M
    Boston gets a puck moving LD and valuable player that can play up and down the lines and in all situations.

    1
    Reply
  3. MixtureBill

    11 months ago

    As a Bruins fan, this is spot on. Great write up!

    Reply
  4. Nha Trang

    11 months ago

    For my part, I don’t think Chychrun is nearly as good as the touts would have it, and certainly not so much as to justify the price Arizona’s apparently demanding for him.

    For another, I’m dead set against Boston trading 1st and 2nd rounders for the Rick Nash deadline rentals of the world. They’ve been doing the bolstering-the-core-just-to-make-it-one-more-playoff-round for a few years now, and they’ve damn-all to show for it: heck, together Haula, Nosek and Foligno haven’t produced better than the Bruins’ top four forwards. The question they need to start asking themselves is “Will this trade be the one to bring us a Stanley Cup?” If it isn’t, don’t make it.

    4
    Reply
    • pev4

      11 months ago

      Shake, rattle and roll, baby!

      Reply
  5. thadeus1121

    11 months ago

    They would need more than one trade to think it will bring them a Stanley cup, is it an interesting piece for now and for the future with lower cap hit ?? Sure I would add Chychrun but would need to add a top 6 forward (or 2!)and maybe another solid depth piece and get rid of a couple bottom dwellers

    Reply

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