Wild Notes: Trocheck, O’Reilly, Coyle
General Manager Bill Guerin is no stranger to bold moves, and that has continued into deadline season. Throughout the past few weeks, the Minnesota Wild have been heavily linked to New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck, but that interest appears to be waning.
A few days ago, Trocheck himself shared that he would prefer to stay in the Eastern Conference, but there was no indication on whether he would block a trade to Minnesota. It turns out, the Wild are pulling away from Trocheck for different reasons entirely. According to Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic, Minnesota simply isn’t comfortable meeting the Rangers’ asking price.
There isn’t much detailed information available about what exactly the Rangers are requesting. Still, after effectively trading four first-round picks for Quinn Hughes earlier this year, the Wild may not have the assets to acquire another top player.
Additional Wild notes:
- Regardless of evaporating interest in Trocheck, the team is still trying to acquire a top-six center. In the same report, Russo and Smith suggested that the Wild could target veteran center Ryan O’Reilly from the Nashville Predators. The two teams recently got together on a trade that sent Michael McCarron to Minnesota, so there wouldn’t be any anti-divisional bias from either side. Unfortunately, despite not having any trade protection, the Predators have a handshake agreement with O’Reilly to only send him to a location where he would be willing to play.
- Furthermore, the pair of reporters brought up the fact that the Wild have been interested in Charlie Coyle of the Columbus Blue Jackets for much of the season. Still, things look a lot different in Columbus recently, and the team has openly suggested they’d rather extend Coyle than trade him for future assets at the deadline. At any rate, if the Wild are intent on adding a top-six middleman, the pool of talent is quickly shrinking.
Morning Notes: Thomas, Blue Jackets, Belchetz
The Philadelphia Flyers are highly unlikely to be the landing spot for St. Louis Blues star center Robert Thomas if he is traded before the deadline, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz reported today. A Flyers team source told Kurz that the team considers a trade for Thomas “completely unreasonable,” and with that feeling likely a result of the high price the Blues have set for teams interested in Thomas. According to Kurz, the Flyers “would probably have to be willing to part with” one of their two young wingers with star potential (Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone) as well as a first-round pick and another young roster player. Despite a pressing organizational need for a top-line center, the Flyers, per this report, believe the Blues’ asking price to simply be too steep for them to get involved in trade talks for Thomas.
Of course, value is in the eye of the beholder. From the Blues’ perspective, they’re likely to believe their high asking price for Thomas to be entirely fair. To an extent, it’s easy to see why. Thomas is an established No. 1 center who scored 81 points in 70 games last season, a 95-point 82-game scoring pace. While his production is down this year, the Blues’ struggles as a team this season make it difficult to pin Thomas’ decline entirely on some lasting decrease in his talent level. Thomas is 26 years old and has five additional seasons on a $8.125MM AAV contract. His below-market cap hit presents a serious opportunity for a team to get surplus value from him, especially as the upper limit rises.
There’s an argument to be made that, combining his talent and contract status, Thomas is one of the more valuable players to have been shopped on the in-season trade market in some time, so it’s understandable that the Blues would want to fetch a high price for the player. Value is all about leverage, after all, and the fact that the Blues can simply retain Thomas for the next half-decade gives them considerable leverage in comparison to a team shopping a rental player. But in any case, the Flyers have to move forward with the path they feel is best for them – and if they deem the Blues’ asking price too high, that is their right. Their search for a first-line center may yet continue in the 2026 draft, or perhaps within the continued development of recent first-rounders Jett Luchanko and Jack Nesbitt.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- Insider Frank Seravalli reported this morning that the Blue Jackets continue to receive trade inquiries centered around pending UFA forwards Charlie Coyle and Mason Marchment, though to this point, that trade interest has been turned away. Both players have been stellar since being traded to the Blue Jackets, with Marchment scoring 10 goals and 17 points in 18 games, and Coyle nabbing 16 goals and 46 points in 60 games. The Blue Jackets traded second and fourth-round picks for Marchment earlier this season, but could receive more than they invested given the player’s uptick in form since arriving in Ohio. They traded quality prospect Gavin Brindley alongside second and third-round picks for Coyle this past summer, but could receive similar, if not increased, value in return before the deadline. The issue with trading either player would be that it would signal a retreat on their playoff chase for the rest of the season. Columbus sits three points behind the Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and has gone 13-2-1 since hiring Rick Bowness as their head coach.
- Top 2026 NHL Draft prospect Ethan Belchetz will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken left clavicle, per an announcement from his team, the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL. Belchetz was the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 OHL Priority Selection, and will finish his season with 34 goals and 59 points in 57 games. The 17-year-old stands 6’5″, 226 pounds, and projects as the kind of power forward who blends physicality and scoring ability that NHL teams covet. He has been ranked around the back-end of the top-10 in this year’s class, but it remains to be seen how his draft stock might change despite playing his final game before the draft.
Blue Jackets Looking To Extend Pending UFAs
On New Year’s Day, the Blue Jackets were in last place in the Eastern Conference and had a three-point cushion in the basement. They were all but set to punt on the season, and their high-value pending UFAs, namely Charlie Coyle and Boone Jenner, had found themselves high up on trade bait lists.
Fueled in part by a surprise coaching change, Columbus has now won 11 of its last 12 and is fully back in playoff contention. They’ve gone from 16th place to ninth in the past six weeks and are four points back of the Bruins for the final playoff spot with a game in hand.
If getting rental returns for Coyle and Jenner was general manager Don Waddell‘s deadline plan a month ago, that streak has changed his mind. The organization told RG.org’s James Murphy yesterday that they’ve stopped soliciting offers for Coyle, Jenner, and fellow pending UFA forward Mason Marchment and will instead start extension negotiations with all three players before the Olympic break ends.
All three have been legitimate impact players for the Jackets this season, particularly Coyle and Marchment. Acquired from the Avalanche last summer in something of a cap dump, the veteran Coyle has technically served as Columbus’ third-line center for virtually the entire campaign but is averaging north of 17 minutes of ice time per game thanks to extensive special-teams deployment. Coming off one of the more offensively underwhelming campaigns of his career for Boston and Colorado in 2024-25, he’s tossed up 15 goals and 42 points in 56 games to rank third on the Jackets in scoring.
There will be obvious trepidation over offering anything more than a one or two-year extension to Coyle, who turns 34 next month. He’s finishing at a 15.8% clip, and his possession numbers lag behind the average on a Columbus squad that’s greatly improved its play under Bowness. But for a Jackets squad teeming with cap space over the next couple of seasons, the risk of decline isn’t as pressing as it would be for a cap-strapped contender.
Marchment was a surprising in-season pickup from the Kraken in December, but he’s been the complete package in the nearly two months since his arrival. He’s clicked at nearly a point per game with nine goals and four assists in 14 games since the trade and leads Columbus forwards with a 53.1 CF% at even strength, although he’s helped out by playing a higher percentage of his games under Bowness. He’s still been a natural-looking fit on their top line alongside youngsters Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko.
Jenner may be the afterthought of the three in terms of on-ice performance this season, but he’s the captain and a career-long Blue Jacket. His production has taken something of a hit after missing most of last year with shoulder surgery, but he’s still produced eight goals and 27 points in 42 games, above his career-average pace. His 9.0% shooting rate is a bit below his career average and should come up down the stretch, too.
His 52.0 CF% signals his two-way game is still in a good spot, and he’s third on the team with 92 hits despite missing 14 games with an upper-body issue earlier in the year. Any concern about a long-term extension for the 32-year-old revolves around his extensive recent injury history. He’s missed double-digit games in every season since 2019-20 and has dealt with back problems for the vast majority of his career. The risk of aggressive age-related decline is palpable as a result.
Expecting Columbus to be able to swing extensions for all three is unrealistic – and considering all three are on the wrong side of 30, there’s a debate to be had over whether it’s a wise choice. Still, the question then shifts to whether the Jackets will still look to flip one of them and gain assets in return if it’s clear they’re too far off on an extension.
At least right now, the answer is no. “Regardless of whether they’re signed to extensions before the Olympic break ends, they’re off the trade market heading into the trade deadline,” a league source told Murphy.
“I’ve told everybody we will touch base over the break and see where they’re at and see where we’re at,” Waddell said. “And I said it last year, if players want to be here and we want ’em here, we’ll find a way to get it done. We did it last year, and we’ll do it again this year.”
Wild Notes: Wallstedt, Stramel, Coyle
The Minnesota Wild announced to the league that they are all-in on trying to win a Stanley Cup over the next two years when they acquired star blueliner Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. As they seek a player who can occupy a top-six center role, one of the key trade assets they have to leverage is breakout rookie goalie Jesper Wallstedt. Last month, it was reported that the Wild would consider dealing Wallstedt, and yesterday, The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith took things a step further, writing that a Wallstedt trade “really does feel inevitable.”
Despite his stellar rookie year, one where he’s posted a .914 save percentage across 23 games, Wallstedt is somewhat expendable for the Wild because they have starter Filip Gustavsson locked into a contract extension that carries a $6.8MM AAV, runs through 2030-31, and has a full no-move clause through next year. According to Russo and Smith, Wallstedt will be a real asset in play in the team’s search for a high-end center. For rival teams that have a need in net and a center to trade, Wallstedt’s availability could be a real opportunity to add a goaltender that could potentially be a starter in net for the next decade or more.
Other notes from the Twin Cities:
- Answering a question as to whether top prospect Charlie Stramel might exercise his right to hit unrestricted free agency when the Wild’s exclusive rights to sign him expire this summer, Russo and Smith relayed word from Stramel, who said he “100 percent” plans on signing with the Wild in some form when his NCAA season ends. It’s still to be determined whether that will be with AHL Iowa or whether the Wild will sign him to his entry-level deal and “burn” a year in doing so. Stramel is one of Minnesota’s best prospects, and is leading the Michigan State Spartans with 35 points in 26 NCAA games.
- Russo and Smith also reported yesterday that the Wild “have checked in with” the Columbus Blue Jackets regarding trade possibilities, including possibilities specifically related to veteran center Charlie Coyle, whose game Wild GM Bill Guerin is reportedly a fan of. Coyle, 33, played for the Wild from 2012-13 through 2018-19, and has had a stellar 2025-26 season, scoring 42 points in 56 games. Seeing as the Blue Jackets have surged after their recent coaching change, they could be unwilling to deal Coyle, even though he is a pending UFA. But as the Wild seek to upgrade their standing at the center position, it appears Coyle is very much on the team’s radar.
Blue Jackets Notes: Fantilli, Provorov, Forward Depth
There’s no question that the Columbus Blue Jackets have one of the cleanest cap tables in the league, especially for how competitive they’re expected to be in the 2025-26 season. Still, as their younger players continue to age, the Blue Jackets are getting closer to potentially having to make difficult decisions, and their extension negotiations with Adam Fantilli will have a major impact on their salary hierarchy moving forward.
Despite having a somewhat disappointing rookie season, albeit limited by injuries, the third overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft responded well last season, scoring 31 goals and 54 points in 82 games while averaging 17:29 of ice time per game. Fantilli still needs to improve in the faceoff dot and on the defensive side of the puck, but being a 30-goal scorer at 20 years old is nothing to scoff at.
In a recent interview with James Murphy of RG Media, Blue Jackets’ General Manager Don Waddell spoke about the upcoming negotiations with Fantilli, saying, We’re going to talk here in the next couple of weeks. Pat Brisson is his agent, and we’re going to do some face-to-face meetings. When these kinds of players are up and these kinds of deals need to be made, I think you need to be in front of each other. I think you make a lot more progress than just over the phone. So that’s always been my theory, and Pat’s the same way. I’ve done a lot of deals over the years with Pat, so we’ll be fine and sit down face-to-face and get this done. As we get closer to training camp, I think we’ll be much further ahead, and we have some dates already planned that we’ll meet, so let’s go from there.”
There technically shouldn’t be any rush on Columbus’s end, given that Fantilli is a few years away from even becoming arbitration-eligible. Still, for the sake of cost certainty and having one of their core pieces locked up long-term, the Blue Jackets are eyeing a long-term extension with Fantilli in the coming weeks.
Waddell also spoke about a separate extension this offseason. On the eve of free agency this summer, Columbus re-signed defenseman Ivan Provorov to a seven-year, $59.5MM contract, which represented only a $1.75MM yearly increase on his previous deal. Despite reports at the time indicating that Provorov might seek a larger deal on the open market, Waddell explained in the interview that there was no real concern he’d leave the organization.
Murphy quoted Waddell, saying, “Well, the good thing is I was in dialogue regularly with Mark Andler, his agent, and there’s a lot of outside noise, but Mark kept telling me, and Provorov too, that his first choice was to stay here in Columbus.” Waddell explained that although Provorov’s cap hit may seem high, he believes it will look more favorable as the salary cap increases. Additionally, Provorov’s preparation for each season is expected to enhance his longevity throughout the duration of the contract.
Lastly, Waddell touched on his excitement over the depth the Blue Jackets brought in this summer, particularly on offense. The team specifically targeted Charlie Coyle as a right-handed center and believes his leadership skills will prove a boon to the younger players on the roster.
Meanwhile, the team’s General Manager also remarked about the skill level of Miles Wood on the offensive side of the puck and Isac Lundeström‘s skill on the defensive side of the puck. All three additions are expected to maintain important roles for the Blue Jackets this season and help the team return to the postseason for the first time since the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Blue Jackets Acquire Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood From Avalanche
The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forwards Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for top prospect Gavin Brindley, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2025 third-round pick, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The deal was first reported by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The deal has now been confirmed by Columbus. Colorado will clear out $7.75MM in cap space with this move.
Columbus will land a much-needed second-line center through this move. Coyle started the 2024-25 season with the Boston Bruins, but posted a very quiet 15 goals and 22 points in the 64 games leading up to the Trade Deadline. With a lost season on hand, the Bruins opted to move Coyle to the forward-needy Colorado Avalanche in exchange for centerman Casey Mittelstadt, prospect William Zellers, and a 2025 second-round draft pick. It was a lofty return, but Coyle made it worthwhile with a surge back to scoring heights. He recorded 13 points in 19 games with Colorado – an 82-game pace of 56 points. But Coyle fell surprisingly snake-bitten in the postseason, and managed just one goal in Colorado’s seven playoff games.
Coyle’s surge back to productivity is one Columbus will hope can stick. He was a focal point of the Bruins’ offense during his six full seasons with the club. He had dipped to 28 points in 60 games with the Minnesota Wild prior to a mid-season move to the Bruins. But after a red-hot postseason in Boston – 16 points in 24 games – Coyle found his groove with 16 goals and 37 points in 70 games of his first full year with the Bruins. His scoring took a hit during the shortened 2020-21 campaign, but he climbed back to success with 44 and 45 points in the following two years. He then broke out in a big way during the 2023-24 season, netting a career-high 25 goals and 60 assists in 82 games.
That performance made Coyle’s ice cold start to the 2024-25 season all the more confusing. But even through peaks and valleys on the box score, Coyle has stayed a consistent two-way feature of anywhere he’s landed. He has a bulky 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame and controls movements through both directions of the neutral zone with confidence. That kind of reliable veteran could be invaluable as Columbus looks to build out behind a top line of Kent Johnson, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko.
Just as valuable will be the gritty, veteran depth that Colorado adds in the form of Miles Wood. The 29-year-old winger was limited to just 37 games this year due to an upper-body injury. When he did play, he only tallied eight points. That scoring pace falls just short of the 27 and 26 points Wood totaled over the last two seasons, likely a result of an injury slowing him down. Wood’s career-year stands as his 2017-18 campaign with the New Jersey Devils. He scored 19 goals and 32 points in 76 games that year, though Wood’s true impact has always come away from the puck. He’s a bulky, physical forward who’s at his best when causing havoc along the boards or in the corners. He has recorded 182 points, split evenly, and 550 penalty minutes in 513 career games in the NHL. That imposing physical presence will back Columbus’ young top-six well.
But even with the clear-cut roles that Coyle and Wood are headed for, it’s a surprise to see the Blue Jackets move on from Brindley before giving him a consistent chance in the NHL. The team selected the 5-foot-8 winger with the 34th overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, after a standout freshman year at the University of Michigan. Brindley performed even better in his sophomore season, scoring 25 goals and 53 points in only 40 games. His scoring led the Wolverines that season – above players like Rutger McGroarty, Dylan Duke, Seamus Casey, and Frank Nazar.
While he can be called undersized, Brindley is far from outworked. He’s a tireless forechecker, and creates a surprising amount of turnovers and chances deep in the offensive end for a player his size. But, as was to be expected, Brindley struggled to maintain that through his transition to pro leagues. He found his way into bottom-six minutes with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters this season, while playing through his first professional season. He ended the year with just 17 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a minus-10 through 52 games.
Those numbers – and especially his mere three points through the final 22 games of the season – will set Brindley on a course for the minor leagues again next year. But his upside will be sky-high – and in an Avalanche pool that can pad his size concerns, there could be the makings of a strong depth-winger here. This will be an upside bet for Colorado, and an err towards sure things for the Blue Jackets.
Photo courtesy of Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports.
Avalanche Notes: MacKinnon, Lindgren, Girard, Coyle
The Avalanche will be giving franchise center Nathan MacKinnon some rest as the postseason nears. He’s dealing with a minor injury and may not play again in the regular season, Corey Masisak of the Denver Post was first to report. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed MacKinnon won’t play tonight against the Canucks and called him doubtful for their other two remaining contests (via Masisak).
That will mean extended rest for MacKinnon ahead of the first round. Colorado is the first team in the league to end their regular season schedule, playing Game 82 on Sunday. They’ll have at minimum six days of rest before Game 1 of their first playoff series.
It’s virtually confirmed that MacKinnon will be ready to go when the postseason starts, and today’s absence is more precautionary. Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now wrote, “It sounds like he’d be playing if the Avs were still fighting for something to close out the regular season.”
If that’s the case, MacKinnon ends his season with 32-84–116 in 79 games, along with a +25 rating. On a goals-per-game basis, it’s his worst showing in eight years, and his 1.47 points per game are his lowest since the 2021-22 season. That doesn’t mean much in a season where high-end scoring has regressed heavily. MacKinnon still enters game action tonight leading the league in assists and points, and could very well capture his second straight Hart Trophy in a few weeks’ time.
Unfortunately, there’s a more legitimate upper-body injury holding defenseman Ryan Lindgren out of tonight’s game, Bednar told Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports. The 27-year-old complementary defender, acquired from the Rangers in March, had gone without a point in his last eight games and has 2-1–3 in 18 contests since the swap, averaging 19 minutes per game with a minus-one rating. His second-pairing role will be filled by Samuel Girard, who Bednar confirmed returns tonight after a four-game absence due to an undisclosed injury (via Deen).
Also playing is pivot Charlie Coyle, who was banged up while recording two assists in Tuesday’s shootout win over the Golden Knights. That’s important with MacKinnon out to reduce the load increase on names like Jack Drury and Brock Nelson down the middle. Coyle has 1-7–8 in 16 games since being acquired from the Bruins for Casey Mittelstadt at the trade deadline.
Bruins, Avalanche Swap Charlie Coyle, Casey Mittelstadt
The Avalanche are acquiring center Charlie Coyle from the Bruins, Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic reports. Center Casey Mittelstadt is headed from Colorado to Boston in the deal, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic. The Bruins are also receiving forward prospect Will Zellers and a second-round pick in the deal, according to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff. LeBrun adds the Avs are receiving a 2026 fifth-rounder along with Coyle, while the second-round pick heading to Boston is in this year’s draft.
The deal swaps middle-six centers heading in completely opposite directions. Coyle, fresh off his 33rd birthday, posted a career-high 60 points in Boston last season but has scored just 15-7–22 in 64 games this year with a career-worst -14 rating. He’s signed through next season at a $5.25MM cap hit, a big risk for the Avs if there’s no salary retention and his play can’t rebound in what’s sure to be a reduced role behind Nathan MacKinnon and yesterday’s pickup Brock Nelson down the middle.
Coyle does bring an upgrade to Colorado’s third line in terms of overall experience and past performance, which is what the Avs are banking on despite his poor showing on a thin Bruins offense this year. He also brings some slight cap savings down the line – he costs $500K less against the cap than Mittelstadt and is signed for one less season. It’s worth noting he’s been quite the playoff performer in his career, posting 25-27–52 in 119 postseason games. He’s yet to miss the playoffs, going in six straight years with Minnesota and then another six with Boston. He’ll extend it to 13 years in a row in Denver.
Boston lands a much younger pivot in Mittelstadt, who hasn’t quite reached Coyle’s 60-point pinnacle but did reach 59 and 57 points the last two seasons. He hasn’t taken nearly as large a step back as Coyle this season, but it’s still been quite the difficult season. Mittelstadt has 11-23–34 through 63 games for the Avs, who acquired him at last year’s deadline in a major swap with the Sabres for Bowen Byram. Only 25 of those points have come at even strength, he’s won just 42.4% of his faceoffs, and his relative possession impacts are the worst they’ve been in five years. He wasn’t the reliable second-line center Colorado hoped they were getting last year, so they opted to acquire the veteran Nelson and Coyle while flipping Mittelstadt less than a year after signing him to a three-year, $17.25MM deal.
The mismatch in futures heading to the Bruins from the Avs is still surprising. Mittelstadt is seven years younger than Coyle and still has 60-point potential, and he’s a skilled sniper with a nearly 12% shooting rate. While a less reliable two-way presence than Coyle, who landed Selke Trophy votes for the first time last season, his age and contract align better with Boston’s now clear plan to retool their roster over the coming years. With Trent Frederic already out the door, Mittelstadt should easily fit into a top-six role for Boston down the stretch, although his poor faceoff showings may necessitate a shift to the wing to get him that ice time.
Boston picks up a fairly intriguing prospect in the 18-year-old Zellers. Selected in the third round of last year’s draft by the Avs out of prep school Shattuck St. Mary’s, the 5’11” center/winger jumped to the United States Hockey League for major junior play this year and hasn’t disappointed. In 40 games with the Green Bay Gamblers, the speedy forward leads the team in scoring with 37-21–58. He’s the high-energy, high-scoring type of prospect sorely missing from the Bruins’ system, even if he’ll be a long-term project developmentally.
Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Bruins Open To Moving Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha
For the first time in recent memory, the Bruins have made the call to sell at the trade deadline in earnest. After trading pending UFA forward Trent Frederic to the Oilers earlier today and following previous reports that defenseman Brandon Carlo and forward Morgan Geekie are available for the right price, they’re now open to hearing offers for centers Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.
Their availability adds some depth to a relatively thin center market ahead of Friday’s deadline, although neither are rental pickups. Coyle is signed through 2026-27 at a $5.25MM cap hit and carries a full no-movement clause for the duration of his deal, per PuckPedia, so the Bruins’ options for moving him will be extremely limited. Meanwhile, Zacha is under contract through 2027-28 with a $4.75MM cap hit and has a 10-team no-trade list until July 1.
Neither has had a season to write home about, especially Coyle. Fresh off his 33rd birthday, the hometown kid has churned out just 14-7–21 through 62 games after recording a career-high 25 goals and 60 points last season. It’s not for a lack of usage – he’s averaging 17:39 per game, the second-highest mark of his career behind last year. He’s shooting at a strong 15.6% but not generating nearly as many chances. His 1.45 shots on goal per game mark the second-lowest rate of his 13-year run in the NHL, ahead of only his rookie season with the Wild 12 years ago. He’s also tracking to post a career-worst -13 rating.
That doesn’t paint a rosy picture in terms of the likelihood of a trade. He only has a three-team no-trade list if he waives his no-movement clause, but whether or not he’d even waive his NMC to depart his home city is uncertain, even as Boston enters sell-off mode. His $5.25MM cap hit is also immovable given his performance this season without retention, and it’s unlikely Boston would be willing to do so for a contract that runs past this season as they look to reload for 2025-26.
The 27-year-old Zacha is thus a far more intriguing candidate. His offensive totals have dropped too, but not as much. He’s still third on the team in scoring with 12-25–37 in 62 games, all while averaging 19:23 per game and serving as the Bs’ de facto No. 1 center for the second year in a row. He’s averaged 0.69 points per game in a Bruins uniform since they acquired him from the Devils in 2022 and wouldn’t command any retention to move. Limited trade protection also increases his market, and at his cap hit, he’s a better value proposition – especially with two years left on his deal – than most other centers out there.
The 6’3″ Zacha is also a full-time pivot with good faceoff numbers, more than what can be said about names like Ryan Donato or Scott Laughton. After spending most of his career below 50%, he’s won 54.2% of his draws since the beginning of 2023-24.
Moving either would represent a more aggressive retooling than most would have expected out of the Bruins. Still, their names floating into rumors at least signal an openness to moving out some of their lower-ceiling offensive talents in hopes of landing a top-six impact piece (or multiple) this summer.
Summer Synopsis: Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have had a lot of regular-season success over the past few years, but it hasn’t translated into a lengthy playoff run. They’ve managed to stay in contention despite a bevy of on-ice personnel losses and re-tooled this summer, signing some lucrative long-term contracts with top-tier free agents. With an aging core that knows how to win, Boston has elected to run it back again over the next few seasons and should be formidable when the puck drops on the regular season this fall.
Draft
1-25: C Dean Letourneau, St. Andrews College (High-ON)
4-110: D Elliott Groenewold, Cedar Rapids (USHL)
5-154: C Jonathan Morello, St. Michaels (OJHL)
6-186: D Loke Johansson, AIK Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)
The Bruins didn’t have much of an opportunity to re-stock the prospect cupboards at this year’s NHL entry draft, however, they did manage to snag a first-round pick in the Linus Ullmark trade which they promptly used to draft the towering Letourneau. The Ottawa Valley native played prep school hockey in Ontario this past season and led St. Andrew’s with 61 goals and 66 assists in 56 games. Scouts sometimes have difficulty assessing prep school hockey players relative to their peers. Still, given Letourneau’s size and length, it was hard for the Bruins to pass on a player who looks like a prototypical Boston player.
Boston selected the 18-year-old Groenewold in the fourth round of the draft after he appeared in 57 games for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL last season. The 200-pound, 6-foot-2 defenseman is committed to Quinnipiac University for next season and will look to continue developing his game as a defensive defenseman. Groenewold is a player who could give Boston a real defensive presence on their back end, as he is effective at clearing the area around his crease and is known to win puck battles in the defensive zone.
A fifth-round pick. Morello was a point-a-game player in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (57 points in 50 games). However, his playoffs were different, as he tallied 12 goals and nine assists in 11 games. Some scouts believe he could be just scratching the surface, while others wonder if he has an NHL role. Boston likely views Morello as a project, but given his solid skating and size, he was worth a roll of the dice in the fifth round.
Trade Acquisitions
F Mark Kastelic (Ottawa)
G Joonas Korpisalo (Ottawa)
C Vinni Lettieri (Minnesota)
Boston had to move on from Ullmark this summer but was likely hoping to avoid taking back a lousy goalie contract, precisely what they did. Boston acquired Korpisalo for Ullmark but did get him at a reduced rate for the next four seasons ($3MM AAV), which could be an okay contract if the 30-year-old can return to the form he showed during the 2022-23 season. Korpisalo has always been a talented netminder and a great athlete, however, he’s never been able to maintain consistency through a long stretch which is why he’s out of Ottawa one year into a five-year deal.
Boston also received Kastelic in the Ullmark trade. The 6’4” forward could be a solid fourth-line contributor for Boston going forward but shouldn’t be someone they count on for offense. Kastelic has been effective in the faceoff circle during his short NHL career (56.3%) and has no issue finishing his checks. He’s also very sound defensively, using his frame and reach to disrupt the opponents’ offensive sequences. With all that being said, Kastelic has primarily been a non-factor offensively throughout his NHL career and even last season, he ranked 323rd among NHL forwards who played more than 200 minutes at 5v5.
Lettieri struggled through injuries and inconsistency last season in Minnesota and could be a bounce-back candidate in Boston. He can skate and has a good set of hands, but his confidence appeared shattered with the Wild, and he spent a good chunk of last year in the AHL. If Boston can insulate him, they might be able to get more of him next year. However, they might also see an opportunity to have him start the season in Providence to try and get him on the right track.
UFA Signings
F Max Jones (two-year, $2MM)
F Cole Koepke (one-year, $775K)*
F Elias Lindholm (seven-year, $54.25MM)
D Jordan Oesterle (two-year, $1.55MM)*
D Billy Sweezey (two-year, $1.55MM)*
F Riley Tufte (one-year, $775K)*
F Jeffrey Viel (two year, $1.55MM)*
D Nikita Zadorov (six-year, $30MM)
* denotes a two-way contract
Boston’s two big moves in the free agent market were Lindholm and Zadorov, but they also added some depth with the Jones signing. Boston recognized they had a hole down the middle, which Lindholm should be able to fill going forward. Lindholm’s two-way play should give the Bruins a big boost and allow them to move Pavel Zacha back to the wing and provide better balance to their top 6. He should be able to find a way to make Boston’s forward group better both offensively and defensively and elevate his talented linemates in the process.
Zadorov has been around the NHL for a long time and struggled to find stability for most of it. However, once he found a consistent role, he became a physical presence that could clear the crease and take care of business in the defensive zone. Zadorov has problems when he overplays the puck or gets lost in the defensive zone. Boston will likely have the 29-year-old paired with Charlie McAvoy, which means Zadorov can defer most of the puck-carrying to his partner. However, he will be defensively in many precarious positions when McAvoy takes chances.
RFA Re-Signings
G Brandon Bussi (one-year, $775K)*
D Michael Callahan (one-year, $775K)*
C Marc McLaughlin (one-year, $775K)*
D Ian Mitchell ((one-year, $775K)*)*
D Alec Regula (one-year, $775K)*
* denotes a two-way contract
Boston’s biggest RFA signing has yet to happen but should occur in the not-too-distant future, as Jeremy Swayman is clearly Boston’s goalie of the future. Most of Boston’s work in the RFA market was locking down depth pieces, which may or may not factor into the NHL roster this season.
Bussi figures to at least challenge for the Bruins’ backup goaltender position, which is unlikely to be handed to Korpisalo given his struggles last season. Bussi is a solid young netminder who might require more seasoning in the AHL but does forecast as an NHL backup. He is of good size and aggressive in the net, but he can be guilty of overcommitting to shooters and likely needs to figure out how to rein that in before he finds full-time NHL duties.
Mitchell remains an intriguing option for the Bruins on the back end. He is an excellent skater and gets around the ice quickly. He also controls the puck well and has a great pass. The downside for Mitchell is that he is undersized and does get beat in a lot of puck battles. He also loses battles in front of the net, which can lead to some nightmares in the defensive zone.
Departures
F Joey Abate (unsigned UFA)
F Jesper Boqvist (Florida, one-year, $775K)
F Jake DeBrusk (Vancouver, seven-year, $38.5MM)
D Derek Forbort (Vancouver, one-year, $1.5MM)
D Matt Grzelcyk (Pittsburgh, one-year, $2.75MM)
F Danton Heinen (Vancouver, two-year, $4.5MM)
G Kyle Keyser (signed in KHL)
F Jakub Lauko (traded to Minnesota)
F Milan Lucic (unsigned UFA)
F Pat Maroon (Chicago, one-year, $1.3MM)
C Jayson Megna (signed in AHL Colorado)
D Dan Renouf (signed in AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Anthony Richard (Philadelphia, two-year, $1.55MM)*
D Kevin Shattenkirk (unsigned UFA)
C Oskar Steen (signed in Sweden)
G Linus Ullmark (traded to Ottawa)
F James van Riemsdyk (unsigned UFA)
D Reilly Walsh (Los Angeles, one-year, $775K)*
F Daniel Winnik (retired)
* denotes a two-way contract
Boston’s departures were essentially depth players who had either signed short-term deals recently or had been drafted or signed out of college and didn’t factor into the Bruins’ future. That being said, the departures of DeBrusk and Ullmark are sure to be felt this season, especially if Lindholm starts slow or Swayman struggles in the full-time starter role.
On the backend, Forbort and Grzelcyk struggled last season and needed a blank slate in another uniform, which should open the door for new faces to take up roles on the blue line. Zadorov will fill Grzelcyk’s old role, and depending on Mitchell’s development, he could also take up a spot on Boston’s defense. Boston’s defense core remains strong, and given the poor play of both Forbort and Grzelcyk last season, their departures shouldn’t be much of a loss.
Where Boston could feel the pinch is the loss of some of their depth scoring, mainly Heinen, DeBrusk and van Riemsdyk, who all contributed offensively last season and outperformed their cap hits. Heinen notched 17 goals and 19 assists last season in 74 games while playing for the league minimum of $775K, while JVR made $1MM for putting up 38 points in 71 games. DeBrusk played on a $4MM cap hit last year and had a disappointing regular season with just 19 goals and 21 assists in 80 games. However, he elevated his game in the playoffs, tallying 11 points in 13 games to lead the Bruins in postseason scoring. That kind of cheap depth scoring is hard to come by, and it could come back to bite Boston this season if their top two lines go on any cold streak.
Salary Cap Outlook
The Bruins are entering August with just over $8.6MM in projected cap space which looks like a luxury at this late stage of the summer, however, Boston’s most pressing issue remains as they’ve yet to lock up starting goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Boston spent liberally this summer on the free agent market, but it shouldn’t prohibit them from retaining their core in the future. Boston has most of its critical pieces locked up aside from Brad Marchand (and Swayman), who will be a UFA next summer. The Bruins likely looked at their aging roster and long-term contract structure and saw their position as an opportunity to load up without worrying too much about future cap issues.
Key Questions
Can Swayman Be A Full-Time Starter? Swayman has proven over the last few seasons that he is a very talented netminder. However, he has done so while being complimented by another goaltender who is among the best in the league at the position. Now, with Ullmark in Ottawa, the net is Swayman’s, and it will be interesting to see if he can maintain his incredible numbers in the future, especially now that he’s the bonafide number-one goalie. The 25-year-old played in a career-high 44 games last season for Boston, and while his numbers did dip a little bit, he was still rock solid for the Bruins. With Ullmark gone, it is conceivable that the Anchorage, Alaska native will play somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-60 games, which will undoubtedly test his endurance and durability.
Will The New Pieces Fit? Boston shelled out a lot of money for Lindholm and Zadorov, and there is no guarantee that they will fit despite their extensive body of work in the NHL. Lindholm wasn’t a perfect fit in Vancouver and struggled at times after the trade from Calgary. Zadorov has bounced around the NHL during his career before finding stability in Calgary. Both players are certainly upgrades for the Bruins, but they come with some risk. Boston gambled that they are the right fit, and it will undoubtedly make for a compelling storyline if either player has a slow start after signing lucrative free-agent deals.
Can Charlie Coyle Replicate Last Season’s Success? Coyle had a career-high 60 points last season, but he isn’t that far removed from a 16-point campaign with the Boston Bruins during the shortened 2020-21 season. Two years before that, Coyle had just two goals and four assists in 21 games during a shortened 2018-19 season. Coyle has had wild different seasons throughout his career, but last year, he stepped up after the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, which allowed Boston to continue to be a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. While there is little reason to believe his play will fall off a cliff at 32 years old, there is reason to believe that he could take a step back from the best year of his professional career. As mentioned earlier, Coyle’s numbers have been wildly different from year to year, and if he can’t get back to last year’s numbers, it could be a very different outcome for him next season.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.