LOS ANGELES — Given both David Pastrnak’s absence and Boston’s season-long search for some established scoring punch, it seems like a given Don Sweeney and his staff are going to pull the trigger on a deal ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline on Monday, Feb. 25.
Whether it be prying away a player with term or opting to dive headfirst into the perilous rental market, one thing is for certain — Boston has plenty of tantalizing pieces to dangle in front of potential buyers over the next 10 days.
With the deadline rapidly approaching, let’s take a look at which assets opposing clubs might be targeting on the B’s — with the Boston's trade chips ranked from 14 to 1 in terms of value:
14. John Moore: This is a less of a trade asset and more of another domino that could fall over the next 10 days if Boston needs to free up some cap space. Moore has performed admirably in his first season with Boston, holding a 50.32 Corsi For Percentage during 5v5 play through 47 games.
He certainly has wheels and can log time on both the penalty kill (110:13 - third-most minutes on the Bruins) and power play (18:36 TOI), but Moore has recently found himself on the outside looking in at a starting spot when all of Boston’s D corps is healthy. With Matt Grzelcyk returning, it seems unlikely Moore will earn regular reps barring another injury — not a great situation for a defenseman who just signed a five-year contract with Boston this summer.
It might not be the best look to deal a guy you just signed to a long-term deal, but Moore very well could get a couple of suitors if he was out on the market, given both his value ($2.75 million AAV) and his projection as a steady, starting defenseman on most NHL rosters.
13. Torey Krug: Similar to Moore — this would only be a move to relieve some cap difficulties for the Bruins, as well as eliminate some future headaches down the road with Krug set to get paid big time in 2020. With players like Grzelcyk establishing themselves as NHL regulars and prospects like Urho Vaakanainen on the way, the reasoning is there if Boston was going to deal Krug in order to save some cash down the road. But a move like that seems much more likely for this offseason, rather than at the trade deadline. Given Krug’s sizable impact on a power play that ranks second in the NHL with a 26.8 success rate, Krug stays for another postseason push.
12. Other draft picks: Along with its coveted first-round pick, Boston has plenty of other capital to use in a potential deal, with the B’s holding onto second-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks in the upcoming 2019 NHL Draft.
The fourth-round selection was originally held by the Rangers —with it included during a Sept. 11 deal that saw the Blueshirts trade for Adam McQuaid. Boston’s seventh-round pick also came via New York, with Boston snatching it as a conditional offering after McQuaid logged at least 25 games with the Rangers.
These picks may not be as tantalizing as that first-rounder, but Sweeney has not been afraid to lump some of these in with deals to add some depth to his roster.
Since Sweeney took over the reins of the organization back in May 2015, he has parted ways with nine draft picks — including seven that have come in the third round or later.
It can be easy to brush aside lower-level draft picks in a potential deal, especially if it brings back an impact player, but don’t forget that only six of the 23 players on Boston’s roster were first-round selections (Frederic / DeBrusk / McAvoy / Pastrnak / Moore / Rask).
11. Danton Heinen: Had this been this past offseason, Heinen would likely be much, much higher on this list, given that the winger showcased a solid, two-way game in 2017-18 while ranking ninth amongst all NHL rookies in scoring with 47 points while primarily playing on the third line. While his goals allowed per 60 minutes mark (1.16) suggests that Heinen has continued to make strides as a plus-defensive player up front, his offensive struggles have plummeted his trade value, even if he’s turned the corner a bit while logging reps up on a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Still, given his potential and his floor projection as a reliable, third-line contributor, Heinen does fit the mold as a coveted piece for some teams.
10. A center prospect — Trent Frederic/Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson : The case could be made the Bruins have been showcasing their 2016 first-round pick Frederic since calling him up back at the end of January. Since then, the 21-year-old pivot has earned plenty of reps as the latest candidate to take over Boston’s vacant spot at third-line center.
Aside from nearly rearranging Brandon Tanev’s face during a scrap in his debut, Frederic has largely underwhelmed — although he hasn’t had much of a chance to showcase his potential as a physical, two-way forward considering he’s only averaged about nine minutes of ice time up in the NHL.
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson could be a solid trade piece in a potential deal. (Photo by Adam Bow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Forsbacka Karlsson fared a bit better in his 28-game stint up with the Bruins, posting nine points while averaging just under 12 minutes a night. “JFK” will likely become a regular on an NHL club down the road thanks to his two-way game, and the 22-year-old pivot started to show a bit of something when centering a line with
Ryan Donato
and
Danton Heinen.
But still, that trio was still largely sheltered by Bruce Cassidy and his staff — with just 10.48 percent of their starts coming in the defensive zone.
Players like Frederic and Forsbacka Karlsson both need a bit of seasoning before they can become regular NHL contributors, with both standing as tantalizing trade bait if they can be acquired by a team that will allow them to develop at a more relaxed pace. Given Boston’s win-now window with guys like Bergeron, Krejci and more not getting any younger, both Frederic and Forsbacka Karlsson may not be afforded that same window to grow with the Bruins.
9. Jeremy Lauzon:
Unlike Jakub Zboril, the moment didn’t look too big for Lauzon upon getting called up to Boston back in November, with the 21-year-old defenseman holding his own over 15 games up with the Bruins, including a stretch of four games from Nov. 14-21 in which he averaged 22:05 minutes a night. Given how loaded Boston already is when it comes to left-shot defenseman, it remains to be seen just where Lauzon might fit into the Bruins’ plans going forward, but the 2015 second-round pick certainly has plenty of value.
8. Winger prospect:
Boston has intriguing prospects at the center position, but teams interested in a deal with the Bruins will likely be much more interested in offensively-gifted youngsters like
Ryan Donato
and
Peter Cehlarik.
At one point earning Calder Trophy buzz this season after tallying five goals and nine points over 12 games during the 2017-18 campaign, Donato has gone over quite a few bumps in the road during his first full season in the NHL — scoring six goals and posting nine points in 34 games, while earning a couple of trips down to Providence for more seasoning.
Cehlarik has looked solid up on a line with
David Krejci
and
Jake DeBrusk,
with both he and Donato likely valued by a number of other teams given their potential as effective offensive contributors, especially with additional minutes. It’s worked out for
Frank Vatrano
(19 goals over 55 games with Florida), and given their individual expected goals per 60 minutes rate, both Donato (0.73) and Cehlarik (0.6) have the chance to put together some numbers if they earned more minutes on teams in need of some skill up front.
7. Brandon Carlo:
Had this been at the tail end of last season, in which Carlo went through a bit of a sophomore slump while split from his usual D partner in
Zdeno Chara,
Given the strides he's made this season, it seems unlikely that Brandon Carlo will be dealt. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
6.
Next crop of prospects:
With younger players like Donato, Heinen and others seeing their stock drop over the past year, Boston’s best assets when it comes to their pipeline of prospects might be the couple of skaters that are still working on their craft down in juniors.
Jack Studnicka,
now up to 57 points over 45 games in the OHL, very well could contend for a starting spot on the B’s next season after nearly pushing for a role on the big club as a 19-year-old prospect this September.
Meanwhile,
Jakub Lauko
has continued to deliver after Boston drafted the Czech winger in the third round of the 2018 NHL Draft, with the 18-year-old skater now up to 37 points over 41 games in his first season of hockey in North America. Given the struggles of players like Donato, Forsbacka Karlsson and others, it’s reasonable for teams to inquire about players with much higher stock like Studnicka and Lauko. Still, it’d be a tough pill to swallow for Boston to part ways with either of these two — considering they could be making trips up to the NHL within the next year or so.
5. Matt Grzelcyk:
There’s a whole lot to like about Grzelcyk if you’re a team looking to add a nice weapon on the blue line. Grzelcyk has been one of the unsung heroes on Boston’s D corps this season, with the undersized blueliner averaging 19:46 TOI this season with 14 points despite spending most of his favorable offensive-zone time on Boston’s second power-play unit.
When you look at Grzelcyk’s ability to get around the ice to both break up opposing entries and exit the defensive zone with the puck on his stick, his value SOARS. I mean, look at where he ranks when lumping him in with other defensemen in the NHL.
4. First-round pick:
If Boston wants to bring in a player of Artemi Panarin or Mark Stone’s caliber later this month, the writing is on the wall that a first-round pick will likely be part of the asking price for a rebuilding team.
Considering how “
”
it was to be on the outside looking in at the first round last season after dealing their top pick to the Rangers in a deadline deal for
Rick Nash
— it seems unlikely Sweeney will want to part ways with another first rounder for the second year in a row.
To find the last time Boston dealt its first-round pick in back-to-back seasons, you have to go all the way back to 2003-04 — when the Bruins’ parted ways with its 2003 first rounder (albeit receiving another selection just five selections later from the Sharks), while later dealing the 27th overall pick in 2004 in a trade for
Sergei Gonchar
a year later.
*checks notes* / *refreshes page*
3. Urho Vaakanainen:
Considering the fact that a player like Vaakanainen would already likely be logging heavy minutes on a team in much worse shape than Boston’s current blue-line situation, you have to think that the 20-year-old defenseman is going to a prime target for teams over the next 10 days.
2. Jake DeBrusk:
1. The untouchables:
Would another team love to take a player like
Charlie McAvoy
off the Bruins’ hands? Of course, especially with the skilled defenseman playing some of the best hockey of his career over the last couple of weeks. Yeah, that’s not happening, even with McAvoy set to get a nice pay raise as an RFA this summer.
Who wouldn't want Charlie McAvoy on their team? (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
Who needs a trade pickup when you have
Lee Stempniak
waiting in the wings? The veteran winger has been a constant sight at Warrior Ice Arena all season long, keeping his conditioning in check while in pursuit of a new contract.
While Stempniak had some success up with the Bruins while skating on a line with
Patrice Bergeron
and
Brad Marchand
during the 2015-16 season, he hasn’t earned a shot back with the B’s quite yet, with Cassidy noting Tuesday that the forward hasn’t played in a regular-season matchup since April 2018.
“He’s been skating with us, as you know, seems like since Labor Day, and he could be,” Cassidy said when asked of Stempniak’s ability to be an extra-forward option on the Bruins. “I think that’s why he’s still here. There’s always a possibility. (
Don Sweeney
) has kind of left that open-ended with Lee. Lee’s happy to stay in shape and skate here. I don’t know if any other opportunities have come his way, but as of right now he’s still skating with us, so he could be. I don’t know if he could go right into our lineup. He hasn’t played since training camp. That would be a discussion we’d have to have.”
He may not be with the Bruins, but it looks like the organization is going to at least give him a look down in the AHL, as Stempniak signed a PTO deal with the Providence Bruins earlier this week. So far, so good for the veteran in his return to pro hockey, as he buried a goal and added an assist during the Baby B’s 3-1 win over the Marlies on Friday. Now, Stempniak won’t be the solution to Boston’s need for an established scorer, but the veteran could very well be a solid depth option, filling in a role similar to what
Brian Gionta
offered last season.
