Bruins trade for Wild F Charlie Coyle: Did Boston give up too much in Ryan Donato?

LAS VEGAS — The first domino has fallen in Don Sweeney’s efforts toward bracing the Bruins for another run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Bruins have pulled the trigger on a trade to acquire Minnesota Wild center/winger Charlie Coyle, marking a homecoming of sorts for the BU product and Weymouth native.

In order to acquire Coyle, the Bruins parted ways with Ryan Donato and a conditional 2019 fifth-round pick. If Boston advances to the second round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Bruins will keep their fifth rounder and instead part ways with the Rangers' 2019 fourth-round pick. Boston acquired the pick in the trade for Adam McQuaid back in September. 

Let’s break down the reported deal:

What can Coyle bring to the Bruins?

Coyle, 26, gives Boston some versatility in its forward corps, with the skater logging reps both at wing and at center. In an ideal situation, Coyle will likely slot in at third-line center, bringing some stability to a part of the lineup that has largely struggled all season long. Some experience on the wing also gives Bruce Cassidy the option to move Coyle up if need be, although you’d have to think that Boston will want Coyle to give that third line a lift while keeping guys like Danton Heinen and, obviously, David Pastrnak up in top-six roles.

One important thing to note with Coyle is that he checks off a few areas that Sweeney and Co. were looking to avoid during the deadline season — as they did not have to give up another first-round pick to pry him out of Minnesota, while Coyle is not a rental. In fact, the forward is under contract through next season with a very reasonable cap hit of $3.2 million.

He may not be an offensive sparkplug like other pivots out on the market such as Matt Duchene or Kevin Hayes, but Coyle can only help a third line that has shuffled through numerous names this season to fill the vacant spot at center — including David Backes, Trent Frederic, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Colby Cave. Plugging in Coyle also will allow prospects like Frederic and Forsbacka Karlsson to earn more time down in Providence, rather than waste their time up in the NHL while earning eight to nine minutes a night. 

It quickly became apparent that Boston was going to need some outside help to shore up the center position — and the Bruins suddenly have a pretty good crew down the middle in Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Coyle and Noel Acciari, who is part of one of the best fourth lines in the NHL.

This season, Coyle has scored 10 goals and added 18 assists over 60 games. The forward has seen his production dip a bit since missing time in 2017-18 due to injuries, but he averaged just under 20 goals a season from 2015-17. The former first-round pick can also earn special-teams reps (114 minutes of power-play TOI & 72 minutes of PK TOI) and has the size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds) to be an effective net-front player, as evidenced by his shot map this season.



The cost

Boston managed to clear one hurdle by not parting ways with a first-rounder for a player with term, but dealing away a player like Donato is a pretty significant move.

At one point earning Calder Trophy buzz this season after tallying five goals and nine points over 12 games, 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. As of late, Donato had only tallied one goal and no assists in his last seven games down in Providence. 

Donato’s strength — a potent, heavy shot — will likely allow him to be a productive NHL talent down the road, although it was apparent this season that the Harvard product still has plenty of work to do in terms of improving his overall game.

Still, with an individual expected goals per 60 minutes rate of 0.73 up in the NHL this year, it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise for a volume shooter like Donato to start finding success on a team with more minutes available, similar to what Frank Vatrano has done in his first full season with Florida (20 goals, 33 total points).

That being said, it became apparent that Donato still had plenty to work on in terms of his overall game following his last assignment to Providence.

“Strong on the pucks, strong on his skates, win some puck battles,” Cassidy said of what Donato needed to work on back on Jan. 28. “All-around game. I think he had some tough luck here, I think he generated offense with his shot, scored some of them, rang some off the post, some didn’t go it. So a little bit of tough luck for him.

“It’s just a matter of working on his overall game. Making the plays that are available to him, get better on the walls, all the little things. I know it sounds repetitive, but all of the guys through it. Jake (DeBrusk), Heinen, Cehlarik, they’ve all done it. It’s his turn to go down there and when we need him, he’s a better player for it.”

The Verdict?

My initial reaction? It’s a solid move that fills an immediate need for the Bruins. You can somewhat compare it a bit to the Blake Wheeler/Rich Peverley trade back in 2011, in which Boston dealt a young, promising prospect to fix a major issue on the roster.

Now, I don’t think that Donato will become a 70- to 80-point producer like Wheeler, but he should round out and become an effective scorer down the road. For right now, this trade does make Boston better, but you have to feel like another shoe has to drop before Boston can really make things interesting against a team like Tampa Bay. If Coyle's here to be your third-line center, it's a great move. Is he going to be that extra scorer that Boston needs in a top-six role? Ehhh.

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