Lightning’s acquisition of Blake Coleman further reinforces need for Bruins to go all-in at deadline

The arms race in the Atlantic Division has officially begun. 

The NHL trade deadline is now a week away, but the surging Lightning didn’t wait until Feb. 24 to pull the trigger on a move — as Tampa Bay acquired Devils winger Blake Coleman on Sunday evening in exchange for prospect Nolan Foote and a first-round pick.

The cost to acquire a winger like Coleman might have been steep, but Lightning GM Julien BriseBois made quite the statement by agreeing to such a swap — considering Tampa is already looking like a wagon after winning 22 of its last 25 games. 

With Coleman added to the mix, Jon Cooper has yet another weapon to add to a Lightning club that ranks second in the NHL in goals per game (3.54). Coleman, on pace to tally 30 goals and post 45 points this season, will also provide some relief on the financial front for Tampa, given that the 28-year-old skater is under contract through next year with a minuscule AAV of $1.8 million.

Given the vacancy still present on David Krejci’s line, the Bruins have been linked to just about every available winger under the sun over the last couple of weeks — with Boston reportedly in the running for Coleman as late as today. 

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Boston has plenty of time to swing another deal in an effort to load up for the postseason. But of all the teams expected to be in the running for Coleman, few expected it would be Tampa that would make the move, given how stacked that Lightning team already looks going into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

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Yes, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Tampa Bay gave up quite a lot to acquire a player like Coleman. 

If anything, that trade package (a first-rounder and Tampa’s top forward prospect) would seem to be a haul that a team like the Rangers might get for Chris Kreider, who is still tabbed as the top trade target out on the market. 

But give credit to BriseBois, after getting flat-out embarrassed last season in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, this Tampa team is going all in this year in an effort to make good on its shrinking Stanley Cup window. 

Key cogs like Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Andrei Vasilevskiy might be sticking around for a while, but it seems like a given that this franchise doesn’t have the cap room to retain much of its supporting cast, especially with youngsters like Anthony Cirelli and Mikhail Sergachev due for major pay raises. 

As such, it makes plenty of sense for Tampa to bring in a player like Coleman, both in order to max out the potential of this current roster and give the franchise some flexibility next season with his meager $1.8 million cap hit. 

The addition of Coleman is bad news for just about every other contender in the East, as the former Devils winger could be just what Tampa Bay was missing last season when it was trounced by the Blue Jackets in the playoffs. 

After getting manhandled by the likes of Josh Anderson, David Savard and the rest of Columbus’ crew, Tampa made a concerted effort to bulk up a roster loaded with skill, adding Patrick Maroon this offseason before bringing aboard Coleman, who is well on his way to recording 20 goals and 200 hits for the second season in a row. 

Along with Coleman’s willingness to throw his weight around, the winger is expected to provide a lift both in terms of 5v5 offense and the penalty kill. 

As Jason Paul notes below, Coleman has consistently driven 5v5 offense for a very bad Devils team this season, with his 16 5v5 goals currently 18th overall in the NHL. Down the other end of the ice, his 5v5 expected goals against per 60 minutes rate was third lowest on New Jersey’s roster behind only Kyle Palmieri and Jesper Bratt.

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So, yes, the Lightning had to pay a steep price, but a first-rounder and a top prospect is the price that BriseBois is more than willing to pay if it leads to a Stanley Cup title. That should be the same mentality that the Bruins and Don Sweeney take on or before Feb. 24, given that this current core of Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, Tuukka Rask, David Krejci and Brad Marchand isn't getting any younger.

Yes, restraint is an important virtue for a GM to have, especially when it comes to weighing the pros and cons of expending valuable draft capital. But with the likes of Kreider and Palmieri out there on the market and Boston's top contender in the Atlantic making a sizable upgrade, one thing is for certain —  a first-round pick shouldn't be the roadblock preventing Sweeney from going all-in this season.

There's already plenty to like about the 2019-20 Bruins, who have already accumulated 86 points through 60 games. They've got the veteran leadership and moxie that can't be undersold when the calendar switches to spring, one of the top forward trios in the league, a Vezina frontrunner in net and a stout defense. Mix in a younger core that already went through the gauntlet of 20+ games of playoff hockey in 2019, and this team has all the makings of a Stanley Cup champion.

But with Tampa Bay showing no signs of slowing down, Sweeney and the Bruins need to counter this week — and put this already loaded impressive roster over the top.

There's a time and a place to start looking ahead to the next generation of Bruins hockey. But it sure ain't this year.

Time to go all in.