Ryan: Bruins would be wise to steer clear of another Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade saga

If the Bruins are actually going to bring aboard that “elusive left D” that can log 20+ minutes a night, generate offense and shut down daunting matchups, they might have to get very creative this offseason. 

While free agency could be an outlet for Boston to shore up depth or find value adds like a Jake McCabe, there isn’t a slam-dunk, top-pairing candidate that could significantly augment the state of Boston’s blue line out on the open market — unless Boston wants to pay up for … Dougie Hamilton? (Methinks they won’t.)

Perhaps Boston could target an Alec Martinez or Jamie Oleksiak, but there’s a lot of risk paying big money for a 33-going-34-year-old skater in Martinez, while Oleksiak — a very strong shutdown option — may only be one piece to the puzzle when it comes to beefing up the B’s D corps. 

But if Boston sets its sights on the trade market in an effort to acquire a true top-pairing option to slot next to Charlie McAvoy (or even Brandon Carlo), who could be available?

Well, a familiar suitor could be lurking out west, because — stop if you’ve heard this before — the Coyotes seem intent on moving captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson once again.

According to the well-connected Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider, Arizona plans to explore trades involving Ekman-Larsson for the second straight offseason — with the ‘Yotes engaging both the Bruins and Canucks in trade discussions last fall. 

Unlike last year, in which Ekman-Larsson stated that he’d only waive his no-move clause to either Boston or Vancouver, Morgan reports that the veteran defenseman will be much more willing to accept a trade to another destination — with a change of scenery best at this point for all parties involved. 

The question, of course, is who exactly would want to deal for a player in Ekman-Larsson that not only is tied down by an albatross of a contract — but also has declined for quite a few seasons now. 

From the Bruins’ perspective, I miiiiiight see the appeal of at least kicking the tires on Ekman-Larsson once more.

Still just 30 years old by the time camp opens in September, Ekman-Larsson has served as a top-pairing option with Arizona for most of his 11-year tenure out in the desert, not only logging heavy minutes, but also generating plenty of offense from the blue line — averaging 16.5 goals per season over a six-year stretch from 2013-19. 

Perhaps moving to a new environment and no longer have to shoulder the responsibility of being “the guy” could do wonders for a guy like OEL — in the same vein as how Taylor Hall benefitted after arriving in Boston back in April. 

The only difference of course is that while Hall’s baseline numbers were underwhelming on a HORRID Sabres team, there was plenty to like about his game — be it his transition play, two-way potential or ability to regularly generate high-danger chances. 

The same can’t be said about Ekman-Larsson’s game, which has pretty much plummeted over the past two years.

The Coyotes have to be kicking themselves for not dealing their captain last summer to either Boston or Vancouver (even for pennies on the dollar), considering that Ekman-Larsson ranked in the 19th percentile among NHL defensemen in even-strength offense, 12th percentile in even-strength defense — and just the 1st percentile on the power play — this past year. That’s downright horrid. 

And, as the great @JFreshHockey noted on Twitter, it’s not as though Ekman-Larsson’s numbers are a byproduct of playing on this Arizona club — considering that Jakob Chychrun looked pretty damn good last season while leapfrogging OEL for the top-pairing spot on the left side.

Of course, even if you still wanted to gamble on OEL regaining his form in a new city, there’s the other major hurdle in terms of his contract — with the veteran still set to cost his club an annual cap hit of $8.25 million through the 2026-27 season. Wooooooooof. 

Regardless of whatever deal that Arizona strikes centered on OEL, it sure seems like there’s going to be plenty of concessions made in this flat-cap era — whether it be Arizona retaining a hefty chunk of change, swapping poor contracts or including other pieces in a trade.

Other than perhaps John Moore’s contract ($2.75 million cap hit through 2022-23 season), the Bruins don’t necessarily have any albatross deals they could swap with Arizona for OEL (Charlie Coyle has a no-move clause) — and considering Boston still has plenty of offseason matters to attend to that require cap room, it’s pretty much a given that the B’s can’t be paying OEL close to that $8.25 million. 

Now, if Arizona was willing to include other pieces, such as a Conor Garland, then maybe things could get interesting if you’re the Bruins. Perhaps Arizona would move on from a young forward like Clayton Keller — who would immediately be a key building block for the next wave of B’s forwards — but his contract ($7.15 million cap hit through 2027-28 season) also is a LOT to take on. 

But at the end of the day, even with additional pieces brought aboard in a mega-deal, the Bruins would still be stuck with a guy in Ekman-Larsson that at this stage of his career very well might be out of gas — leaving Boston without that “elusive” top-pairing option once more, and suddenly with a lot less cap room to work with. 

Bergeron comes up short for 5th Selke Trophy

Patrice Bergeron’s quest for an NHL record fifth Selke Trophy came up short on Friday, as the B’s pivot finished second in voting behind Florida’s Aleksander Barkov for the award — doled out annually to the top defensive forward in the league. 

Bergeron finished with 522 points (15 first-place votes) — while Barkov took first with 780 points (62 first-place votes). Mark Stone, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan O’Reilly rounded out the top five in voting. Brad Marchand took ninth place with 39 total points. 

It’s a tough break for Bergeron — because for as much as narratives are often augmented by voter fatigue and awarding players that are “due” for recognition, the fact of the matter is that Bergeron’s candidacy shouldn’t have been centered on reputation, but rather due to the fact that he was especially dominant this season. 

Along with leading the league in faceoff wins (714) and faceoff percentage (62.2 percent), Bergeron regularly tilted ice back in Boston’s favor when he was out on a shift — with the B’s holding an 87-45 edge in goals scored in all situations when their captain was on the ice. 

You could also delve deep into the underlying numbers and find a valid case as for why both Barkov and Stone both deserved the Selke. And your argument in favor of either of those two players would likely be valid — they’re both fantastic talents. 

What is tough to ignore are the pool of writers granted voting rights for this award that didn’t even list Bergeron on their ballot — with 11 writers in total leaving the B’s captain off their list. Bergeron is also not alone in that regard, as Barkov was left off of eight ballots entirely.

I get it, we’re all entitled to our own opinion. But whether it be the defensive or puck-possession metrics — or even the basic eye test — puck don’t lie when it comes to Bergeron’s continued standing as one of the best (if not the greatest), defensive forward in league history. 

B’s coach Sacco tied to Kraken

As the Kraken continue to vet candidates for their first head coaching position, one member of Bruce Cassidy’s coaching staff has continued to get his name linked to Seattle GM Ron Francis’ search for a new bench boss.

Speaking over the weekend, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted that while former Arizona coach Rick Tocchet has been singled out as a finalist for the Kraken gig, a number of other candidates are also in the mix — including University of Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato and Bruins assistant coach Joe Sacco.

Sacco, a Medford native and BU product, has served as a Bruins assistant coach for seven seasons — first assuming the post as a member of Claude Julien’s staff back on July 24, 2014. Sacco does have experience as a head coach up in the NHL ranks — as he led the Avalanche for four seasons (2009-13), earning a Jack Adams Award finalist nod in his first year at the helm. 

Stats and graphs courtesy of JFreshHockey.