Which trade targets could Bruins nab to find that ‘elusive’ top-pairing stalwart on defense?

The Bruins might have plenty of fires to put out when it comes to assessing the state of their roster this offseason — but it sure seems like beefing up their banged-up blue line sits at the top of Don Sweeney’s to-do list. 

And while the Bruins could open up their wallets and shore up their D corps through free agency by inking guys like Jamie Oleksiak, Alec Martinez or even a value pickup like Jake McCabe, you could certainly make the case Boston's best chance at bringing aboard the “elusive” left-shot D that Cam Neely described in his end-of-season Zoom conference is via trade — as there are a number of legit blueliners that could be on the move over the next couple of months.

After sizing up the free-agent market for defensemen last week, let’s take a look at some big names that Boston could focus in on if it's looking for a major injection of talent in its D corps:

Mattias Ekholm, Nashville Predators 

When it comes to checking off all of the boxes of the type of player that Neely covets in terms of logging heavy minutes each night, shutting down top-six matchups and generating offense from the blue line — one name stands above the rest in terms of potential B’s trade targets.

It’s the guy that we mapped out last year as Boston’s top trade target: Nashville defenseman Mattias Ekholm. 

Frankly, there isn’t a whole lot to dislike in terms of Ekholm’s game, with the 31-year-old skater giving Boston arguably the best top pair in the league if the B’s are somehow able to pry the veteran out of Nashville. 

If you’re a Bruins fan, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fault with what Ekhom brings out on the ice.

Is he a big body? Check. (6-foot-4, 215 pounds)

Can he log heavy minutes? Check. (22:52 ATOI last season - 23:22 ATOI over last five seasons).

Ok, he’s a big body. But can he also generate offense? Sure can. (Six goals and 23 points over 48 games last season).

Add in his strong underlying metrics and fact that he’s signed through this upcoming season at a more-than-reasonable cap hit of $3.75 million — and Ekholm is the type of veteran, put-you-over-the-top addition that plenty of Cup contenders will surely covet if Nashville puts him on the market this summer.

And while the Bruins might have to part ways with at least a few assets in a move for Ekholm (Jake DeBrusk, some draft capital and potentially a top prospect in the system?), the more pressing question might be whether Nashville opts to move Ekholm in the first place.

This past season, Nashville very well could have secured a haul if it moved Ekholm back when he had at least a year-and-a-half of control left on his current deal — with the Preds opting instead to take their chances after a second-half surge. 

And while the Preds might have to make some tough choices moving forward with guys like Filip Forsberg hitting free agency in 2022 and arduous contracts like Matt Duchene’s eating up cap space — there’s no guarantee that Nashville tries to accelerate a looming rebuild by moving a pending UFA in Ekholm.

According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, Ekholm and his agent, Kurt Overhardt, have expressed interest in signing an extension with Nashville, with the feeling “mutual” with the team.  

Perhaps both sides can hash out a suitable deal if Ekholm remains committed with just sticking in Nashville for the remainder of his career, which would be bad news for Boston.

Of course, if Nashville opts to move Ekholm, Boston will be far from the only suitor that will be vying for his services — but if he’s up for grabs, Sweeney should be on the phone with David Poile ASAP.

Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes

We covered this pretty extensively earlier this week — reaching a verdict pretty quickly when it comes to Boston kicking the tires once again on the Coyotes captain that will almost certainly be donning another sweater come the fall of 2021. 

Long story short from our column: As tempting as it might be that a veteran, top-pairing option like OEL could orchestrate a resurgence in Boston thanks to a fresh start and no longer needing to be “the guy” on defense, don’t compare his situation to the one that Boston benefited from when it scooped Taylor Hall out of a bad spot in Buffalo. Sure, Hall benefited from that switcheroo, but all it took was a quick glance at the underlying metrics to see that Hall was still an elite player in terms of his transition game and generating high-danger scoring chances — even on a sordid Sabres roster.

At the end of the day, Ekman-Larsson doesn’t have much to fall back in terms of his individual play, as he was downright DREADFUL last season on a Coyotes team that was bailed out by Jakob Chychrun leapfrogging their captain on the depth chart.

Add in the perils of taking on even HALF of OEL’s contract (paying out at an $8.25 million cap hit through the 2026-27 season), and this should be a trade saga that Boston should stay far away from. 

As we noted in our column, perhaps I could be swayed if Arizona wants to eat a majority of OEL’s contract (sure seems unlikely) or includes a legit piece like a Conor Garland (you may not need to spend big to get a guy like Blake Coleman if you acquire Garland). But even, you’d still be stuck with a guy in Ekman-Larsson that has been FAR from a top-pairing defenseman for a couple years now. 

Buyer beware here. Arizona should have pulled the trigger last year when it had the chance. 

Vince Dunn, St. Louis Blues

I can already hear the caterwauling from a vocal group of Bruins fans if Boston acquired another smaller blueliner like Dunn.

I get it in some respects — with Boston already having Matt Grzelcyk in the fold (and potentially Mike Reilly if he re-signs) isn’t it a bit redundant to acquire another puck-moving skater like the 6-foot-0 Dunn? 

Perhaps. But it should be important to note that even if Dunn may not fit the billing as a true, top-pairing option, it may not be fair to tab him as just another smaller d-man that Boston already has a bevy of. 

And while Dunn may not be a top-pairing guy, he’s certainly a player that a team in need of help on the blue line should definitely be keeping tabs on — especially considering there’s still plenty of untapped potential with the 24-year-old skater. 

With 102 points in 267 career games, Dunn is certainly very adept at generating offense from the blue line, but don’t overlook his defensive ability — as he ranked in the 90th percentile of NHL blueliners in terms of even-strength defense last season. Now, some of those sterling defensive numbers were also the byproduct of a steady dose of O-zone starts (57.78 Off. Zone faceoff percentage), but Dunn is certainly not the one-trick pony that plenty of puck-moving D are tabbed as. 

Dunn could be moved by the Blues at some point this offseason — or perhaps he could be dangled by the Kraken if they pluck him out of St. Louis — but it will be interesting to see if Boston keeps tab on the young skater. The B’s could pass if they think his skillset is a bit too needless given the already present personnel on Boston’s roster, but Dunn sure seems like a player that could thrive in a more featured role elsewhere. 

Noah Hanifin, Calgary Flames

Hanifin is an interesting case here. 

IF the Flames were to dangle the 24-year-old defenseman out on the trade market, it would shock absolutely NO ONE if the Bruins came calling. Not just because of the obvious need for a top-pairing blueliner, but because the B’s have kept tabs on the Norwood native and BC product for a long, long time. 

Beside the local ties (which, it’s the Bruins, of course that plays into it), Hanifin was believed to be the target that the B’s were looking to trade up for during that fateful 2015 draft — potentially packaging those three first-rounders together in order to snag the promising defenseman (he went fifth overall to the Hurricanes).

And while Hanifin has perhaps not fully lived up the billing as a legit, two-way force on the blue line — the 6-foot-3 defenseman put together one of the strongest campaigns of his career in 2021, forming a dynamic partnership alongside Chris Tanev. 

Hanifin’s reputation as a big-bodied playmaker on the blue line that can be capitalized against in his own zone might be validated once more if one was to look at the underlying metrics from this past year, considering he ranked in the 27th percentile in even-strength defense. 

But it’s important to note that the Hanifin-Tanev was routinely matched up against opposing team’s top forwards as a shutdown unit — with Hanifin ranking in the 98th percentile of NHL defenseman in terms of quality of competition. 

He may not be a franchise defenseman, but he’s still pretty damn solid — and if he was paired next to a player that went to a far superior school on Comm Ave in Charlie McAvoy, that makes for a pretty damn good duo to lead your D corps.

(Hanifin's even-strength defense might rank in the lower tier of percentiles among NHL defensemen, but his impact out on the ice was evident, as the Flames expected goals against per 60 minutes dropped from 2.20 when he was off the ice to 1.96 when he was out for a shift.)

But there’s absolutely no guarantee that Calgary wants to move Hanifin — especially considering he’s signed through 2024 at a reasonable annual cap hit of $4.95 million. 

After another disappointing year up in Calgary, the Flames might have to take a long look at its core and decide if it’s time to retool — which could mean that forwards like Johnny Gaudreau or a Sean Monahan could be dealt. You’d think the Flames would try to reset with guys like Matthew Tkachuk and Hanifin in the coming years — but there’s also no guarantee that Tkachuk (an RFA in 2022-23), is on board with sticking with a team in line for some rough years ahead.

The Flames may not want to move Hanifin right now at the start of the offseason, but a whole lot can change between now and the start of camp. Definitely keep tabs on what could be a summer of change for the Flames. 

Hampus Lindholm, Anaheim Ducks 

Brighter days do appear to be on the horizon in Anaheim as top prospects like Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale arrive on the scene, but with the Ducks still at least a few years away from contention, it remains to be seen just how many veteran pieces GM Bob Murray wants to keep on board moving forward, especially if dealing them could accelerate this ongoing rebuild.

As such, don’t be surprised if the Ducks are frequently brought up in trade whispers this summer — whether that be guys up front like Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg or blueliners like Josh Manson and Hampus Lindholm. 

Lindholm might have been limited to just 18 games this past season, but the 27-year-old Ducks defenseman does draw plenty of parallels to a guy like Ekholm in terms of his standing as a big-bodied (6-foot-3), minutes-eating (23:02 ATOI since 2016) defenseman that can generate offense (199 points in 520 games).

If Murray (who has swung plenty of deals with Sweeney over the years) declares the Ducks as being open for business, Lindholm could be a very appealing target for Boston — especially if Ekholm and Nashville strike a deal on an extension. 

As for the right side? 

While the Bruins could definitely use some depth on the right side, especially if Kevan Miller retires or Connor Clifton is scooped up by the Kraken, I can’t see a scenario in which Boston trades for a legit, top-4 defenseman to slot in the right — not with both McAvoy and Carlo (injury concerns and all) there. 

As such, I wouldn’t put too much stock in a guy like Mathew Dumba, who could be targeted by the Kraken in the coming weeks — nor do I think the Bruins have any interest in getting involved in the Seth Jones sweepstakes (especially considering the contract that whatever team deals for him is going to hand out in short order). 

How about a guy like Rasmus Ristolainen? Big bodied? Check. Playmaking potential? Check.

Oh … oh no. Alright, moving on.

So what goes down?

Ultimately, I think a “best-case scenario” for the Bruins in terms of building this D corps back up (especially on the left side) is a mix of both trades and free agency. IF Ekholm is available, then Boston should go full speed ahead with doing everything it can to bring him aboard. He checks off every box that the B’s are looking for and would instantly give Boston a legit top-four (assuming Grzelcyk slots down with Carlo). Add in a value singing that could look very, very good in Jake McCabe on the third pairing (coupled with a signing for a big-bodied, right-shot D like Jani Hakanpaa), and you’re already in a much better spot.

Now, if Ekholm doesn’t get moved, a guy like Lindholm sure seems like a solid backup plan, given that the Ducks should be in sell mode once again. But if Boston comes up short on the trade market or their assets aren’t enough to outbid other clubs, even signing a guy like Oleksiak (with McCabe) makes this team far better than what it was just a few months ago. 

Ultimately, if Boston enters camp with anything resembling this ...

Ekholm(trade) - McAvoy
Grzelcyk - Carlo
McCabe - Hakanpaa (I think a David Savard is too pricy in a role like this)

Or 

Grzelcyk-McAvoy
Oleksiak-Carlo
McCabe - Hakanpaa

… then you’re in business. 

Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick, HockeyViz and JFreshHockey.