NHL Notebook: Bruins caught in the middle of arms race in the Eastern Conference

With the NHL trade deadline sneaking up quickly, some big shoes have already begun to drop in the Eastern Conference as the pressure on Don Sweeney and the Bruins intensifies…

After the Islanders and Rangers, Toronto makes the latest big splash up front

First, it was the New York Islanders acquiring Bo Horvat on Jan. 30 from Vancouver for a roster player (Anthony Beauvillier), a prospect (Aatu Raty) and a conditional 2023 first round pick. They locked up the former Canucks captain to an eight-year extension worth $8.5 million annually. 

Just over a week ago, it was the New York Rangers making waves with the acquisition of Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola from St. Louis for a roster player (Sammy Blais), a prospect (Hunter Skinner), a conditional first in 2023 and a fourth in 2024. 

On Friday night, it was the Maple Leafs completing a blockbuster, acquiring former Blues captain Ryan O’Reilly as well as Noel Acciari. St. Louis received prospect Mikhail Abramov and fringe-NHLer Adam Gaudette in addition to first and third round picks in 2023 and a second in 2024. Minnesota received a 2023 fourth-rounder and a prospect after eating some of O’Reilly’s salary as a third team in. 

With the trade deadline just 12 days away, big fish like Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov remain on the board in addition to the likes of Luke Schenn and Ivan Barbashev, among others.

What it means for Boston

The arms race in the Eastern Conference is officially on. 

In two trades, St. Louis provided two of the top contenders in the East, outside of the Bruins, with massive upgrades. 

The Rangers and Toronto have pushed most of their chips into the middle. Meanwhile, the Islanders aren’t necessarily in the same type of all-in situation that Boston, the Leafs, the Rangers as well as others like Tampa Bay and Carolina find themselves in.

The Blueshirts addressed their biggest need, adding a pure goal-scorer to the top-six in Tarasenko, while also bringing in hard-nosed depth on defense in Mikkola. Toronto may have fixed one of their greatest concerns by bringing in one of the league's premier two-way centers in O’Reilly as well as an impactful, versatile bottom-six forward with Acciari. 

The Bruins don’t need to concern themselves with the Rangers too much, at least not yet, considering the earliest they could possibly meet in the playoffs would be the conference finals. 

As for Toronto? One of Boston’s biggest threats in the Atlantic Division, a potential second-round matchup, just became much more formidable. 

Down the middle, the Leafs can now roll out Auston Matthews, John Tavares and O’Reilly, a 2019 Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe winner. Few teams, if any, in the NHL can match that type of center committee in their top-nine. O’Reilly could even help load up on the left side of the first or second lines.

“It’s a really good acquisition by Toronto,” B's head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters before Saturday’s win over the Islanders. “He makes them significantly better. They’ve got three big-time centers now. I know Ryan really well. O’Rye is a really, really good hockey player. He’s someone that cares about winning and has a lot of winning habits to his game.”

O’Reilly, who just came back from a six-week absence with a broken foot, hasn’t had the same type of production that he’s had in the past, but he still remains a more than viable two-way option. Both he and Acciari add much-needed sandpaper and deep playoff experience to Toronto’s forward group. Acciari, who led all Blues forwards in shorthanded time on ice, has the ability to take the 12th-ranked penalty kill (80.7 percent) to a higher level.

Unlike the Leafs, the Bruins do not have the luxury of planning for their first-round matchup. Toronto is virtually locked into a date with the Lightning for the second year in a row. Kyle Dubas' group is now as well-equipped, if not more, than they’ve ever been to win a round for the first time since 2004.

Toronto’s recent first-round issues are well-documented, whether it’s been their struggles with physicality, holes on defense or shakiness in goal. The goaltending is still relatively suspect with an unproven Ilya Samsonov and an oft-injured Matt Murray (recently placed on LTIR), but their new hard-nosed, defensively-sound forwards help in the other two areas. 

Should the Bruins advance to a second round meeting with the bolstered Maple Leafs group, they would certainly have their hands full if their previous three matchups this season are any indication. 

There might not have been a fit between the Bruins and O’Reilly, but Acciari seemed to be a possible depth option for Boston. With more names coming off the board en route to the Eastern Conference, and teams like Tampa likely targeting similar players as the Bruins, it’s becoming increasingly important for Don Sweeney to supplement his roster. Anything short of a second Cup for Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Brad Marchand would surely be a disappointment.

The latest on the Bruins’ deadline outlook 

So what can Sweeney and Co. do to improve an already strong Bruins roster?

As has been reported, Boston has been in both the forward and defense markets. They would be well-served in adding depth in both areas. 

With Tomas Nosek out of the lineup, the Bruins have lacked a left-handed center that can consistently win face-offs. Even with him in the lineup, the three centers ahead of him (Bergeron, Krejci and Charlie Coyle) are right shots. Montgomery said Saturday that assistant coach Chris Kelly has made it a point to work on face-offs with Pavel Zacha and Trent Frederic, both lefties. 

Jake DeBrusk’s injury also showed that it couldn’t hurt to add more scoring punch as well. 

They’ve been linked to another Blues forward, Barbashev, with Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest reporting the Bruins to be “very interested” in the versatile forward, a left-hander capable of playing wing and center. The Russian is less than a season removed from career-highs in goals (26) and points (60) with Jim Montgomery as his assistant coach in St. Louis. He’s still on pace for 15 goals and 42 points this year, which would both rank second for his career. 

The price, according to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, could be a second-round pick and a prospect. Boston doesn’t have a second-round pick until 2025. A first-rounder would undoubtedly be an overpay for the pending unrestricted free agent. Sweeney might have to get creative with his third and fourth round picks as well as his prospects.

San Jose’s Nick Bonino certainly checks the box for a dependable left-handed center further down the lineup. The veteran has plenty of playoff experience with two Cups to his name, is solid at the face-off dot, can kill penalties and blocks shots, leading all NHL forwards with 69 blocks. 

Arizona’s Nick Bjugstad (6-foot-6, 215 pounds) would add size up front, and Chicago’s Sam Lafferty is capable of providing energy with each shift. Both are right-handed, but still able to play both center and wing. Bjugstad would provide excellent value at a cap hit of $900,000.

There’s a bigger name like Chychrun. Pagnotta reported Los Angeles and Boston to be the frontrunners on the former, although the Bruins don’t nearly have the picks or prospects to keep up with the Kings in a bidding war for the Coyotes' blue-liner. Boston would also have to heavily weigh the ramifications of potentially moving a player like Matt Grzelcyk to make salaries and roster spots work. 

Boston has been linked to Gavrikov in Columbus with Pagnotta reporting them among the teams to have inquired about his services. The price for the snarly Russian certainly has some sticker shock attached to it, with TSN’s Chris Johnston reporting the ask to be a first, a third and a fourth round pick. Is that worth it for a pending free agent, who doesn’t seem willing to negotiate an extension right now?

Nevertheless, the Bruins have proved in previous playoff runs (2017, 2019 and 2021 stand out) that there is no such thing as having too many defensemen at their disposal. There are other options available that could adequately address the need for another tough, penalty-killing defenseman within their ranks. 

Chicago’s Jake McCabe has been one of few bright spots for the Blackhawks this season. He is a physical presence, who is capable of playing both sides, starts most of his shifts in the defensive zone and can log heavy minutes, averaging almost 20 per game. He’s signed to a $4 million cap hit for the next two seasons, and the asking price is reportedly a first round pick, according to the Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. 

There are also cheaper contracts like Schenn and Philadelphia’s Nick Seeler. Schenn, far and away the league’s leader in hits with 252, has a Stanley Cup resume and is on an expiring $850,000 deal. Boston is “still in the mix,” and Vancouver's ask is a third round pick “+,” according to Pagnotta on Twitter. Seeler, signed for this season and next at $775,000, could fetch a similar price as Justin Braun did last season for the Flyers, a third round pick, at least. The 29-year-old has career-highs in goals (three), assists (seven), points (10) and hits (91), and he’s tracking to set a new best in blocked shots as well. Despite his physical style, he rarely puts Philadelphia on the penalty kill this season with just 30 penalty minutes. He’s also a very effective penalty-killer.

It is almost certain that Sweeney will make moves as the deadline approaches, based on his track record in each of his previous seasons as general manager, and there is no shortage of avenues he could go down.