There is little doubt the Bruins have already gotten their highest-impact move out of the way by trading for German scoring winger J.J. Peterka just ahead of NHL Draft weekend. But the expectation is that the Black and Gold are going to be active at today’s July 1 open of NHL free agency with the knowledge that they could still use shoring up at the center position, and they most definitely need another top 4 defenseman that can lend support for Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov on Boston’s back end for the next few seasons.
“You’ve just got to make sure you're trying to canvas as wide as possible, realizing that right D is an area we've been focused on, I think the top nine is going to continue to be an area that we focus on and you know trying to add to the depth of our group as I referenced before,” said Don Sweeney a week ago ahead of the draft. “I think speed and skill is something, I think that the overall competitiveness of our group is really good, I think they proved that in spades this year but if we can be a little deeper. And Marco’s [Sturm] talked a little bit about the identity of our group, getting better in the forecheck side of things and creating a little more anxiety.
“We talked a little bit about [Frederic] Brunet was an example of that, adding a little more from the back-end involvement. Areas that we want to continue to address and get better at.”
Those are not easy pieces to acquire in an admittedly thin free agency crop this summer, where teams are trying to get the jump on signing players by trading for their rights with their current teams, a bold move that Carolina made with D-man John Carlson a few days ago that has not turned into a completed contract at this point.
Expect the Black and Gold to be very interested in the 36-year-old that posted 14 goals and 60 points last season for the Capitals and Ducks and would be looking for a short-term deal for bigger money ($10 million per season) for an East Coast landing spot with legit Stanley Cup chances. Carlson would be a perfect fit for the Bruins as an experienced puck-moving D-man with power play quarterback expertise that would be a good complement to what Boston already has.
There are still intriguing names on the trade market as Zach Werenski doesn’t seem to be happy in Columbus with the Blue Jackets, and Darnell Nurse is another player that might come at a bargain discount with the Edmonton Oilers looking to unload his contract while footing part of the bill.
For a player like Carlson or Werenski, the Bruins will be looking to