The Boston Bruins are the favorites to be the winners of the Stanley Cup this season, however, they could use some help before the 3rd of March NHL deadline for trades.
It’s not a doubt that the Bruins could benefit from a different defenseman. But what kind of defenseman would they want to be looking to
Below is the piece sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote in his latest column in the 32 Thoughts section on Wednesday:
“Boston is also thought to be in”the left defence market. We wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they’ve inspected Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov as well as other people. They’re chemistry is special, and playing with it could be risky. This is an absolute take-it-or-leap year, as you don’t know for sure how long the group will stay together. It is also don’t know when the top two centers together to make $3.5 million, which is the maximum amount allowed — a total present by Patrice Bergeron as well as David Krejci. (Yes they’ll need to pay for bonuses next season but it’s still an offer.)”
2023 NHL trade deadline NHL trade deadline Bruins has the biggest need to be addressed
The Bruins are in decent condition along the left-hand side of the blue line.
Hampus Lindholm is on track to record a single-season point record and has been playing as a top-of-the-line defenseman throughout the season. His outstanding two-way play has provided the Bruins two solid No. 1 defensive players, as well as Charlie McAvoy. It’s been awhile when Boston was in the same place.
Matt Grzelcyk also is playing well on the left. He’s been able to drive puck possession at an excellent pace and generating offense in a more regular manner. Nineteen from his 19 total points come in the past 15 games. Derek Forbort has been a solid, physically strong player on the 3rd team and is among the top athletes on this league’s highest-ranked penalty kill. Forbort is ranked at No. 1 in the B’s, by blocking 5.53 block shots in 60 minutes.
Boston also has an experienced defensive player Mike Reilly, who is a left-hander, and is in the minors, playing for The AHL’s Providence Bruins. Jakub Zboril is on the left-hand side as well.
Bruins trade targets Five defensemen Boston should target
The B’s have decent depth in left defense However, there’s always need for improvement.
Chychrun could be an improvement over Grzelcyk. They share similar skills However, Chychrun is bit more experienced and could stand up to bigger competitors. He is also more tougher. Chychrun also has a contract for two more seasons with the team-friendly $4.6 million cap on his salary. Although Chychrun is an intriguing offensive player, his durability is a major concern. Chychrun has suffered multiple injuries throughout his career, and has played in more than 60 games during just 2 of his two seasons as a member of the Coyotes. Chychrun has recorded the score of 25 points (five goals 20 assists) in 34 games with averaging 23:05 per game.
The Bruins reported that they were interested in Chychrun in the past season. They eventually made an offer to trade him to acquire Lindholm and it is working out well. The price offered for Chychrun is believed to be extremely high. Moreover, since the actor isn’t an open-for-trade this summer and the Coyotes do not have to rush into any deal with the player.
Gavrikov could be a great option also. The scoring of his is down in comparison to the previous season however, the way he plays is physical that is able to take penalties out and be able to play for 20+ minutes against top competition. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent during the offseason, and will have a cap that is just $2.8 millions.
There’s no way to have enough defensemen to play in this season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Strengthening the depth of the team along the blue line on either side, could be a good idea to the deadline for trades to Bruins director of operations Don Sweeney.